Array Networks Business Solutions

Array Application Delivery for Nutanix Invisible Infrastructure

As data center architectures continue to evolve, many IT managers are turning to hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) to modernize application deployment and cloud service delivery. This emerging Web-scale architecture, as exemplified by Nutanix's Xtreme Computing Platform, dramatically reduces cost and complexity by natively converging server and storage resources into a single, software-defined appliance.

Hyperconverged infrastructure, however, does not eliminate the need for Layer-4 through Layer-7 services. IT must still assure the availability, performance and agility of Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint, Oracle, SAP, Citrix XenApp and XenServer and other business-critical applications.

Array's vAPV virtual application delivery controllers (ADC) and vxAG virtual secure access gateways (SSL VPN) are an ideal match for applications and other workloads running on hyperconverged infrastructures, providing integrated networking and security functions essential to delivering a quality user experience and realizing the full benefit of HCI in the enterprise data center.

Networking & Security Functions

Array vAPV virtual application delivery controllers (load balancing) and vxAG virtual secure access gateways (SSL VPN) can be deployed directly on Nutanix to create end-to-end, software-centric solutions. Where a higher degree of scalability, performance or SSL offloading are required, dedicated Array APV Series ADCs and AG Series SSL VPNs are certified for interoperability with Nutanix invisible infrastructure.

Hypervisor Options

Array vAPV virtual application delivery controllers are available for VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V and Nutanix Acropolis KVM hypervisors. Array vxAG virtual secure access gateways are available for VMware vSphere and Nutanix Acropolis KVM, giving data center and cloud architects a range of choices for virtual and hyper-converged environments.

Enterprise Application Certification

Array application delivery solutions are certified by leading software vendors and application developers including Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, SAP, VMware and Citrix. In addition, validated deployment guides and Nutanix installation guides are available to help ensure rapid, accurate deployment of enterprise applications and virtual desktop infrastructure.

Easy to Manage and Deploy

Each Nutanix appliance contains all of the compute resources required for complete vAPV or vxAG deployment and can be up and running in less than 30 minutes – significantly reducing deployment times for business-critical applications. Multi-hypervisor support provides the flexibility to choose the right virtual infrastructure, and virtualization makes it easy to deploy and manage Array load balancing and application delivery solutions alongside virtual server workloads and VDI services with no impact on performance.

Expand Your IaaS Service Offerings

With a growing number of organizations relying on cloud infrastructure to build their business, there is an increased need for cloud load balancing as a complement to cloud servers and storage.

For infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) providers, Array supports key capabilities essential to profitably offering cloud load balancing services, including a range of physical and virtual platform options, cloud orchestration integration and a pay-per-use consumption model.

In addition, as enterprises move business-critical operations to the cloud, and the need to support SLAs becomes increasingly important, Array’s virtualized appliances provide the means to offer load balancing services with guaranteed performance in shared environments.

Platform Options

Array’s physical, virtual and virtualized appliances give IaaS providers flexible options for multi-tenancy, and the ability to create differentiated load balancing services to meet the needs of a broad range of customer requirements including performance, reliability, agility and cost-efficiency.

Orchestration Integration

Array’s eCloud™ RESTful API integrates with the OpenStack Neutron load balancing-as-a-service (LBaaS) API, VMware vRealize Orchestration (vRO), Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager and homegrown cloud management platforms to streamline operations and facilitate agility in service provisioning.

Pay-Per-Use Consumption

In addition to providing enterprise and service provider-class dedicated ADCs at up to half the cost of alternative solutions, Array offers virtualized appliances with pay-as-you go capacity licensing, as well as virtual appliances with subscription licensing and revenue sharing options, designed to reduce risk and keep service provider costs aligned with customer demand.

Guaranteed Performance

When deploying Array AVX Series virtualized appliances for service creation, each load balancing instance is assigned dedicated CPU, SSL, memory and input/output interfaces to ensure guaranteed performance. In addition, dedicated resources are reserved for hypervisor management to eliminate virtual machine contention and enable SLAs for business-critical customers and applications.

Secure Access for Infrastructure-as-a-Service

In addition to using Array application delivery controllers to enable load balancing services, IaaS providers can use Array secure access gateways to provide SSL VPN access for customers to manage cloud services and for provider administrators to manage infrastructure running at remote points of delivery. By deploying Array solutions in a dual approach – ADCs for customer services and VPNs for administrator traffic – security for all parties is assured and the full capacity of ADC appliances is available for supporting customer workloads

Redefining ADCs for Software-as-a-Service

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and external-facing Web applications differ from internal enterprise applications; consequently, they place different demands on application delivery controllers.

Whereas traditional enterprises look for an ADC that supports a wide cross section of applications, SaaS providers place greater value on how an ADC can benefit one application or service. Where enterprise IT may configure an application and not touch it for a year, SaaS providers need new features and continuous tuning in order to maintain a competitive edge. For enterprises with a stable user base, scalability means picking a right-sized solution; while for a SaaS provider experiencing exponential growth, scalability means selecting a solution that cost-effectively meets requirements both today and in the future.

