Radware Incorporates Advanced Features in its Award-Winning Web Server Director Product Line for Version 5.1
Radware Ltd. has announced the release of software version 5.1 for its Web Server Director ™ (WSD) line of products. An array of advanced features has been incorporated in the WSD systems that together provide a higher level of fault tolerance, configuration flexibility, load balancing and overall web server performance.
Parallel Operation of Redundant Units - Advanced redundancy features make hot spare solutions for redundancy obsolete. The WSD is the first load balancer to offer redundancy with two fully functional units, thereby eliminating the need for a traditional "hot standby." In addition, the WSD offers increased flexibility with its per-farm redundancy feature. This allows two WSD systems to operate simultaneously, while providing redundancy for each other.
Smooth Server Shutdown - The WSD shuts down servers according to an efficient and smooth shutdown procedure in order to prevent service interruption. Full fault tolerance is assured by redirecting clients to an alternate destination and shutting down the specific server only when existing clients complete their sessions. Shutting down servers in this way ensures maximum quality of service.
Extended WEB Health Monitoring - Accurate monitoring of a Web site's availability is achieved with the WSD by checking the HTTP server's response to a specific Web page request. This procedure verifies that not only is the Web server up and running, but the actual Web data is also available.
SYSLog Support - The WSD can send SYSLog messages to any server of this kind to ensure smooth integration of WSD message logging with existing network management tools.
Customized Agent Support - Customized agents can now be created on individual servers, providing the network manager with even greater flexibility when configuring a load balancing scheme. The network manager can define a customized index for the balancing scheme using two load balancing parameters. The WSD receives the index for its load balancing algorithms from each server using Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).
Native Windows NT™ Resources Agent Support - The Windows NT operating system has a built-in server utilization monitoring module that is fully supported by Radware's WSD product line. By taking into account the parameters of the NT monitoring module, actual server load is reflected in parameters, such as CPU utilization, average response time, and so on. The WSD can be configured to poll these parameters and incorporate them in the load balancing scheme. This way, the balancing scheme is customized according to actual sever load and no additional software is required for the NT servers.
Enlarged Client Table Size - The WSD client table is no longer limited to 32K clients. Adding memory is optional, and enlargement of the client table is limited only by the specific memory size of the unit to accommodate all customer needs.
SuperFarm Support - In SuperFarms, different services, such as HTTP and FTP, run on different servers. The WSD can redirect traffic to these farms using a single virtual IP address according to the application type. This high degree of flexibility enables users to enjoy one point of access to all the services provided.
Radware Ltd., a RND company, is a member of the multi-million dollar RAD Group, a family of 13 independent companies serving diverse markets and technological niches within the networking and communications industry. Radware provides enhanced information access by optimal utilization of server resources, be they Internet, Intranet, or Extranet applications. The company's flagship product, the Web Server Director ™ (WSD), is already installed in many Fortune 500 companies and is employed by major Internet Service Providers worldwide. The WSD has been enthusiastically received by the professional data communications and internetworking communities and has won numerous awards, including the prestigious PC Magazine Editor's Choice award, Network Computing's Best Value award, and ZD Internet Lab's NetBest award in competition with all other major server load balancers. Radware products are sold worldwide through distributors, resellers, VARs, OEM agreements and joint ventures.