Announcing ZXTM 5.0
ZXTM 5.0 is a major new release of the ZXTM product family. It heralds a number of new features for users of both ZXTM and ZXTM LB, whether using software, virtual appliances or hardware appliances. Java™ ExtensionsThe lead feature in ZXTM 5.0 is the addition of Java™ Extensions. Java Extensions greatly increase the power and flexibility of ZXTM’s TrafficScript™ language; TrafficScript can call out to a local Java Virtual Machine to run traffic management logic that can draw on the huge capabilities of the Java language and runtime environment. Take a look at the KnowledgeHub article "What are Java Extensions?" for more information. Java Extensions require a Java Runtime Environment to function; the JRE is included in ZXTM hardware and virtual appliances. ZXTM software users will need to install the Sun JRE, version 1.5 or above. IPv6 SupportSupport for IPv6 comes as standard in ZXTM. ZXTM can manage traffic coming from IPv4 and IPv6 clients, and can load-balance and route traffic to IPv4 and IPv6 servers. It functions as a gateway, and both IP versions can be used simultaneously on the client and server sides:
For example, ZXTM’s IPv4/v6 gateway capability can be used in an environment where some back-end servers run on IPv4 and some on IPv6; this can assist a migration program from v4 to v6 within an organization. Similarly, ZXTM can manage traffic when some users arrive using IPv4 (for example, from the Internet), and others use IPv6 (from an Enterprise VPN). IPv6 is fully supported in both ZXTM LB and ZXTM version 5.0 SIP supportThe SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) protocol is used by devices to set up voice, data and multimedia sessions. It is the standard signaling protocol in VoIP environments. SIP messages can hop between many intermediate proxies as they traverse firewalls, and the explicit route is recorded in the message (using the ‘Via’ field) so that return messages take the same route. ZXTM 5.0 is ‘SIP aware’; it includes a specific SIP protocol handler that ensures that the SIP traffic is updated in accordance with the load-balancing and rules-driven routing decisions. ZXTM 5.0 also adds a number of TrafficScript functions to make managing and rewriting SIP messages very easy. ZXTM’s SIP support automatically applies appropriate session persistence so that all traffic relating to a particular call (session) is routed to the correct proxy server:
With ZXTM 5.0, you can scale your SIP proxy farm and add fault tolerance, and you can manage, route and rewrite your SIP traffic to create innovative VoIP applications and reduce your operational expenditure. Streaming Media (RTSP) SupportThe RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol) protocol is used for the delivery of streaming media over UDP or TCP. It is used by client software such as Windows Media Player, QuickTime and RealPlayer, and server software such as QuickTime Streaming Server, Darwin Streaming Server, Helix Server and Windows Media Services.
Clients will negotiate the most appropriate media delivery method with the server.
RTSP requires specific support from the load balancer, because when an RTSP session is proxied (load-balanced) to a destination media server, the additional data connections must also be proxied from the media server by the load balancer. Other new features in ZXTM 5.0UI ScalabilityThe user interface in ZXTM 5.0 has been improved so that it is faster and easier to use when large numbers of virtual servers, pools or rules are configured. ASP session persistenceASP and ASP.NET are Microsoft technologies to build web applications; they are alternatives to Java, PHP and other common web programming languages. ASP and ASP.NET applications use a combination of cookies and URL rewriting to track user sessions. The new ASP Session Persistence class in ZXTM 5.0 tracks all client sessions, whether the client uses cookies or not, and ensures that clients are routed to the correct application server. Session persistence information is automatically shared across a ZXTM cluster. SSL multi-hostingZXTM 5.0 makes it easy to host large numbers of SSL services, facilitating the task of managing large numbers of SSL certificates. A single virtual server can host multiple server certificates, managing the traffic for many SSL services. TrafficScript SubroutinesZXTM 5.0 introduces a new feature to the TrafficScript language – the ability to create subroutines for commonly used code:
# Declare a subroutine
sub myURLHash( $url )
{
<code>
return $value;
}
# Call the subroutine
$hash = myURLHash( $url );
if( <condition> ) {
$hash = myURLHash( $alternate_url );
}
Control API ExtensionsZXTM’s SOAP-based Control API is currently used by external applications to query and modify the configuration of a ZXTM cluster and to retrieve log files and real-time diagnosis information. ZXTM also provides real-time status and performance information via SNMP and the Admin GUI. This information includes bandwidth and traffic statistics, node response times, CPU and memory utilization. ZXTM 5.0 adds functionality to the Control API so that applications can query this status and performance information without having to use SNMP. This makes it easier and more convenient for users who are building ZXTM management applications that need to query and respond to real-time traffic status. Summary
What's new in ZXTM 5.0 - Read more...
Owen Garrett
[Zeus Dev Team] 21 May 2008
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