Packeteer

Packeteer, Inc. was a Cupertino, California networking technology company founded in 1996 by Robert Packer, Brett Galloway, and Bob Luxenberg. The company developed hardware and software for controlling, accelerating, analyzing, and optimizing application traffic across enterprise networks, particularly links constrained by distance, latency, congestion, or limited bandwidth. Its products addressed a market often described through terms such as traffic shaping, bandwidth management, application performance management, and wide-area network optimization. Packeteer's best-known product family was PacketShaper. The platform gave organizations visibility into application traffic and enabled them to classify, prioritize, shape, compress, and report on network use. It also incorporated technologies for accelerating TCP and HTTP traffic. This positioned Packeteer between traditional network infrastructure suppliers and application-performance specialists: rather than merely increasing link capacity, its systems attempted to make existing capacity more predictable and efficient by applying policies to different classes of traffic. The company expanded its portfolio through acquisitions. In 2000 it acquired Workfire Technologies and released AppCelera, an Internet web-acceleration product based on Workfire technology. The 2004 acquisition of Mentat added the SkyX line, which focused on TCP acceleration, compression, and optimization across high-latency links. In 2006 Packeteer acquired Tacit Networks, bringing the iShared wide-area file-services and acceleration technology and the Mobiliti software line into its portfolio. These transactions broadened Packeteer's capabilities from traffic control into caching, application acceleration, distributed file access, and support for mobile business users. Packeteer introduced iShaper in May 2007. The appliance combined technologies associated with PacketShaper and iShared, reflecting the company's effort to provide a more unified platform for application control and wide-area optimization. Its broader product portfolio also included PolicyCenter, a management system for configuring multiple appliances, distributing software, applying policies, and tracking adaptive responses across deployments. The company was publicly listed on the NASDAQ following an initial public offering in 1999. It also held at least 40 patents covering network optimization methods and participated as a contributing member of the Apdex Alliance, an industry initiative concerned with application-performance measurement. Packeteer's products were aimed primarily at enterprises and organizations operating distributed networks rather than at consumer networking markets. On April 21, 2008, Blue Coat Systems announced its intention to acquire Packeteer. The acquisition was completed on June 9, 2008, ending Packeteer's independent corporate existence and bringing its technology and products into Blue Coat's portfolio. Blue Coat Systems was later acquired by Symantec in 2016. Packeteer is therefore best understood today as a historical enterprise-networking brand and former public company, rather than as an active standalone business.

Packeteer was established in 1996 in Cupertino, California, by Robert Packer, Brett Galloway, and Bob Luxenberg. It developed enterprise networking products for application traffic management and wide-area network optimization. The company's technology was designed to improve the performance and predictability of applications traversing congested, slow, or geographically distant links. Its principal platform, PacketShaper, combined traffic classification and shaping with compression, TCP and HTTP acceleration, analysis, and reporting. This allowed network administrators to identify applications, assign policies, manage competing demands for bandwidth, and monitor results. Packeteer also developed PolicyCenter for centralized configuration, policy administration, software distribution, and adaptive-response tracking across multiple appliances. Packeteer used acquisitions to extend its technology base. In 2000 it acquired Workfire Technologies and introduced AppCelera, based on Workfire's Internet web-acceleration technology. In 2004 it acquired Mentat, adding SkyX for TCP acceleration, compression, and high-latency link optimization. In 2006 it acquired Tacit Networks, whose products included iShared for wide-area file services and optimization and Mobiliti for data protection and link optimization for mobile business users. The company combined parts of these technologies in iShaper, introduced on May 7, 2007. The appliance brought together PacketShaper and iShared capabilities, illustrating Packeteer's movement toward integrated traffic-management and WAN-optimization systems. Packeteer also held at least 40 patents related to network optimization methods and participated as a contributing member of the Apdex Alliance. Packeteer completed an initial public offering on NASDAQ in 1999. Its independent existence ended in 2008. Blue Coat Systems announced its proposed acquisition on April 21, and completed the transaction on June 9. Blue Coat subsequently became part of Symantec through Symantec's 2016 acquisition of Blue Coat. Packeteer is consequently a defunct standalone company whose product concepts and technologies belong to the history of enterprise traffic management and WAN optimization.

• 2008

  Acquisition by Blue Coat Systems

  [1]Packeteeren.wikipedia.org

  Blue Coat announces the acquisition in April and completes it on June 9, 2008.

• 2007

  iShaper introduction

  [1]Packeteeren.wikipedia.org

  Packeteer introduces iShaper on May 7 as an appliance combining PacketShaper and iShared technologies.

