Case Study: 3SOFT eliminates local servers and cuts WAN traffic up to 99% with Riverbed Steelhead appliances

Riverbed Steelhead Appliances Eliminate the Need for Local Servers and Local Backup

3SOFT, an Erlangen-based software company founded in 1988 and a member of the Elektrobit Group, employs around 300 people and serves leading customers in the automotive, medical and industrial automation sectors. With offices in Erlangen (headquarters), Braunschweig, Stuttgart and Tokyo, the company struggled with high-latency, low-bandwidth WAN links (10 Mbps/6 Mbps and a 512 kbps Tokyo link with 300–400 ms latency), forcing each branch to keep local file servers and backups because developers routinely worked with source code in the hundreds of megabytes; a terminal-server approach was not feasible for mobile staff.

3SOFT deployed Riverbed Steelhead appliances at headquarters and branch offices after a successful 15‑minute pilot in Stuttgart. The appliances reduced WAN traffic by up to 99% for CVS access (about 75% on average for other protocols), cut large file transfers from hours to minutes, and enabled the company to retire local servers and backup systems without affecting onsite productivity. A Samba compatibility issue was resolved quickly with a Riverbed patch, and Steelhead appliances are now planned for all new offices.

3 Soft

Robert Holzwarth

IT Chief