A load balancer is a device that acts as a reverse proxy and distributes network or application traffic across a number of servers. Load balancers are used to increase capacity (concurrent users) and reliability of applications. They improve the overall performance of applications by decreasing the burden on servers associated with managing and maintaining application […]

The Management Information Base is a database containing Object Identifier (OID) information. Depicted as a hierarchical structure, the MIB is the “tree” and each individual object is a “leaf,” identified by an OID. Levels within the MIB are assigned by different organizations. The top-level MIB OIDs belong to various standards organizations, while lower-level OIDs belong to various […]

A NAS (network-attached storage) device is a server dedicated to file sharing that connSects to an IP network. NAS devices communicate with client systems using NFS (network file system) and/or CIFS (common Internet file systiem).

Network availability is a key concern for enterprises that run multiple data centers. It is critical for disaster planning, but it is also a consideration for everyday operations, so that users accessing application servers achieve the best connections and performance possible.

Network traffic management, also known as application traffic management, refers to a methodology that F5 pioneered for intercepting, inspecting, and translating network traffic, directing it to the optimum resource based on specific business policies. This allows network administrators to apply availability, scalability, security, and performance standards to any IP-based application, significantly increasing overall network application performance.

Network file system (NFS) is a file server standard based on the client-server model. NFS enables users to view, update, and/or store files on a remote system as though they were working locally. The client system requires NFS client software and the remote system requires the NFS server. Both systems require TCP/IP (or UDP for […]

IP QoS is usually defined in terms of network availability, data loss and transmission rate, and delays. All the devices in a network have an impact on IP QoS.

An IPsec VPN uses the standard IPsec mechanism to establish a VPN over the public Internet. An IPsec VPN is most useful for establishing a VPN between fixed end-points, such as two offices.

An IPv6 gateway is a device that uses the newer IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) standard rather than IPv4 to transmit data. IPv6 provides better security and many more available addresses for networked devices.

An IPv6 proxy is a device that sits on the edge of a network to translate IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) to IPv4 and vice versa. The IPv4 standard will eventually migrate to IPv6, and an IPv6 proxy helps to prepare for network migration.