• Speeds Web application and Web site access for all users
• Lowers bandwidth usage and increases application scalability
• Supports Active-N deployment for unprecedented availability and scalability

Overview

A Multi-function Platform for the New Data Center

Juniper Networks DX application acceleration platforms offload core networking and I/O responsibilities from Web and application servers to increase the performance of Web applications. DX application acceleration platforms also simplify and improve data center architectures by obviating numerous point products. By incorporating critical security functionality and providing unprecedented Web performance and application availability in an easy-to-manage, flexible appliance, the DX application acceleration platform is proving to be the cornerstone of the new data center.

The DX HTTP Data Stream Architecture

Next-generation application acceleration requires the ability to understand and manipulate HTTP/S data streams, with high real-world performance. Neither packet-based, kernel-only nor "deep packet inspection" technologies employed by load-balancing products are capable of providing the level of performance or range of functionality required for optimal performance of web-enabled applications.

Juniper's highly optimized approach employs both kernel-mode and application-space technologies working in combination to provide the best HTTP engine for multifunction application acceleration. With this engine, the DX application acceleration platforms natively speak and understand all of the intricacies of the application protocol (HTTP/S), functioning as a full HTTP/1.1 proxy.

The DX Application Acceleration Platform is a Comprehensive Solution

In contrast to packet-based approaches, the DX platform's HTTP data-stream architecture natively understands the intricacies of HTTP/S, and provides the power to secure, optimize and rewrite every request and response all the time. Real-world production deployments prove that Juniper delivers the features, flexibility, and performance enterprises need from an application acceleration platform.

Features & Benefits

Performance: Speed User Access, Increase Application Capacity

With Juniper DX application acceleration platforms, time to access business critical applications is typically cut in half, which can mean a dramatic boost in application usability and acceptance—especially for remote and branch office users. The DX platforms optimize and compress all outgoing Web data in real time without adding latency. Content fidelity is maintained, bandwidth use is dramatically reduced, and users experience faster page loads regardless of their location or network connection. The DX platforms also increase the capacity of applications by serving as a transaction broker, managing all connections and requests between servers and users. The DX platforms maximize available server and network resources, freeing server CPU for other tasks and yielding up to a 10x increase in server/application capacity.

Security: Internal Firewall for the Transaction Zone

The "internal firewall" functionality provided by DX application acceleration platforms delivers the security enterprises need in the critical transaction zone where Web-enabled applications reside. The DX platforms support one-way or end-to-end SSL, delivering secure content faster than a server can deliver clear text. The DX platforms authenticate users, secure data and connections, protect servers from DOS and SYN Flood attacks. The DX platforms also provide the security-boosting features of native protocol communication and total content manipulation, enabling powerful, flexible and adaptable security capabilities in the enterprise data center.

Specific DX models are also FIPS 140-2 Level 3-compliant, offering an even higher level of security to organizations seeking to comply with the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS).

Availability: Maximize With Active-N

Juniper DX application acceleration platforms provide full Layer 4-7 server load balancing functionality, supporting deployment of multiple applications and server clusters behind a single DX platform. The DX platform performs non-synthetic network, server, and application health checking.

Unique to the DX platforms is the ability to deploy in an Active-N mesh configuration, enabling up to 64 DX platforms to process traffic for the same or different Virtual IP addresses. With Active-N, it is only necessary to add one box at a time to increase scalability or failover protection, as opposed to the pair of boxes and network redesign required to scale active-standby or active-active configurations.

Management: Insight Through Real-Time Information

With more than 200 real-time statistics, Juniper DX application acceleration platforms provide extensive detail on all inbound and outbound traffic. Historical data is easily time-sliced from seconds to years via online graphs, simplifying capacity planning, trending and troubleshooting of application and network issues. By front-ending all servers, the DX platforms easily enable Web logging data consolidation, easing management and freeing additional server resources.

The DX platform's role-based administration streamlines device management, limits user authority to specific areas, and greatly increases user accountability. Complete system, administration and audit logs provide detailed administration records.

Flexibility: OverDrive Control Environment

The Juniper Networks OverDrive control environment is a user API to the DX platforms that enables changes in application behavior without altering the application itself. OverDrive can transform, update, append, prepend or delete request or response headers or POST data or even return content itself whether it is HTML, JavaScript, Cascading Style Sheets, XML or other formats.

To engage OverDrive, users simply write "if-then" rules using an intuitive sentence-like control language that supports unlimited content processing actions on data streams, based on any combination of factors in both incoming user requests and outgoing server responses. For example, OverDrive can be used to automatically secure application requests and responses, enabling instant security with no performance degradation, and no time-consuming or costly application rewriting. Or, the OverDrive feature can be used to check the accuracy of every response and take configurable action to resolve failures, maximizing application availability.

Specifications

Datasheet

DX Application Acceleration platform