Application Delivery Controller Introduction
ADC (Application Delivery Controller) which is now one of the ways of managing the direct flow of data and communication between websites and clients or professional applications that have specific goals such as reducing the load of websites from web hosting servers. These servers are used in two types of hardware and software devices. They can be used using application delivery networks or (AND) between firewalls and several application servers in a Web farm or within a DMZ.
ADC servers for single point control are able to meet the security needs of applications that provide authentication and authorization services as well as accounting. Normally, ADCs are placed behind firewalls and in front of software servers. ADCs are able to implement, optimize and speed up the performance of delivery programs under wide WAN networks by using techniques like compression and reverse storage.
Currently, new ADCs offer newer features such as connection multiplexing, network traffic shaping, security layer programs, SSL off load, and content switching. Finally, Virtual ADCs are also useful for the virtualization of data centers and cloud computing systems. Depending on the type of demand, customers need a scalable capacity in order to be able to load or ignore their requests.
F5 Application Delivery Controller
An application delivery controller is a device that is typically placed in a data center between a firewall and one or more application servers (zones known as DMZs). The first generation of application delivery controllers primarily performed application acceleration and load balancing between servers. The latest generation of application delivery controllers, such as the F5 BIG-IP License family, serve as a firewall for web applications as well as perform a much wider range of functions, including rate limiting and SSL offloading.
Located in widely distributed data centers within the same enterprise, a collection of F5 devices can work together by sharing a common operating system and operating language. This holistic approach is called an application delivery network.
Why F5 Application Delivery Controller?
Platform
Whether you host your applications on-premises, in the cloud, or both, choose the right platform for your business. Hardware includes the new BIG-IP iSeries chassis and high-performance VIPRION blades. Software options are available through Virtual BIG-IP Edition or BIG-IP Cloud Edition.
Services provider
BIG-IP Diameter Traffic Management, BIG-IP Policy Enforcement Manager (PEM), and BIG-IP Carrier Layer NAT (CGNAT) manage network resources to run carrier-level applications. It also helps you decide how to optimize and monetize your network to improve your bottom line.
Recognition of BIG-IP application services
Keep your application running with the BIG-IP Application Delivery Controller. BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) and BIG-IP DNS manage application traffic and secure your infrastructure. Whether your applications reside in your own data center or in the cloud, you benefit from built-in security, traffic management and application performance services.
Citrix Netscaler
Citrix Netscaler is a versatile web application delivery controller (ADC) that runs applications up to five times faster. Reducing the financial costs and the traffic load of the Citrix server is one of the other benefits of using NetScaler and ensures that the applications will always be available using the Load Balancing feature.
As of 2012 there are more than 1,000,000 sites using NetScaler such as Microsoft, eBay, Weather.com, CNET and MasterCard are among the busiest sites using Citrix NetScaler. NetScaler is in thousands of networks around the world to optimize, secure and deliver controll all enterprise and cloud services and maximize a great end-user experience for everyone, including mobile users.
Citrix Netscaler key features
Citrix ADC CPX supports the following features:
- Application availability
- SSL offloading
- AppExpert rate controls
- IPv6 protocol translation
- Dynamic routing protocols
- Subscriber-aware traffic steering
- Microsoft SQL, MySQL load balancing
- Surge protection and priority queuing
- L4 load balancing and L7 content switching
- Application acceleration
- AppCache
- AppCompress
- Cache redirection
- Client and server TCP optimizations
- Application security
- L4 DoS defenses
- L7 DoS defenses
- L7 rewrite and responder
- Authentication, authorization, and auditing (AAA) for application traffic
- Web Application Firewall (WAF). Citrix ADC CPX supports all WAF features which are supported on other Citrix ADC form factors.
- TCP protocol optimization
- Multi-path TCP
- Binary Increase Congestion Control (BIC) and cubic TCP
- Simple manageability
- AppFlow
- Web logging
- Action analytics
- Citrix Application Delivery Management
- Application optimization
- Integrated caching
- BGP Routing and Route Health Injection (RHI)
- High Availability (both Layer 2 and Layer 3)
