XCache debuts compression appliance
 
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Caching software maker XCache Technologies in early October will unveil its first appliance.
The company has sold strictly software since it was founded 2 1/2 years ago. It uses caching as the foundation for a number of different software products designed to accelerate the delivery of dynamic Web content.
But the company says it is seeing greater demand for an acceleration appliance; users don't want to have to load software onto their Web servers and then rejigger code.
In May, the company released XCompress, which XCache CEO Wayne Berry says was the first step in providing the "magic pill" users were looking for. The compression software is installed on Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) and very little configuration is needed.
The next step is providing an in-line appliance that can simply be plugged into the network architecture to give Web sites and Web applications some oomph. That's what XCompress 1400 will do, Berry says.
XCompress 1400 is a 1U (1.72-inch-high) rack-mounted appliance. It does just compression, and XCache says most text transmission can be compressed up to 90%, providing bandwidth savings of 30% or more.
XCompress 1400 employs the Smart Compression Technology available in the XCache software, which ensures that compressed content is sent only to browsers that can handle decompression. There is no client application that must be downloaded.
The XCompress 1400 works with most Web servers - not just IIS - and since there is no software that needs to be loaded on Web servers, they can run at even higher efficiency, Berry says. The XCompress 1400 will be priced at less than $5,000 per unit, he says.
XCache isn't the first Internet acceleration software maker to roll out an appliance. SpiderSoftware unveiled its SpiderBox earlier this year.
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Denise Dubie is a Staff Writer covering network management at Network World. She also works as a freelance writer in the Boston area. You can reach her at ddubie@nww.com.
