Application Delivery Controller (load balancer) - appliance

What are application delivery controllers?

Application Delivery Controllers (ADCs) are the next stage in the development of server load balancing solutions. ADCs allow you to perform not only the tasks of balancing user requests between servers, but also incorporate mechanisms that increase the performance, security and resiliency of applications, as well as ensure their scalability.

And what other possibilities do application controllers have?

In addition to the function of uniform distribution of user requests, application delivery controllers have many other interesting features. They can provide around-the-clock availability of services, improve web application performance up to five times, reduce risks when launching new services, protect confidential data, and publish internal applications to the outside with secure external access (a potential replacement for outgoing Microsoft TMG).

One of the most important functions of application delivery controllers, which distinguish them from simple load balancers, is the presence of a functional capable of processing information issued to the user based on certain rules.

What are the prerequisites for implementing application delivery controllers in a particular organization?

A number of factors can determine the criteria for deciding whether to implement application controllers in your organization. First, this is the poor performance of web services, which is a long download of content, frequent hangs and crashes. Secondly, such a prerequisite can be interruptions in the work of services and communication channels, expressed in failures in the transmitting and receiving equipment that ensures the operation of the data transmission network, as well as failures in the operation of servers.

In addition, it is worth thinking about implementing application delivery controllers if you use Microsoft TMG or Cisco ACE products, since they are no longer supported by the manufacturer. A prerequisite for the implementation of ADC may be the launch of new large web projects, since this process will inevitably entail the need to ensure the operability of this web project with the maintenance of high fault tolerance and performance.

Also, controllers are needed when you need to provide fault tolerance, continuous availability and high speed of applications that are consolidated in the data center. A similar situation arises when it is necessary to build a backup data center: here you also need to ensure fault tolerance between several data centers located in different cities.

What are the prospects for the introduction of application controllers in Russia and in the world?

Gartner's research shows that there have recently been marked changes in the market for products that offer load balancing mechanisms. In this segment, user demand shifts from servers implementing a simple load balancing mechanism to devices offering richer functionality.

Gartner: “The era of load balancing has long gone, and companies need to focus on products that offer richer application delivery functionality.”

In Russia, due to the specifics of the internal IT market, application controllers are implemented mainly because of the presence of some specific functionality, and not because of the comprehensive solution for delivering applications in general, which this product offers. The main task for which application delivery controllers are now most often sold is the same load balancing function as before.