

Steelhead and Nuage Networks are two competitive solutions in the enterprise networking space. While users appreciate Steelhead's pricing and support, Nuage Networks stands out due to its comprehensive features and perceived value.
Features: Steelhead offers robust WAN optimization, reliable performance enhancements, and cost-effective networking solutions. Nuage Networks provides superior SD-WAN capabilities, seamless cloud integration, and a broader range of advanced networking features.
Room for Improvement: Steelhead needs improved scalability options, a more intuitive configuration process, and an enhanced reporting system. Nuage Networks could improve its documentation, customer support response times, and the user interface for easier navigation.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Steelhead offers a straightforward deployment process and commendable customer service. Nuage Networks is slightly more complex to deploy but compensates with powerful automation tools and comprehensive support resources.
Pricing and ROI: Steelhead has a lower initial setup cost and delivers a solid ROI through its network performance improvements. Nuage Networks might have a higher setup cost but is worth the investment due to its extensive capabilities and long-term benefits.
Without Steelhead, we would have spent much more on bandwidth costs.
I have no issues with technical support from Riverbed.
Steelhead's support is generally good for typical issues yet can be time-consuming during complex problem-solving across teams, particularly for Active Directory integration.
Riverbed's customer service and technical support would be rated an eight.
If a customer has 1 GB traffic, they will only be able to utilize 600 MB of traffic with Steelhead.
It allows us to maximize use from our MPLS providers by handling traffic efficiently across phased deployments.
If the power is unplugged from Riverbed, it goes into fail-to-wire mode.
It's quite stable and provides all necessary alerts if something is wrong.
Steelhead helps significantly with large data transfers.
Steelhead is very expensive, and the vendor should work on handling Oracle type of traffic better.
It would help if Riverbed could prevent such drastic impacts during updates.
It could still be useful in places with satellite communications, such as the south of Chile, or in the mining industry.
Buying the hardware initially is costly, but yearly maintenance and licenses are not as expensive.
Steelhead is considered an expensive solution in our country.
Steelhead provides real-time optimization with graphs and tables on real-time optimization, informing us packet by packet including port, source IP, destination IP, and destination port number.
Functions like acting as an NTP server, DNS, DHCP, and auto-optimization mode enhance efficiency.
Steelhead's most valuable feature is its ability to hash and send only the important parts of the information, avoiding the resending of data.
| Product | Mindshare (%) |
|---|---|
| Steelhead | 2.1% |
| Nuage Networks | 1.9% |
| Other | 96.0% |


| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 5 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 7 |
| Large Enterprise | 14 |
Nuage Networks offers a sophisticated solution designed for complex network infrastructures, providing scalability and flexibility for enterprise and service provider environments.
Nuage Networks utilizes a software-defined networking approach to streamline operations and enhance network efficiency. Its architecture is built to support diverse networking requirements, delivering robust performance and seamless integration across platforms. The ability to handle multitenant environments and ensure secure connectivity makes it a preferred choice for telecom operators and large-scale enterprises. Comprehensive automation tools and advanced analytics provide insights that aid in effective network management and optimization.
What are the key features of Nuage Networks?Nuage Networks is implemented across several industries, including telecommunications and large enterprises, to handle their complex networking needs. Telecom industries leverage its multitenancy and advanced security features for managing customer data securely, while large corporations benefit from its scalability and automated operations to maintain seamless connectivity and business operations.
Steelhead is designed to optimize WAN performance by reducing data load and enhancing network efficiency. It utilizes advanced data compression and caching techniques to improve speeds and manage bandwidth, crucial for cost reduction.
Steelhead offers enhancements in data throughput and network optimization with its ability to improve TCP and WAN efficiency. Organizations benefit from scalable data referencing and adaptive transfer schemes that simulate LAN-like speeds over WAN. Its monitoring features provide insights into network dynamics, although potential improvements are noted in areas like QoS configuration and handling encrypted traffic. Users also recognize challenges in upgrading, GUI design, and monitoring tools.
What are Steelhead's key features?Steelhead is widely used in industries like banking and distribution for optimizing traffic between data centers and ensuring efficient branch connectivity. It addresses latency problems, boosts application performance, and helps reduce data traffic. In environments with limited bandwidth, its features ensure critical data is prioritized, creating significant cost savings.
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