1. A system for managing network memory, the system comprising: a first appliance in communication with a collocated computer and in communication with a second appliance via a wide area network, the second appliance including a faster memory and a slower memory; a communication interface included in the first appliance, the communication interface configured to receive a data packet from the computer and receive a status message from the second appliance, the status message indicating an activity level of the faster memory and the slower memory; and a processor included in the first appliance, the processor configured to determine the activity level of the faster memory and the slower memory from the status message, identify any data that is locally accessible to the second appliance and that matches the data packet, and determine based on the activity level whether to send the data packet literally from the first appliance to the second appliance or to send an instruction from the first appliance to the second appliance to retrieve the matching data locally, wherein data that is locally accessible to the second appliance is stored in the faster memory or the slower memory.