• 2006

  Tacit Networks acquisition

  [1]Packeteeren.wikipedia.org

  Packeteer acquires Tacit Networks, adding iShared and Mobiliti technologies.

• 2004

  Mentat acquisition

  [1]Packeteeren.wikipedia.org

  Packeteer acquires Mentat and integrates its SkyX acceleration and compression technology.

• 2000

  Workfire Technologies acquisition

  [1]Packeteeren.wikipedia.org

  Packeteer acquires Workfire Technologies and later releases AppCelera using Workfire's web-acceleration technology.

• 1999

  NASDAQ initial public offering

  [1]Packeteeren.wikipedia.org

  Packeteer becomes a publicly listed company through an initial public offering on NASDAQ.

• 1996

  Packeteer is founded

  [1]Packeteeren.wikipedia.org

  Robert Packer, Brett Galloway, and Bob Luxenberg establish Packeteer in Cupertino, California.

Enterprise networking specialist focused on application traffic visibility, traffic shaping, bandwidth control, and WAN optimization for distributed organizations.

• Application traffic management appliance

  PacketShaper

  Packeteer's principal traffic-management platform. PacketShaper provided application identification, traffic shaping, bandwidth control, compression, TCP and HTTP acceleration, analysis, and reporting. It was intended to help enterprises prioritize important applications and make network performance more predictable across constrained links.

• WAN acceleration technology

  SkyX

  A product line obtained through the Mentat acquisition. SkyX focused on TCP acceleration, compression, and optimization for links affected by high latency, making it relevant to geographically distributed networks.

• Wide-area file services and optimization appliance

  iShared

  A Tacit Networks technology acquired by Packeteer in 2006. iShared supported wide-area file services, TCP acceleration, optimization, compression, and caching for organizations accessing shared resources over distributed networks.

• Integrated traffic-management appliance · 2007

  iShaper

  Introduced on May 7, 2007, iShaper combined PacketShaper and iShared technologies in a single appliance. Its design reflected Packeteer's attempt to unify traffic shaping, application control, and wide-area optimization within one platform.

• Mobile-user data protection and link optimization software

  Mobiliti

  A product line acquired from Tacit Networks. Mobiliti addressed data protection and link optimization for mobile business users, extending Packeteer's portfolio beyond fixed-site enterprise appliances.

• Centralized network-management software

  PolicyCenter

  PolicyCenter centrally managed configurations and policies for multiple Packeteer units. It also supported software distribution and tracking of adaptive responses, helping administrators operate larger appliance deployments consistently.

• Web-acceleration product · 2000

  AppCelera

  Released after Packeteer's acquisition of Workfire Technologies in 2000, AppCelera was based on Workfire's Internet web-acceleration technology and expanded Packeteer's offering beyond traffic shaping.

• 2008

  Accept acquisition by Blue Coat SystemsM&A

  Background

  Packeteer operated in a networking market consolidating around broader security, application-delivery, and performance-management platforms.

  Action taken

  Blue Coat Systems announced its intention to acquire Packeteer on April 21 and completed the acquisition on June 9.

  Aftermath

  Packeteer ceased to operate as an independent company and its technologies became part of Blue Coat Systems.

  Source

• 2007

  Introduce iShaperProduct launch

  Background

  Packeteer had accumulated complementary traffic-management and wide-area optimization technologies.

  Action taken

  It launched iShaper on May 7, combining PacketShaper and iShared technologies in one appliance.

  Aftermath

  iShaper represented a more integrated appliance approach to application control and WAN optimization.

  Source

• 2006

  Acquire Tacit NetworksM&A

  Background

  Packeteer pursued broader wide-area optimization and support for distributed and mobile users.

  Action taken

  It acquired Tacit Networks and incorporated iShared and Mobiliti into its portfolio.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition extended Packeteer's capabilities into wide-area file services, caching, data protection, and mobile-user link optimization.

  Source

• 2004

  Acquire MentatM&A

  Background

  Packeteer wanted additional technology for accelerating and optimizing traffic over high-latency links.

  Action taken

  It acquired Mentat and integrated the SkyX product line.

  Aftermath

  SkyX added TCP acceleration, compression, and high-latency link optimization capabilities.

  Source

• 2000

  Acquire Workfire TechnologiesM&A

  Background

  Packeteer sought to expand from traffic management into Internet web acceleration.

  Action taken

  It acquired Workfire Technologies and used the acquired technology as the basis for AppCelera.

  Aftermath

  The transaction broadened Packeteer's product portfolio with a web-acceleration offering.

  Source

1. 1Packeteeren.wikipedia.org