Troubleshooting guide

1-15
Cisco Wide Area Application Services Configuration Guide
OL-26579-01
Chapter 1 Planning Your WAAS Network
WAAS Devices and Device Mode
• Network Address Translation (NAT) is supported. However, payload-based NAT is not supported.
WAAS and MPLS
MPLS is partially supported by the WAAS software. WCCP does not know how to operate with packets
that are tagged with MPLS labels. Consequently, inside the cloud, WCCP redirection will not function
(for example, WCCP redirection will not work for intermediate WAEs). However, as long as the
redirection occurs on interfaces that are outside the MPLS cloud, WAAS is supported.
WAAS Compatibility with other Cisco Appliances and Software
If a firewall is placed between the clients and the WAE on one side, and the router on the other side of
the firewall, default WCCP redirection does not work. However, if there is a router inside the firewall
and another router outside the firewall, default WCCP-based redirection does work and WAAS is
supported. You can also enable directed mode to avoid firewall traversal issues. For more information,
see the “Configuring Directed Mode” section on page 1-27.
Support for concatenating ACNS and WAAS devices in your network is supported. ACNS devices
optimize web protocols and can be used to serve content locally. WAAS devices optimize requests from
a Content Engine, which is an ACNS device that needs service from an upstream server or an upstream
Content Engine. The ability to concatenate ACNS and WAAS devices in a network has the following
benefits:
• If you have already deployed ACNS in your network, you can also deploy WAAS.
• If you have not already deployed ACNS in your network, but need certain ACNS features, you can
purchase ACNS and deploy it with WAAS.
WAAS Devices and Device Mode
You must deploy the WAAS Central Manager on a dedicated appliance. Although the WAAS Central
Manager device runs the WAAS software, its only purpose is to provide management functions. WAAS
Central Manager communicates with the WAEs, which are registered with it, in the network. Through
the WAAS Central Manager GUI, you can centrally manage the configuration of the WAEs individually
or in groups. WAAS Central Manager also gathers management statistics and logs for its registered
WA Es .
A WAE also runs the WAAS software, but its role is to act as an accelerator in the WAAS network.
In a WAAS network, you must deploy a WAAS device in one of the following device modes:
• WAAS Central Manager mode—Mode that the WAAS Central Manager uses.
• WAAS application accelerator mode—Mode that a WAAS Accelerator (data center WAEs and
branch WAEs that run the WAAS software) uses to optimize and accelerate traffic.
• WAAS AppNav Controller mode—Mode for a WAAS device that is operating as an AppNav
Controller (ANC) that is intercepting and distributing traffic to other WAAS devices operating in
application accelerator mode.
The default device mode for a WAAS device is WAAS accelerator mode. The device mode global
configuration command allows you to change the device mode of a WAAS device.