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Redline's Answer to Slow Connections: Page 2 of 3

Even if you have only one back-end server, you'll still configure a cluster. This lets you quickly add additional servers to a cluster if you need more back-end processing power. I added a second server to the cluster via the GUI in less than a minute and then ran tests with the WebAvalanche against the cluster. Capacity increased to 816 client transactions per second with an average page load time of 2,944 ms.

Good
• Performance boost compared with legacy hardware

• Downloadable custom MIB
• SSL support including
back-end re-encryption

Bad
• Ear-splitting alarm when only one of the redundant power supplies is operative
• Minimal load-balancing features
• Expensive

T|X 2650 Web I/O Accelerator, $49,995. Redline Networks, (408) 369-3800, (877) 550-6420. www.redlinenetworks.com

The T|X 2650 lets an admin enable SSL on the listen (client facing) or internal (back end). The cluster's port is not changed, however, so the test run over SSL ran over Port 80 instead of over the expected Port 443. Response time was a mere 1,937 ms with 885 page loads per second being served. The T|X takes advantage of SSL acceleration internally to provide better SSL negotiation and bulk encryption rates.

At What Cost Speed?

The biggest drawback to the T|X 2650 is its price. At $49,995 for a single device and optional support of $3,995 annually, it is not a midmarket solution. The increase in performance of a single, low-end machine and subsequent increases through load-balancing of multiple low-end machines is likely worth the savings associated with repurposing legacy hardware. Still, I'd like to see additional load-balancing options included to justify the price, especially when you compare the T|X 2650 to competitors whose only difference is a lack of compression technology.

Lori MacVittie is a Network Computing technology editor working in our Green Bay, Wis., labs. Write to her at [email protected].