Citrix aims to ease Web 2.0 app pains for servers
Web 2.0 applications are gobbling up more and more server computing power, resulting in less efficiency in data centers. Citrix says it has a remedy.
This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.
Citrix said Tuesday it will add Web 2.0 push technology to its NetScaler traffic management and content delivery lineup.
Why? Because Web 2.0 apps are gobbling up more and more server computing power.
As rich Internet applications proliferate, data centers are becoming less efficient because they must stay connected to servers 24/7 to be useful. Those connections gobble up computing power.
Indeed, all of those widgets and Web 2.0 apps may translate in new racks of servers that need to be purchased.
Citrix said it will add a feature to NetScaler to push data to users so that software doesn't have to go to a server to get it. This is designed to offload the strain on servers.
Citrix said in a statement:
While Web 2.0 applications are ushering in a new era of enhanced functionality and responsiveness for end users, they are highly inefficient when it comes to server computing resources. In order to create a rich interactive experience, Web 2.0 applications need to maintain a one-to-one user connection to backend servers for extended periods, which severely taxes data center resources and adversely impacts performance and scalability.
That's an interesting point considering a lot of people probably haven't pondered how Web 2.0 apps can drain servers. Citrix said its aiming to lower server costs by 5 to 10 times the current levels by proactively pushing data to "create the illusion of real-time interaction."