To support the unique needs of SaaS providers, selection and development criteria for ADCs must be redefined with a focus on scalability, adaptability, affordability and simplicity.

Scalable

Array's SpeedCore® architecture delivers industry-leading scalability for Layer-7 traffic management and SSL encryption from the entry-level to the high-end. Executing Layer-7 policies and SSL features in the kernel, Array ADCs ensure that advanced traffic management never impacts performance or scalability.

Adaptable

Array's software-centric SpeedCore architecture does not rely on custom silicon; new application delivery features are rapidly adopted and deployed with full performance via commercially available multi-processing technology. Array's eCloud™ API provides integration with the OpenStack load balancing-as-a-service (LBaaS) API and supports integration with VMware vRealize Orchestrator (vRO), Microsoft System Center and proprietary cloud operating systems.

Affordable

Array ADCs are up to 50% less expensive and up to 75% more cost efficient for SSL TPS vs. alternative ADCs. Array's virtual ADCs enable subscription licensing and pay-as-you-grow pricing that aligns costs in proportion to customer demand.

Simple

Array ADCs maintain an extensive library of Layer-7 policies that may be combined and nested via simple CLI or WebUI commands to enable custom functionality, without requiring time-consuming, complex and error prone scripting.

Accelerating Software-as-a-Service

A well-tuned app delivery architecture and a ubiquitous Internet connection usually deliver a seamless user experience for SaaS applications. However, there are always exceptions. Whether due to distance, bandwidth constraints or high-volume traffic, there may be a need to accelerate application performance. Array aCelera WAN Optimization Controllers are an ideal complement to our SaaS-oriented ADCs, giving SaaS providers the ability to deploy either physical or virtual appliances or mobile clients to cost-effectively ensure a high-performance user experience.

One-Stop Enterprise Application Delivery

Array load balancing, WAN optimization and secure access solutions deliver the performance, features and reliability essential for enterprise environments. Uniquely, Array solves enterprise application delivery challenges without the cost and complexity typically associated with enterprise-class solutions.

Enterprise application delivery is all about connecting users with applications. Today, that means any user, whether at work or on the go and any application, whether in the enterprise data center or the cloud. Providing users with a seamless experience anytime, anywhere while ensuring corporate data is protected, requires a full suite of capabilities.

Whether deployed independently for specific workloads or in conjunction as a holistic solution, Array’s portfolio of load balancing, WAN optimization and secure access solutions deliver the availability, scalability, performance, security and intelligent traffic management to securely and efficiently deliver applications to any user anywhere.

Value Without Compromise

For many customers, selecting a networking vendor is a balancing act. For each deployment, decisions are made regarding best-of-breed vs. end-to-end solutions, and compromises are often made between higher-priced solutions that over-deliver and lower-priced solutions that under-deliver.

Array products bridge the gap between features and value, bringing enterprises the features and functionality they need, without the high cost and operational overhead they don't.

Complementary Product Lines

With Array, small, medium and even large enterprises gain an ideal balance of complementary product lines that exceed enterprise requirements without the cost and complexity of alternative application delivery solutions. In addition, enterprises gain a trusted partner in the application delivery market dedicated to customer satisfaction and successful application deployment.

Performance and Simplicity

Array enterprise application delivery solutions provide an answer to both technical needs and business requirements. Where budgets must be met and where ROI must be maximized, Array gets the job done. Where robust solutions are required without the need for professional services or specialized resources, Array gives enterprises the simplest, most straightforward path to application deployment.

Application Delivery for Business Continuity Planning

Business continuity planning requires that business-critical processes continue to run and users continue to experience uninterrupted access in the event of planned and unplanned circumstances. From server load balancing, link load balancing and global server load balancing, to WAN optimization for back-up and recovery, to secure remote and mobile access, application availability solutions for business continuity planning play a critical role in guarding profitability and maintaining workforce productivity.

Array business continuity planning solutions provide backup and failover for servers, WAN links and data centers to ensure applications remain up and running in the event of disruptions large or small. To ensure that applications deliver a consistent and accurate user experience from any data center, Array WAN optimization solutions facilitate rapid and frequent backup and replication of mission-critical enterprise data.

In addition, if workers are unable to get to the office, Array remote access solutions support connectivity from any device, anywhere and offer flexible licensing options that make preparing for surge usage both affordable and predictable.

Server Load Balancing

Server load balancing with application and server health checks helps maintain session and transaction persistence and ensure an uninterrupted application experience.

Link Load Balancing

ISP and link load balancing for redundant connectivity to the Internet helps maintain 24/7 availability.

GSLB

Global server load balancing seamlessly fails over application traffic to alternate data centers in the event of localized disruptions.

Replication Acceleration

In order to fail applications and users over to disaster recovery data centers, data must be backed up on a regular basis. WAN optimization reduces the amount of time and bandwidth required to replicate data, minimizing state differences between primary and disaster recovery data centers and accelerating restoration of business operations.

Secure Remote Access

Scalable, secure remote access with burst licensing cost-effectively supports spike usage caused by business continuity events such as extreme weather, natural disasters or pandemics.