NETWORKING

An application controller and reduced latency are critical for optimizing architectural performance and enhancing user experience.

NetScaler 

NetScaler, formerly Citrix ADC, represents the pinnacle of infrastructure load balancing and application delivery for monolithic and microservices-based applications across on-premises, hybrid cloud, and multi-cloud environments. 

Over the years, NetScaler has proven its reliability and is engineered to provide customers with an application delivery platform that facilitates a seamless transition to multi-cloud architectures. This is achieved by ensuring operational consistency, offering flexible licensing options, and delivering comprehensive insights via a unified interface.

NetScaler - a brief overview

The primary role of NetScaler is to manage and direct requests to back-end resources, offloading connection management to enhance application scalability and availability. 

NetScaler operates on a unified code base, ensuring operational consistency. It offers solutions such as Pooled Capacity Licensing and maintains a consistent security posture across all deployments. Management of NetScaler is centralized through a single interface. The advantages of using NetScaler are manifold, as outlined in the core components below.

Pooled Capacity Licensing

Citrix's Pooled Licensing is unique in that it enables the sharing and portability of instance licenses across any NetScaler and form factors. Essentially, the Pooled Capacity Licensing model permits the allocation of licenses as demand grows, and later, these can be deallocated and reassigned to other ADC instances.

Pooled Capacity Licensing can be conveniently and centrally managed through Citrix ADM. Additionally, NetScaler is offered in zero-capacity hardware platforms, facilitating a smoother and more economical shift to cloud environments.

Consistent Security Posture

The NetScaler adds an additional layer to the security stack, spanning from layer 2 to layer 7. Serving as a proxy, it can manage application access. Beyond application proxying, its security features include:

IP Address reputation filtering, which is automated, as Citrix continuously monitors and blocks undesirable IP addresses through its reputation filtering services.

NetScaler mitigates DDoS attacks by using simple SYN cookies to defend against Layer 4 flooding, and it integrates Surge Protection, Priority Queuing, and Sure Connect features, along with HTTP DoS protection, mainly for website interactions.

Remote Access

NetScaler acts as proxy between the user and the server farm, therefore, access control is implemented at the NetScaler level instead of having to manage controls for each application. NetScaler is equipped with a full suite of authentication, authorization and auditing (AAA) functionality.

NetScaler can also act as an ADFS proxy to provide a single sign on experience for users and, using SAML, extend this SSO to SaaS applications. For added security, NetScaler offers n-Factor authentication. With n-factor’s flexible and extensible framework, it is possible to define variable authentication policies that can vary dependent on users’ environments and prior inputs, providing true contextual access to applications.

Finally, NetScaler provides full SSL VPN functionality for network access as well as clientless VPN, meaning users can use their web browser to access applications without installing any local plug-ins.

Optimize Application Delivery

The NetScaler solution is capable of optimizing the environment, thereby enhancing the user experience.

Caching

User response caching is stored in NetScaler memory; subsequent requests are processed by NetScaler, not the original server. This shortens login times, reduces server workloads, and cuts server costs and bandwidth usage.

Front End Optimization

Domain scaling on the NetScaler eliminates connection limitations, enhancing page rendering by enabling more browser resources to be downloaded concurrently. Furthermore, HTTP compression, along with CSS file optimization, significantly improves page download and rendering times.

Built-in TCP profiles, such as BIC, CUBIC, Westwood, and Nile, allow the NetScaler to adjust TCP parameters, including window scaling, selective acknowledgment, maximum segment size, and buffer size, optimizing TCP communications.

The paramount function of any environment is to provide users with access to accurate information from any device and location. The NetScaler is engineered to ensure the availability of resources and scalability to meet user demands.

Load balancing

Load balancing allows an application to scale by adding more servers and distributing the workload among them. 

NetScaler achieves this through:

• Intelligent load balancing from Layer 2 to Layer 7, inspecting incoming traffic by IP address or TCP port to direct it to the optimal server stack.
• Content switching based on Layer 7 parameters, using HTTPS headers to route users to content localized for their geographic location, device type, and to manage cookies for returning users.
• Employing Round Robin techniques to distribute requests sequentially to servers, while also considering factors such as the number of connections, response times, and packet counts to reflect the current server conditions.
• Detailed control over applications and user experience by parsing protocols like HTTP/S, Radius/Diameter, SIP, FIX, SQL, and others.
• Utilizing Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB) to redirect traffic to an alternate site during a data center outage, ensuring continued service availability.

NetScaler Demo click on the button below.