Skip the navigation

F5 debuts traffic manager gear

Its BIG-IP 8400 aids in moving high traffic volumes

By Matt Hamblen
January 30, 2006 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - F5 Networks Inc. today announced three new network hardware devices that expand on the growing market for network traffic management products.
The three products, BIG-IP Global Traffic Manager, BIG-IP Link Controller, and BIG-IP 8400 Platform are available today.
The 8400 provides 10Gbit/sec. of throughput in Layer 4 traffic, also known as the transport layer in the Open Systems Interconnection, said Jason Needham, director of product management at Seattle-based F5. Large companies and service providers could use the device to transport extremely high traffic volumes for load balancing, Secure Sockets Layer transport and compression, he said.
Two networking analysts said the 8400 is big news for global companies seeking to move large amounts of traffic more easily. "Ten-gig networking has taken off in the data center," said Zeus Kerravala, an analyst at Yankee Group Research Inc.
Foundry Networks Inc. on Jan. 12 announced two hardware boxes that will compete with the 8400, and both begin shipping next month, said Joel Conover, an analyst at Current Analysis Inc. in Sterling, Va. Cisco Systems Inc. and Radware Ltd. are expected to provide similar products, the analysts said.
The market for network traffic management products is expected to total more than $700 million in 2006, Kerravala said. The 8400 starts at $69,995.
Of the other two F5 products announced today, W.C. Bradley Co. in Columbus, Ga., has been testing the Link Controller for three months, and it expects to deploy two of the Link Controller boxes in about two months, said Shane Sheppard, network infrastructure manager at the outdoor grill manufacturer. Link Controller starts at $14,990.
Bradley is testing the Link Controller to manage load balancing on e-commerce traffic. Bradley has three Internet service provider links, and the Link Controller will help determine which link is the best available to a user, based on up to 10 variables for determining what's best, Sheppard said.
The most important variable set in the Link Controller is to find which link is most available, but Bradley has also set the device to avoid added link costs by moving traffic to prepaid lines when possible instead of a more expensive Digital Subscriber Line 3 link. "This feature works so well that we've never gone above the first bandwidth level. So, in that sense it helps you with cost avoidance."
The Link Controller valuable in optimizing TCP/IP traffic for Bradley, Sheppard said.
Sheppard has been using various F5 products for about three years, and estimated that Bradley has spent about $100,000 in total. When Sheppard started working with F5,he evaluated Foundry, Cisco and Radware, but found F5's technology the best.
The new Link Controller is the first product of its kind at F5 to run the Traffic Management Operating Systems software, which extends some of the features Bradley is using, Sheppard said.
Also released today is the Traffic Manager, which will help IT managers distribute end-user application requests according to business policies and network conditions. It focuses on applications, while the Link Controller focuses on Internet service provider connections in the wide-area network, F5 officials said. The Traffic Manager starts at $26,990.

Read more about LAN/WAN in Computerworld's LAN/WAN Topic Center.



Additional Resources
Forrester Consulting - Optimizing Users and Applications in a Mobile World
WHITE PAPER
Solving application issues over the WAN requires careful consideration. Based on their independent research, Forrester Consulting offers recommendations on how to tackle application performance issues, insufficient bandwidth and the inability to quickly restore users in a disaster.

Read now.

Security KnowledgeVault
WHITE PAPER
Security is not an option. This KnowledgeVault Series offers professional advice how to be proactive in the fight against cybercrimes and multi-layered security threats; how to adopt a holistic approach to protecting and managing data; and how to hire a qualified security assessor. Make security your Number 1 priority.

Read now.

Cut Communications Costs Once and for All
WHITE PAPER
New IP-based communications systems are being deployed by small and midsized businesses at a rapid rate. Learn how these organizations are enabling faster responsiveness, creating better customer experiences, speeding office or mobile interactions, and dramatically reducing existing communications costs.

Read now.

LAN/WAN White Papers
Increase IT Performance from the Enterprise to the Cloud with WAN Optimization
WAN optimization plays an important role in today's highly distributed datacenters and cloud computing architectures. This paper discusses how Riverbed solutions effectively eliminate...
Accelerating Cloud Performance with WAN Optimization
Today's smart CIOs are assessing their workloads against business needs and analyzing where each should run-locally or in the public cloud. Read on...
Accelerating Cloud Performance with WAN Optimization
Today's smart CIOs are assessing their workloads against business needs and analyzing where each should run-locally or in the public cloud. Read on...
How to Improve Disaster Recovery for the Enterprise: Advanced Replications Powered by WAN Optimization
Ready to accelerate disaster recovery across your entire enterprise? Read this Taneja report to find out how you can increase WAN efficiency, overcome...
The Changing Requirements of WAN Optimization
Companies looking to drive greater IT performance will do well to begin their search with WAN optimization, which has evolved into a complete...
All LAN/WAN White Papers
LAN/WAN Webcasts
Optimizing Networks for the Cloud
Join guest speaker, Rohit Mehra, IDC Director of Enterprise Communications Infrastructure, to explore current trends, discuss best practices for optimizing Data Center and...
Apps QuickStart Series Part 2: Designing and Deploying SQL Server on VMware vSphere
Download this webcast to learn about the design considerations for virtualizing SQL workloads, performance and scalability information and high-availability options, as well as...
Apps QuickStart Series Part 1: Designing and Deploying Exchange 2010 on VMware vSphere
Download this webcast to learn the virtual hardware design considerations for Exchange 2010, deployment using the building block approach, options for high-availability and...
Customer Spotlight: How IPC The Hospitalist Company Implemented Oracle on VMware
Have you been looking to hear about customer's experiences with the new VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager product? View this webcast to learn...
Virtualize Business-Critical Applications with Confidence
Virtualizing business-critical applications has become a key focus for organizations as they move along their virtualization journey. With the launch of VMware vSphere®...
All LAN/WAN Webcasts
Newsletter Sign-Up

Receive the latest news test, reviews and trends on your favorite technology topics

Choose a newsletter
  1. View all newsletters | Privacy Policy
IT Jobs