Which WAN optimization techniques are used to reduce bandwidth usage and improve throughput?

• A. Encryption only
• B. Data compression, deduplication, caching, and protocol acceleration
• C. Using only IPv6
• D. Increasing MTU on all links

Answer: (B)

WAN optimization boils down to moving less data over the network and delivering it faster by smartly restructuring how information is sent. The best answer combines data compression, deduplication, caching, and protocol acceleration because each technique targets a different bottleneck on the WAN.

Data compression shrinks the size of the data payload before it travels the link, so the same information uses fewer bits and takes less bandwidth. Deduplication looks for repeated data blocks across transmissions and sends only the first instance plus references for the rest, which can dramatically cut repetitive traffic, especially in backups and similar workloads. Caching stores frequently accessed content closer to users, so repeated requests are served locally rather than traveling across the WAN, saving both bandwidth and round‑trip time. Protocol acceleration optimizes how the transport and application protocols behave over wide-area links, reducing latency and the impact of network inefficiencies by techniques such as improving TCP performance and accelerating common applications like web traffic.

The other options don’t address these combined strategies. Encryption alone doesn’t reduce bandwidth and can add overhead; IPv6 is a protocol choice rather than a set of optimization techniques; simply increasing MTU might help in some scenarios but does not constitute a comprehensive WAN optimization approach.