F5 Networks has introduced new software-defined application services (SDAS) for its physical and virtual BIG-IP solutions, extending the company’s access, security, and acceleration technologies for the highest levels of scale and performance.
Aligned with the F5 Synthesis architectural vision to provide customers with a comprehensive application delivery fabric to orchestrate IT capabilities, BIG-IP version 11.6 software enables adaptable services that assure resources are deployed efficiently.
This announcement extends the reach of F5’s Application Delivery Controller (ADC) portfolio and SDAS, augmenting capabilities across BIG-IP product modules and providing further enhancement opportunities via F5’s growing technology partner ecosystem.
With F5’s flexible application delivery platform, customers are empowered to advance their deployments in a number of compelling new ways.
Today’s organisations face a variety of attacks targeting multiple areas of the OSI stack (such as DDoS, zero-day, application-level attacks). Due in part to the vast number of applications in production environments, the range of specific deployment scenarios, and the vital role apps play for enterprises and services providers, application-related vulnerabilities continue to be a popular target for hackers.
F5 delivers the industry’s strongest zero-day threat protection and the most complete bot defense capabilities, providing organizations with a programmable platform that can be tailored to specific infrastructure and business priorities.
F5’s WebSafe module is now available, offering advanced, real-time protection against online fraud for every user, every device, and every browser—preventing attackers from spoofing, disabling, or otherwise bypassing security checks.
To capitalise on the increasing performance, productivity, and efficiency advantages of next-generation applications, organisations must scale their infrastructures while identifying cost-effective ways to support new protocols.
With the latest version of BIG-IP, customers achieve simpler, faster, and more secure application performance – while delivering “hyperscale” DNS capabilities (up to 200x the scalability of competitive offerings) to extend and secure infrastructures by mitigating outages and keeping DNS services available.
F5 is the only ADC vendor to support HTTP 2.0, providing up to 50% faster page load times than competitive solutions. F5 also offers 10x the scalability of other access solutions, empowering businesses access capabilities to meet the IT challenges associated with the exponential growth of Internet-connected devices.
F5 is committed to helping customers take advantage of the efficiency and agility afforded by cloud solutions. With F5 solutions offered in both physical and virtual form-factors, SSL processing duties can be offloaded from F5’s virtual editions to hardware products.
BIG-IP now provides maximum SSL performance for hybrid deployments with the first and only hybrid crypto offload solution, removing a potential roadblock for organizations migrating to the cloud.
Improved protection for multi-tenant ADC environments is also provided with highly secure Virtual Clustered Multiprocessing (vCMP) instances through enhanced resource isolation methods, guarding against tenant-to-host and tenant-to-tenant threats. In addition, F5 promotes accelerated, secure cloud migration with industry-leading REST API capabilities for web application firewall solutions.
“The move to F5 Synthesis architecture has meant we are able to offer our customers a higher quality of experience,” said Barry Kezik, GM Network Planning and Engineering, Vodafone Australia. “The DNS services in the BIG-IP platform allowed us to offer an improved service with a reduction in latency, due to F5 DNS’s caching capabilities.”
“Enterprises are feeling the need to adapt quickly to new protocols, applications, and cloud technologies in the aim of streamlining operations, adding efficiencies, and gaining competitive advantage,” said Karl Triebes, CTO and EVP of Product Development at F5. “Simultaneously, they’re being asked to scale infrastructures to support mobile devices and all types of content delivery—even in the face of more sophisticated security threats. These demands combined illustrate the need for a holistic approach to application delivery. With BIG-IP v11.6 supporting a comprehensive suite of services across data center, cloud, and hybrid environments, customers maintain maximum flexibility without sacrificing performance or security.”
BIG-IP version 11.6 is available now, with features that enhance performance and security across F5’s product module portfolio. F5’s fraud protection solutions are currently available in the Americas and EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) regions, with availability in APJ (Asia Pacific and Japan) to follow. Please contact a local F5 sales office for additional product availability information pertaining to specific countries.