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F E A T U R E

Think Ahead: Add Intelligence To Your Infrastructure

May 1, 2003
By Peter Morrissey

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Categories and Winners

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	In this article
	Introduction
	Categories and Winners
	Infrastructure Product of the Year
	Web Links

Content Switch | 10 Gigabit Switch | Acceleration Device | DNS Server Appliance

Content Switch

Winner: Big-IP 4.5, F5 Networks, (888) 88 BIG IP, (206) 272-5555. www.f5.com

F5 Networks continues its tradition of innovation in the content-switching arena with the Big-IP 4.5, which expands Layer 7 traffic inspection and routing while opening HTTP header or payload data to its Universal Inspection Engine. This forward-looking Big-IP incarnation offers customers support for emerging application standards, such as SOAP, so infrastructure architects now can design highly efficient routing architectures based on content or custom headers.

Finalists:
• Array TM 6, Array Networks, (866) 692-7729, (408) 378-6800. www.arraynetworks.net

• Server Iron 100, Foundry Networks, (888) TURBO-LAN, (408) 586-1700. www.foundrynetworks.com

10 Gigabit Switch

Winner: BlackDiamond 6808 switch with 10GLRi, Extreme Networks, (888) 257-3000, (408) 579-2800. www.extremenetworks.com

With the standards-based 802.3ae interface for its BlackDiamond switch, Extreme Networks is ahead of the game when it comes to 10 Gig connectivity. Even during a barrage of tough performance tests with various packet sizes, the BlackDiamond didn't wince. Access lists, QoS and high packet-per-second rates didn't slow down Extreme's 10 Gigabit interfaces, which maintained their advertised 8 Gbps of throughput in each direction. And Extreme did all this without sacrificing any of the features you'd expect in a high-end, enterprise-class, end-to-end switching and routing device.

Finalist:
• BigIron Layer 3 Backbone Switch 10-Gigabit Ethernet, Foundry Networks, (888) TURBO-LAN, (408) 586-1700. www.foundrynetworks.com

Acceleration Device

Winner: DataPower XA35 XML Accelerator 2.0, DataPower Technology, (617) 864-0455. www.datapower.com

The DataPower XA35, our Infrastructure product of the year, sets the pace for accelerator devices. The trim 1U box, which sports four 10/100 Ethernet ports, slashes the time it takes to perform XSLT on XML documents by acting as a souped up XSLT engine. It offers all the horsepower you need to serve up transformed XML in a timely manner.

Finalist:
• SiteCelerate, OptiView Technologies, (800) 232-4889, (703) 450-8809. www.optiview.com

DNS Server Appliance

Winner: Adonis DNS Server, BlueCat Networks, (905) 882.5691. www.bluecatnetworks.com

DNS appliances offer ease-of-use advantages and long-term cost savings by freeing staffers from the daily DNS grind and automating patching and updates. BlueCat's Adonis is our top pick because it packs a bevy of security features, an intuitive client interface and speedy error-checking capabilities in a compact 1U chassis. As for security, Adonis' ACL capabilities, 128-bit-encrypted SSL connection between the appliance and client, and integrated firewalls gives us a warm, safe feeling. The Java-based client interface is easy to use and replete with helpful wizards.

Finalist: • DNS One 2.2.7, Infoblox, (888) 463-6259, (847) 475-8500. www.infoblox.com

Peter Morrissey is a full-time faculty member of Syracuse University's School of Information Studies, and a contributing editor and columnist at Network Computing. Write to him at ppmorris@syr.edu.

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