F5 Networks Adds BIG-IP Support for Virtualization Players
F5 Networks continues to build out its virtualization prowess — fresh on the heels of its video tutorial portal for VMware View news, the company announced its BIG-IP products now support a wide swath of existing VDI infrastructure technology. Can you say “optimization”?
According to F5 Networks, it understands the plights of wide-scale VDI deployments. And if we’re talking about optimization, that might sound like overhauling a VDI infrastructure. But F5 Networks claims to have a simpler solution: Just drop in one of its BIG-IP optimization appliances and you’re off to the races.
In case you need a reminder — BIG-IP technology works by optimizing the traffic that flows through the network, rerouting requests to less-flooded servers and shaping traffic when important data needs priority, such as VoIP or video.
The real whipped cream on this virtualization optimization sundae is that F5 Networks now fully supports the Big Three in virtualization: Citrix, VMware and Microsoft, plus others. We already know F5 Networks has integrated VMware nicely, and now Citrix is getting a little something extra, too. BIG-IP 11.1 offers an integrated web interface for those using Citrix XenDesktop, in addition to iApps templates for simple dashboard-level access to security and settings across an entire VDI infrastructure. (Interestingly, there’s nothing specifically mentioned about Microsoft’s Hyper-V.)
What’s the channel angle? It’s a good question, because there are a few. First, for companies that haven’t deployed VDI yet, VARs could offer a VDI bundle with F5 technology, making it a great way to future-proof a deployment. For VARs looking to add some value to an existing customer deployment, F5 Networks could clearly optimize that existing deployment. Dropping in F5 Networks’ BIG-IP also could create a level of stickiness as a company grows or demands more from its network infrastructure. We’ll continue to keep F5 Networks on our radar as it ramps up its data center offensive.
