F5's BIG-IP 5000 manages traffic for enterprise Web services and applications. The device's integrated SSL processing and switch port density features are designed to yield dramatic reductions in cost of ownership.

by Wayne Kawamoto [September 24, 2001]

F5 Networks, Inc., a provider of Internet Traffic and Content Management (iTCM) products, announced its BIG-IP 5000, the industry's first IP (Internet Protocol) Application Switch designed to manage traffic for current and next generation Web services and applications.

According to F5, the BIG-IP 5000 combines the benefits of BIG-IP's Layer 7 software capabilities, integrated SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) processing, and high port density (4 Gigabit and 24 Fast Ethernet ports) for scale and economy. Also, the BIG-IP 5000 should enable the network infrastructure to accommodate the increasing demands placed upon the network to support complex Web applications, data/voice/video convergence, and mobile computing, with vastly simplified management and complete security.

F5 says that the arrival of the BIG-IP 5000 marks a new era of Internet traffic management (ITM). Offering a superior choice for enterprises and service providers building scaleable, reliable, and profitable IP networks, the BIG-IP 5000 may be the first and only port dense Internet Traffic Management solution that offers the following four benefits:

1. integrated SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) at no extra charge to increase Web server performance and ensure transaction security
2. four times the processing power of any product in its class to deeply examine packets and intelligently direct traffic to the correct destination
3. a centralized processing and switch fabric design for an "all-in-one" solution that reduces deployment costs and administration duties
4. an open API for seamless communication with all F5 products and any third party application that supports F5's iControl.

Additional BIG-IP 5000 product highlights include:

• First Port-Dense ITM Solution with Integrated SSL Security—According to F5, BIG-IP 5000 is the first ITM device to incorporate SSL acceleration and deliver more port density than any other standalone ITM device. Its 4 Gb and 24 Fast Ethernet ports should provide simultaneous and convenient connectivity for a variety of devices, including firewalls, caches, Web servers, application servers, VPN gateways, SIP gateways and WAP gateways.
  
  
• Intelligence Beyond the Switch—In order to make the most intelligent load balancing decisions and ensure the highest availability, the BIG-IP 5000 is designed to receive information directly from application servers (e.g. Windows 2000, Real Server, and SNMP supported systems) through F5's open iControl interface. This should let BIG-IP 5000 take pre-emptive measures to avoid system failures. It may also read detailed information in a request header (such as type of content requested) in order to route the request to a server best able to handle it.
  
  
• Fastest Layer 7 Performance—Fast Layer 7 functionality may provide network managers with a cost-effective way to ensure that users will have a productive and trouble-free experience each time they transact business over the Internet or corporate intranet. According to F5, BIG-IP 5000 delivers Layer 7 performance that is three to four times faster than competing products from Cisco Systems and other vendors.

Reduced total cost of ownership
F5 says that its BIG-IP 5000 is optimized for Internet Traffic Management, due to its centralized processing and switch fabric design.

"Our analysis points to strong demand among hosting providers and especially large enterprises for a new breed of network device that combines robust application switching, traffic management, data security, and content acceleration technologies for Web and SSL," said John Lawler, directing analyst for e-Business infrastructure and hosting at Infonetics Research. "F5's BIG-IP 5000 exemplifies this new breed of secure, intelligent application switch that can easily scale and adapt to the demands of both enterprises and service providers."

"Service providers who deliver their applications using IP based protocols require a single, port dense solution that is flexible and adaptive to support existing and emerging IP application protocols," said Jarad Carelton, Program Leader, Internet Infrastructure Frost and Sullivan. "It must also be extremely reliable where, in a best practice deployment, the solution can approach 99.999% uptime. If the BIG-IP 5000 performs as well as expected, it should provide businesses with much needed support for new application revenue streams, while ensuring maximum performance, reliability, and manageability."

"F5 has consistently delivered the most advanced Layer 7 features and the special traffic handling capabilities that enterprise applications demand, but is now first to market in delivering all this packaged in a single port dense ITM device," said Jeff Pancottine, senior vice-president of marketing and business development at F5 Networks. "Competitive alternatives require deployment of multiple types of devices or simply cannot handle the applications, which increase the cost of ownership and management complexity. Given its unparalleled performance, scalability, onboard SSL processing, market leading price, and integrated iControl capabilities, the BIG-IP 5000 will be extremely disruptive to other vendors in the Traffic Management market."

"Customers will welcome advanced features and functions, originally provided only through specialized appliances and complex software programs, being delivered through a high performance, easy-to-manage switch," said Todd Hanson, Principal Analyst for Gartner-Dataquest. "Market requirements have evolved such that large enterprises and service providers need flexible and fast IP-centric traffic management devices that can handle deep packet inspection and perform advanced traffic routing without performance degradation.

"The space between the Internet and content presents a critical intersection for both enterprise and service providers concerned with the reliability, availability, and security requirements of both wired and mobile network environments," said John Robinson, vice president and general manager, Nokia Internet Communications. "The BIG-IP 5000, with its optimized design for intelligent traffic management, high port density, superior horsepower, and integrated SSL processing, offers an ideal complement to Nokia's Internet security solutions."

Pricing and availability
The BIG-IP 5000 IP Application Switch is available today with the base model priced at $31,990 for a single unit, and $57,990 for a redundant pair.

A base model unit is configured with 24 Fast Ethernet and 4 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) switch ports to support fast uplinks and multiple servers, caches, databases, firewalls or other devices. Switch fabric operates at 8Gb/s in each direction or a total of 16Gb/s. Each unit has dual Pentium III 1 GHz processors connected to the switch fabric and 1 GB of memory. Every base unit includes 100 TPS SSL capacity at no additional charge and is remotely ungradable to 800 TPS.

Customers who desire additional SSL capacity can obtain it incrementally via a software key, which allows them to purchase it only as they need it.

A version of the BIG-IP 5000 that comes loaded with F5's 3DNS wide area load balancing solution is also available.

Standard reseller discounts apply.

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