The Wide Area Application Engine WAE-674 can support three different software installations that provide a comprehensive set of services for the remote office: Cisco Wide Area Application Services (WAAS) software, Cisco Wide Area File System (WAFS) software and Cisco Application and Content Networking System (ACNS) software (all available separately).

When WAAS software is installed, the WAE appliance can function as either a Central Manager or as an Application Acceleration Engine. When ACNS software is installed, the WAE appliance functions as a Content Engine or one of the other ACNS device modes (Content Router or Content Distribution Manager). When WAFS software is installed, the WAE appliance functions as a File Engine.

The WAE-674 is configured for AC-input power and has a single AC-input power supply.

The WAE appliance has an integrated dual-port Ethernet controller, which supports 10BASE-T/100BASE-TX/1000BASE-TX Ethernet using RJ-45 receptacles. Both Ethernet ports support autodetect speed mode and full-duplex operation, which enable simultaneous transmission and reception of data on the Ethernet LAN.