F5 Networks, Inktomi Team to Enhance Caching Solutions

F5 Networks Inc. Thursday inked a strategic alliance with Inktomi Corp. to
beef up its caching products.

F5 will integrate Inktomi Traffic Server network cache and Traffic Server
Media-IXT software with its EDGE-FX family of products to create appliances
that “will enable enterprises and service providers to scale their network
infrastructure and optimize performance by improving the flow of content,
including streaming and dynamic media, across the Internet and enterprise
networks.”

The two companies will utilize F5’s iControl API to integrate their
products. One example is the integration of the Traffic Server software with
F5’s BIG-IP Controller to create a high-performance cache clustering
solution. The new partners said they will also collaborate on joint sales
and marketing programs to deploy edge-to-edge content delivery solutions at
enterprises and service providers.

“The new caching products will snap readily into F5’s Internet Control
Architecture and, when deployed with our high-performance iTCM products,
will offer customers market-leading functionality and superior performance
for managing all aspects of Internet traffic and content delivery,” said
Jeff Pancottine, senior vice-president of marketing and business development
at F5.

F5 said it also plans to add new features to EDGE-FX, including Bandwidth
Policy Management and DNS Caching, which it said would give customers better
control over network management and costs. The Bandwidth Policy Management
feature turns EDGE-FX into a policy enforcement point by allowing
enterprises to limit the rate of traffic flow through it. The DNS Caching
feature can help enterprises stave off the deployment of an extra DNS server
by enabling EDGE-FX to proxy/cache DNS requests to an upstream DNS server or
F5’s 3-DNS global load balancer.

The company also said it intends to more tightly integrate EDGE-FX with
3-DNS Controller, GLOBAL-SITE Controller and SEE-IT Network Manager.

The new EDGE-FX Cache platforms are scheduled to start shipping in Q2 2001.
Mid-range prices are expected to start at $9,990.