Citrix launch faster web delivery controller

Citrix has given something of a boost to the performance of its web application delivery controllers with the addition of two NetScaler MPX controllers. The 17000 and 15000 slot in above the 12000 range and offer what the company is claiming is much improved performance within controllers that, according to Citrix, fit in the same form factors. The 15000 has four dual-core processors, 16GB of memory (compared to 4GB in the previous top of the range 12000), two times 10 Gigabit Fibre Optic connection as standard (an option only on the 12000) and a performance that allows 340,000 HTTP requests per second and a throughput of 6,000Mbps (when the previous high was 3,000Mbps). Other performance highlights include a claimed compression throughput of 3,000Mbps, when the previous high in the 12000 was 1,300Mbps. This sort of performance comes at a price as the 15000 costs $180,000. There is a higher performance MPX 17000 which has more memory (32GB), four 10 Gigabit Fibre Optic connections and a compression throughput of 6,000Mbps. Citrix has not yet released a price for that. "This is intended for those customers who need the highest possible throughput," Damian Saunders, manager of the Application Networking Group at Citrix in the UK, told ZDNet.co.uk. He thinks that customers looking to install software such as Software as a Service (SaaS) apps and ISVs will be particularly attracted to the new controllers. "It is all about throughput and moving large quantities of data but it is also about building capacity for expansion," he said. "These applications will grow quickly and the infrastructure has to accommodate that."