A unified application delivery platform provides a common base on which additional functionality can be deployed in a modular, easy-to-manage way. While it is certainly possible to run multiple functionality modules on the same hardware platform, it is not always feasible or desirable to do so. The flexibility provided by a unified platform enables the organization to determine how best to physically and logically deploy application delivery functionality such that the highest benefits are immediately realized out of the investment.

Through the years F5 has continued to innovate and develop new application delivery modules, all deployable on its core TMOS™ technology. It is the ability to deploy new products and features onto TMOS as a platform that makes it possible to execute on the vision of a unified application delivery platform, and is the very foundation on which BIG-IP v10 is built and delivered.

BIG-IP v10 delivers on the promise of a single, unified application delivery service platform through the integration of application delivery-oriented solutions into its core delivery platform. The BIG-IP system has always been capable of providing a single platform on which acceleration, security, access management, and optimization is unified. BIG-IP v10 takes that unification a step further by introducing WAN Application
Delivery Services.

Combining BIG-IP v10 LTM with WAN Application Delivery Services unifies delivery of applications by optimizing, securing, and accelerating them regardless of whether they are delivered via the WAN or LAN. WAN Application Delivery Services takes advantage of new features such as iSessions™ and combines them with extended functionality such as L7 rate shaping and Quality of Service (QoS) as part of a unified
Application Delivery Network solution all  running on F5’s integrated services fabric, TMOS. The unification of application delivery solutions on a common, integrated platform provides consistency in administration and configuration tasks. It also greatly reduces the time and effort required to deploy and maintain the solutions necessary to address the myriad application-focused issues that arise in existing and emerging application architectures.

Adaptable
While a unified platform is appealing in itself, the current trend toward dynamic environments—whether in the public or private cloud—and virtualization require more than just a unified platform. Successful initiatives based on dynamic virtual environments require that the network and application delivery infrastructure be just as dynamic and adaptable as the applications and architectures it is supporting.

Financial pressures are driving businesses to do more with less and consolidation has never been a higher priority than it is today. Consolidating an application delivery infrastructure, however, has often resulted in a loss of flexibility as difficult choices are made on which pieces of infrastructure are truly necessary and which ones incur more overhead and cost than provide value.

BIG-IP v10 addresses the problems associated with consolidation by offering the flexibility to manage and maintain a single, unified platform without introducing the overhead costs associated with managing multiple devices. Its unified management and administration capabilities mean there is no need to learn new device-specific command line interfaces (CLI) or graphical user interfaces (GUI).

Adaptability means more than just management and configuration, however, and BIG-IP v10 delivers on its oath of an adaptable, flexible application delivery infrastructure. BIG-IP v10 does this through its ability to be integrated and automated via a standards-based, service-enabled control plane API—F5  iControl®—and new features providing increased flexibility in configuration of how BIG-IP devices manage resources.

Features such as Resource Provisioning—which enables the administrator to decide how much system resources (RAM and CPU) to dedicate to each product running on the device—and Route Domains—features sometimes called “virtualization” that allow the creation of a hierarchal routing table that enables the use of isolated IP spaces with overlapping IPs—increase the flexibility of F5’s Application Delivery Networking platform and improve its ability to adapt to each unique environment.

With the increasing focus on cloud computing and virtualization technologies, the ability of BIG-IP devices to be integrated with the rest of the application ecosystem is paramount for organizations to execute on new initiatives involving these emerging architectures.

BIG-IP v10 continues to be the most adaptable Application Delivery Networking platform with its standards-based, service-enabled API, iControl. In addition to providing organizations with the ability to orchestrate and automate BIG-IP devices using iControl to realize their own consolidation efforts, F5 continues to expand on its strategic partnerships with application-focused vendors such as VMWare and Microsoft to provide turn-key solutions that enable an easier and less costly transition from a physical to a  virtual infrastructure.

Intelligent
One of the hallmarks of Application Delivery Networking is the application intelligence of its solutions. Because Application Delivery Networking solutions are necessarily focused on delivering applications, such solutions must be application-aware.

With an increased focus on application security and performance due to increasing demands by mobile customers and users, it is imperative that application delivery platforms be as application and data aware as possible. In addition, the deployment of new applications and new functionality must be as painless and cost-effective as possible.

As the complexity of applications has increased with the advent of new application development and deployment models such as Web 2.0, virtualization, and cloud computing, the delivery of those applications has also increased in complexity. F5 BIG-IP v10 simplifies the process of securing and optimizing common applications such as Microsoft Outlook Web Access, Microsoft SharePoint, SAP ERP, and Oracle by codifying its application expertise into templates, simplifying the configuration of BIG-IP v10 for specific applications.