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Scorecard and NetResults: Load balancers

Network World, 06/14/99

Scorecard

	Perf. 25%	Scala- bility 20%	Mgt. 20%	Sec. 15%	Instal. 10%	Doc. and online help 10%	Total
Resonate Central Dispatch	10 x 0.25 = 2.50	8 x 0.20 = 1.60	8 x 0.20 = 1.60	6 x 0.15 = 0.90	9 x 0.10 = 0.90	9 x 0.10 = 0.90	8.40
Radware Web Server Director	9 x 0.25 = 2.25	10 x 0.20 = 2.00	7 x 0.20 = 1.40	6 x 0.15 = 0.90	7 x 0.10 = 0.70	9 x 0.10 = 0.90	8.15
Alteon ACE director 2	9 x 0.25 = 2.25	6 x 0.20 = 1.20	8 x 0.20 = 1.60	7 x 0.15 = 1.05	9 x 0.10 = 0.90	10 x 0.10 = 1.00	8.00
F5 Big/ip	9 x 0.25 = 2.25	7 x 0.20 = 1.40	7 x 0.20 = 1.40	10 x 0.15 = 1.50	6 x 0.10 = 0.60	8 x 0.10 = 0.80	7.95
Coyote Point Equalizer E250	8 x 0.25 = 2.00	6 x 0.20 = 1.20	8 x 0.20 = 1.60	8 x 0.15 = 1.20	9 x 0.10 = 0.90	9 x 0.10 = 0.90	7.80
Holon Tech Hyper Flow 2	9 x 0.25 = 2.25	7 x 0.20 = 1.40	7 x 0.20 = 1.40	8 x 0.15 = 1.20	7 x 0.10 = 0.70	6 x 0.10 = 0.60	7.55
IBM Web Sphere Perf. Pack	9 x 0.25 = 2.25	8 x 0.20 = 1.60	7 x 0.20 = 1.40	6 x 0.15 = 0.90	6 x 0.10 = 0.60	7 x 0.10 = 0.70	7.45
Hydra Web Hydra 5000	9 x 0.25 = 2.25	9 x 0.20 = 1.80	6 x 0.20 = 1.20	8 x 0.15 = 1.20	5 x 0.10 = 0.50	5 x 0.10 = 0.50	7.45
Ipivot Intel- ligent Broker 4000	9 x 0.25 = 2.25	8 x 0.20 = 1.60	6 x 0.20 = 1.20	6 x 0.15 = 0.90	6 x 0.10 = 0.60	5 x 0.10 = 0.50	7.05

NetResults

Central Dispatch 2.2.1b
Resonate
(408) 548-5500
Web site
$10,000 base price for two servers
Pros: Strong performance; Easy installation; Good management
Cons: Lacks Network Address Translation

Web Server Director Pro+
Radware
(888) 234-5763
$15,280
Pros: Feature rich; Very scalable; Competitive performance
Cons: Weaker security in server mode than in router mode

ACEdirector 2
Alteon WebSystems
(508) 360-5500
Web site
$10,995
Pros: Competitive performance; Easy installation
Cons: Lacks remote Web site balancing; Weak server statistics

Big/ip High Availability+ Single Controller 2.0.1
F5 Networks
(888) 882-4447
$24,990
Pros: Strong security; Good performance
Cons: Limited monitoring tools; No trending data

Equalizer E250
Coyote Point Systems
(650) 969-6000
$3,995, plus $2,500 for optional Envoy distributed load-balancing software
Pros: Simple installation and management; Competitive performance
Cons: Lacks advanced features; Plain interface

HyperFlow 2
HolonTech Corp.
(888) 380-6100
Web site
$15,295
Pros: Competitive performance
Cons: Minor documentation errors
Lacks remote Web site balancing

WebSphere Performance Pack
IBM
(800) 426-4968
Web site
$7,499
Pros: Strong performance; Polished X Windows GUI
Cons: Lacks Network Address Translation

Hydra5000
HydraWeb Technologies
(212) 809-5900
$25,000
Pros: Strong performance; Scalable
Lets you manage specific page types
Cons: No GUI management application; Lengthy instllation

Intelligent Broker 4000
IPivot
(619) 679-7858
$14,995
Pros: Competitive performance
Cons: Limited documentation ; Tricky installation

Page/sec performance

One Web server Two Web servers Three Web servers

Resonate�s Central Dispatch
19 45 86

F5 Networks� Big/ip
31 53 73

IBM�s WebSphere Performance Pack
19 45 72

HydraWeb�s Hydra5000
20 60 68

Radware�s Web Server Director
19 40 63

Alteon�s ACEdirector 2
19 39 63

HolonTech�s HyperFlow 2
20 40 62

IPivot�s Intelligent Broker 4000
19 41 61

Coyote Point�s Equalizer E450
22 42 57

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