This press release should get us some attention!
11/01 08:24 Alteon WebSystems Beats F5 Networks in Tolly Group
Head-to-Head
Server <ATON.O>
Alteon WebSystems Beats F5 Networks in Tolly Group Head-to-Head
Server Load Balancing Performance Tests Alteon WebSystem's 180e Web
Switch Proven Twice as Fast as F5 BIG/ip Solution
In Single 100 Mbps Port Server Load Balancing Tests
SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Alteon WebSystems (Nasdaq:
ATON) today released results substantiating significant performance advantages
of its Alteon 180e Web switch over the F5 Networks' BIG/ip HA load balancing
PC-based appliance.
The results, reflecting fundamental difference in product architecture, is directly
relevant to e-businesses that want to linearly scale load balancing performance
as user load dramatically increases.
Performed by The Tolly Group under its Fair Testing Charter guidelines, the tests
benchmarked the average number of Web sessions that the Alteon 180e and the
F5 Big/ip HA could process (set up and tear down) per second while an
increasing number of TCP connections were offered.
"These tests conclusively prove that a distributed processing architecture is
fundamental to scaling Web site and services," said Dominic Orr, president and
CEO of Alteon WebSystems. "Increasingly we are finding that customers can't
afford to run their entire electronic business on a PC-based product that is
subject to both the performance and reliability constraints inherent in such a
platform. That's why we created Web switching technologies."
Similar to traditional LAN switch testing that measures the speed at which
devices can forward minimum-sized 64-byte packets, The Tolly Group load
balancing tests measure the speed at which Layer 4 traffic management devices
can process minimum-sized TCP sessions. On the Web, large numbers of TCP
connections open and close rapidly. Handling the large numbers of TCP
connection setup and teardowns is, in general, the most processor-intensive
task in a server load balancer. Thus TCP connection processing rate is a key
performance measurement for load balancing devices.
Testers evaluated the devices' TCP processing capabilities by forcing them to
set up and tear down new sessions on top of a base load of open sessions to
simulate the real-world loading conditions a Web switch would frequently
encounter.
In those tests, Alteon's 180e demonstrated session performance that scaled
linearly, with no session loss, as TCP sessions were offered across an increasing
number of Fast Ethernet ports. In contrast, F5 Networks' BIG/ip HA showed a
dramatic drop in session throughput under the same conditions.
In a one-port (100Mbps) configuration, Alteon's 180e processed the offered TCP
connections at an average rate of 24,116 sessions per second while F5
Networks' BIG/ip HA processed TCP connections at 10,224 sessions per second.
For the two and three port tests, F5 Networks' BIG/ip HA was unable to process
any measurable number of sessions due to an architectural limitation that,
according to F5 Networks, prevents more than 160 simultaneous connection
attempts to be supported at any given time. Any sessions beyond that ceiling
are dropped due to a limited amount of transmit buffer capacity on internal
adapters.
"Customers want to know that the Layer 4 devices they employ can provide
optimal performance while shouldering the burden of heavy session loads under
a variety of port configurations," said Kevin Tolly, president and CEO of The
Tolly Group. "These tests clearly show that the Alteon 180e delivers such
performance in a scalable solution."
Test Methodology
To date, conclusive performance testing of server load balancers and Layer
4-based Web switches has not been possible due to the lack of testing tools
that can adequately simulate Internet traffic loads. The emergence of new tools
which can generate hundreds of thousands of simultaneous TCP sessions and
measure the rate at which devices under test can process these sessions, has
enabled such new testing.
In this test, TCP session traffic was generated using NetCom Systems Smartbits
2000 Advanced Multiport Performance Chassis and the new SmartTCP 1.0
application, capable of measuring the TCP session capacity of a device or the
rates at which a device can set up and/or tear down complete TCP connections.
All measurements in the test were made using the SmartTCP "session rate test."
Each Web switch product was configured with 100Mbps ports for both client and
server connections. The test was repeated for each Web switch with 1, 2, and 3
client ports and an equal number of server ports. For each test, a base load of
connections was established to ensure a constant load on each device. The
base load was 10,000 TCP connections for the single Fast Ethernet port test and
was increased in 10,000 connection increments for the two subsequent tests.
The test methodology was designed by The Tolly Group, verified by NetCom
Systems and con-firmed by both vendors participating in the test. The full report
is available on the Alteon WebSystems Web site.
The Tolly Group Fair Testing Charter
As part of The Tolly Group's Fair Testing Charter, inviting competitive vendor
involvement is a mandatory requirement stipulated by The Tolly Group to a client
commissioning a competitive product evaluation. The goal is to offer the
competing vendor every opportunity to ensure that product configuration levels
are appropriate and that the device is tuned for optimal performance. When The
Tolly Group uncovers performance that deviates from the norm, The Tolly Group
representatives contact the appropriate vendors and share its initial findings in
order to give participants an opportunity to comment on their products'
performance. Where appropriate, vendor feedback is incorporated into The Tolly
Group's reports to offer balance and help readers better understand subpar or
even anomalous results. Moreover, vendor support specialists supply The Tolly
Group with optimal configuration parameters, and when feasible, are invited
on-site to configure their products.
About The Tolly Group
The Tolly Group, an independent testing and strategic consulting organization
based in Manasquan, N.J., is recognized worldwide for its expertise in assessing
leading-edge technologies. For more information on the Tolly Group's services,
visit its Web site at tolly.com , E-mail inquiries to info@tolly.com, call
800-933-1699 or fax at 732-528-1888. About Alteon WebSystems
Founded in 1996 and based in San Jose, California, Alteon WebSystems is an
Internet infrastructure company that delivers Web speed for e-Business. Alteon
pioneered the concept of Web switching and manufactures and markets an
innovative set of Web switches and server adapters that provide the ultimate in
speed and traffic control for Web data center environments. These products have
been deployed in Internet data centers around the world by premiere online
destinations, Web hosters, ISPs and portals such as Yahoo!, DLJdirect,
Excite@Home, Buy.com, Concentric Network, DIGEX, WebTV, Frontier Global
Center and many others.
This press release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks,
uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those referred to in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include,
but are not limited to, risks related to market acceptance of the Company's
products and product enhancements, changes in the fundamental technology
underlying computer networking, the interoperability of the Company's products
with their customers' networks or with the products of other vendors, the release
of competitive products and other actions by competitors, reliance on single
source suppliers and a single independent manufacturer to make the Company's
products, reliance on a limited number of customers for a majority of revenue,
ability to manage growth, need to maintain and expand the Company's sales
channels and their relationships with key participants in the Internet
marketplace, economic downturns in either domestic or foreign markets, activities
by Alteon and others regarding protection of proprietary information and Year
2000 problems. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by
words such as "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "believe," "hope," "assume,"
"estimate" and other similar words and expressions. Please see the risks set forth
in Alteon's Registration Statement on Form S-1 (file no. 333-82605). SOURCE
Alteon WebSystems
-0- 11/01/1999
/CONTACT: media, David Callisch of Alteon WebSystems, 408-360-5540, or
callisch@alteon.com/
/Web site: tolly.com
/Web site: alteon.com -- SFM095 -- 3216 11/01/1999 08:06 EST
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