F5 Solutions Optimize Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Deployments

SEATTLE 11/23/09  F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV), the global leader in Application Delivery Networking (ADN), today announced the release of new Application Ready Solutions for Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. These F5 solutions provide support for Microsoft's recently released DirectAccess and BranchCache technologies, which are new features of the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems.

Along with the release of Exchange 2010 and Forefront Protection 2010 for Exchange Server, this announcement is the latest in a series of solution updates from F5 Networks aimed at improving scalability and performance of business-critical applications from Microsoft. F5 Application Ready Solutions help to increase the capacity of Windows servers by offloading CPU-intensive operations, and ensure that F5 Application Delivery Controllers (ADCs) are optimized for Microsoft environments.

    * F5 Application Ready Solution Support for Microsoft DirectAccess

Microsoft DirectAccess provides easier remote access to corporate resources with comprehensive management capabilities and integrated security enforcement, which allows IT departments to manage remote access at a lower cost. The F5 solution for DirectAccess enables enterprise customers to scale their deployments and enjoy the same benefits of other ADC-optimized applications. BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager can proxy DirectAccess connections to ensure that users have quick access to the best-performing server resources, improving the performance and scalability of DirectAccess across multiple servers.

In addition, F5's customizable iRules commands enable IT organizations to ensure that specific client requests will be routed through the appropriate DirectAccess server. The specific iRule enabling this functionality is freely available in a recent DirectAccess-focused post on F5's user community site, DevCentralSM. The post includes a description of how the iRule is used, what it does, and how to configure it. With iRules, IT organizations retain DirectAccess functionality in large deployments with multiple DirectAccess servers without compromising functionality or security.

    * F5 Application Ready Solution Support for Microsoft BranchCache

Branch office users are traditionally challenged by low bandwidth connections to the files and web content they need to accomplish their daily tasks. Low bandwidth results in long file download times and lost productivity. As a part of the Application Ready Solution for Windows Server 2008 R2, F5's support for BranchCache increases server capacity by offloading intensive computations used to alias web content requests from Windows 7 clients at branch locations.

This solution also functions as a transition technology to bring the benefits of BranchCache to all Windows 7 client users where web servers have not yet been upgraded to Windows Server 2008 R2. For servers not yet running Windows 2008 R2, the F5 solution provides the infrastructure visibility and intelligence necessary for those servers to participate in a BranchCache solution where Windows 7 clients are deployed, significantly reducing bandwidth consumption.

"Microsoft's DirectAccess and BranchCache technologies highlight the business value of Windows 7 client and Windows Server 2008 R2 working together to provide new, transformational features that increase user productivity," said Mike Schutz, Director, Windows Server Marketing at Microsoft. "Mobile workers will realize tremendous productivity increases through anytime access, and businesses will lower their cost of delivering this access in a secure, manageable way using DirectAccess and BranchCache. F5's Application Ready Solutions amplify this value for end-users and corporate IT departments by providing tested, validated solutions to streamline application deployments."

"Application delivery and optimization for remote users is becoming a more common concern for IT departments," said Calvin Rowland, VP of Application Partner Programs at F5. "In order to ensure the productivity and connection of these employees, companies need to deploy applications and technologies to enable remote access just as they enable onsite access. F5 has worked closely with Microsoft to increase our solution base for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. F5 Application Ready Solutions provide customers with increased worker productivity, greater ROI for IT departments, increased confidence of solution interoperability, and enhanced scalability for faster, easier technology deployments."

Learn more about F5 and Microsoft solutions working together at www.f5.com/solutions/applications/microsoft.