Riverbed Extends Microsoft Partnership

Under the terms of the latest pact, Microsoft’s Forefront software is now available on a variety of Riverbed appliances. In one of the strangest bedfellow relationships in the industry, Riverbed makes Microsoft technology available on an appliance via a Riverbed Services Platform that relies on VMware software to run multiple applications.

According to Vikram Ramesh, Riverbed senior solutions marketing manager, deploying Forefront on the Riverbed appliances moves threat management software closer to the point of attack at the edge of the network, while also serving to deliver LAN-like performance by leveraging Riverbed’s wide area network (WAN) optimization software.

Ramesh would not comment on whether there are any other plans to deploy Microsoft software on Riverbed appliances. But there is a growing trend to deploy more software on top of virtual appliance architectures.

Ramesh says that while virtual appliances will not replace all physical appliances, it is becoming apparent that IT organizations do not need a dedicated appliance for each application, which should further appliance consolidation at the edge of the network.