Welcome

About this guide

This guide describes why and how to configure Riverbed appliances with common protocols and includes information relevant to the following products and product features:

n Riverbed Optimization System (RiOS)

n Riverbed SteelHead (SteelHead)

n Riverbed SteelHead CX (SteelHead CX)

n Riverbed SteelHead EX (SteelHead EX)

n Riverbed SteelHead (virtual edition) (SteelHead-v)

n Riverbed SteelHead (in the cloud) (SteelHead-c)

n Riverbed SteelHead SaaS (SteelHead SaaS)

n Riverbed SteelCentral Controller for SteelHead (Controller or SCC)

n Riverbed SteelCentral Controller for SteelHead (virtual edition) (Controller-v)

n Riverbed SteelCentral Controller for SteelHead Mobile software (SteelCentral Controller for SteelHead Mobile)

n Riverbed SteelCentral Controller for SteelHead Mobile appliance (Mobile Controller)

n Riverbed Mobile Controller (virtual edition) (Mobile Controller-v)

n Riverbed SteelHead Mobile (SteelHead Mobile)

n Riverbed SteelHead Interceptor (Interceptor)

n Riverbed Virtual Services Platform (VSP)

n Riverbed Services Platform (RSP)

Audience

This guide is written for storage and network administrators familiar with administering and managing WANs. You must be familiar with TCP, CIFS, Citrix, HTTP, Lotus Notes, MAPI, NFS, FTP, and SSL.

You must also be familiar with:

n the Management Console. For details, see the SteelHead User Guide.

n connecting to the RiOS CLI. For details, see the Riverbed Command-Line Interface Reference Manual.

n the installation and configuration process for the SteelHead. For details, see the SteelHead Installation and Configuration Guide and the SteelHead (Virtual Edition) Installation Guide.

n the Interceptor. For details, see the SteelHead Interceptor User Guide.

n the SCC. For details, see the SteelCentral Controller for SteelHead User’s Guide.

n the Mobile Controller. For details, see the SteelCentral Controller for SteelHead Mobile User Guide.

Types of SteelHeads

The SteelHead product line includes several types of devices. Most of the information in the SteelHead Deployment Guide - Protocols applies to the following appliances:

n SteelHead CX - is a WAN optimization-only device. Desktop models have two in-path interfaces. For details, see the SteelHead User Guide for SteelHead CX (xx55).

n SteelHead EX - includes WAN optimization and VSP. The Riverbed SteelFusion product family, which provides branch storage services, is available with an additional license. For details, see the SteelHead User Guide for SteelHead EX (xx60).

n SteelHead-v - is a virtualized version of the SteelHead that runs on VMware ESX/ESXi and the Cisco Services-Ready Engine (SRE) platform. For details, see the SteelHead (Virtual Edition) Installation Guide.

n SteelHead-c and SteelHead SaaS - are the SteelHeads for public cloud computing environments. You deploy the SteelHead-c and SteelHead SaaS differently from the SteelHead and the SteelHead-v. For details, see the SteelHead (in the Cloud) User Guide and the SteelHead SaaS User Guide (for Legacy Cloud Accelerator).

n SteelHead Mobile - optimizes network traffic from remote users who are accessing the enterprise network using any type of remote access such as dial-up, broadband, and wireless. For details, see the SteelCentral Controller for SteelHead Mobile User Guide.

n Mobile Controller - provides management functionality for SteelHead Mobiles. For details, see the SteelCentral Controller for SteelHead Mobile User Guide.

n SCC - provides management functionality for various Riverbed products, including SteelHeads, Mobile Controllers, and SteelHead Interceptors. For details, see the SteelCentral Controller for SteelHead User’s Guide.

For more information about the SteelHead family, go to http://www.riverbed.com/us/products/steelhead_appliance/.

Document conventions

Convention	Meaning
italics	Within text, new terms and emphasized words appear in italic typeface.
boldface	Within text, CLI commands, CLI parameters, and REST API properties appear in bold typeface.
Courier	Code examples appear in Courier font: amnesiac > enable amnesiac # configure terminal
< >	Values that you specify appear in angle brackets: interface <ip-address>
[ ]	Optional keywords or variables appear in brackets: ntp peer <ip-address> [version <number>]
{ }	Elements that are part of a required choice appear in braces: {<interface-name> \| ascii <string> \| hex <string>}
\|	The pipe symbol separates alternative, mutually exclusive elements of a choice. The pipe symbol is used in conjunction with braces or brackets; the braces or brackets group the choices and identify them as required or optional: {delete <filename> \| upload <filename>}

The most current version of all Riverbed documentation can be found on the Riverbed Support site at https://support.riverbed.com.

See the Riverbed Knowledge Base for any known issues, how-to documents, system requirements, and common error messages. You can browse titles or search for keywords and strings. To access the Riverbed Knowledge Base, log in to the Riverbed Support site at https://support.riverbed.com.

Each software release includes release notes. The release notes list new features, known issues, and fixed problems. To obtain the most current version of the release notes, go to the Software and Documentation section of the Riverbed Support site at https://support.riverbed.com.

Examine the release notes before you begin the installation and configuration process.

Contacting Riverbed

This section describes how to contact departments within Riverbed.

n Technical support - Problems installing, using, or replacing Riverbed products? Contact Riverbed Support or your channel partner who provides support. To contact Riverbed Support, open a trouble ticket by calling 1-888-RVBD-TAC (1-888-782-3822) in the United States and Canada or +1 415-247-7381 outside the United States. You can also go to https://support.riverbed.com.

n Professional services - Need help with planning a migration or implementing a custom design solution? Contact Riverbed Professional Services. Email proserve@riverbed.com or go to http://www.riverbed.com/services/index.html.

n Documentation - Have suggestions about Riverbed’s online documentation or printed materials? Send comments to techpubs@riverbed.com.

What’s new

Since the SteelHead Deployment Guide - Protocols version in January 2018, the following changes were made:

n HTTP/2 caching support. SteelHead appliances can now support optimization of HTTP/2 cached traffic. See HTTP Optimization.

n MPEG-DASH support. SteelHead appliances can now support Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH), also known as MPEG-DASH. See Video Optimization.

n SSL OCSP Stapling. Server-side SteelHead appliances can now validate SSL certificates returned by the server using the online certificate status protocol (OCSP). See SSL Deployments.

For a list of new features added in RiOS 9.8, see the SteelHead Installation and Configuration Guide.