Citrix Upgrades Its ADC for Mobile Apps

Citrix Systems today upgraded its NetScaler Application Delivery Controller to improve performance and user experience for mobile apps.

Citrix Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CTXS), which acquired mobile optimization specialist Bytemobile in mid-2012, is adding capabilities it calls MobileStream to its NetScaler product at the end of June with the aim of speeding up application performance on mobile devices an average fivefold, says Graham Melville, senior director of product marketing for cloud networking group at Citrix. (See Citrix Acquires Bytemobile to Target Telcos.)

According to Melville, MobileStream improves the mobile experience by optimizing HTML to load a web page's complex JavaScript last rather than first, so most of the page loads before JavaScript, speeding up the delivery of the page's content to the user and so improving the experience. Similarly, MobileStream also lowers the resolution of high-resolution images to help web pages load faster, as well as applying other optimization techniques. Some sites will see up to 15x performance increase, Melville says.

MobileStream includes support for Multipath TCP, to allow users to connect over two wireless networks simultaneously -- for example, two WiFi networks, or WiFi and 4G. That's already supported in some devices, such as iOS 7, but it also needs support from server applications. "The back-end server won't be able to cope if it gets a single connection from two different sources," Melville says.

For security, NetScaler adds support for Elliptical Curve for encryption, improving both security and performance. And NetScaler adds new management tools for visibility into web applications, and licensing flexibility.

NetScaler is used by carriers, cloud providers, and enterprises to speed up performance of Internet applications. It's integrated with Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO)'s Nexus Fabric, including the Nexus 7000 Series Switch. (See Citrix Integrates ADC With Cisco Nexus Fabric.)

Cloud providers including Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) offer NetScaler for licensing to customers, while others, including IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) SoftLayer, use NetScaler to improve performance of cloud applications, Melville says.

The ADC market has been bumpy recently. Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) cut its ADC business as part of its restructuring program announced in April, while Cisco got out of the business in 2012. (See Juniper Cuts Headcount by 6%, Axes ADC and Cisco Ready to Quit Load Balancers.)

Cisco's exit provided greater opportunities for Citrix, F5 Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: FFIV), Radware Ltd. (Nasdaq: RDWR), Riverbed Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: RVBD), and A10 Networks Inc. , which recently went public but has seen its share price slide since its IPO. (See A10 IPO Sputters Off the Ground.)

— Mitch Wagner, , West Coast Bureau Chief, Light Reading. Got a tip about SDN or NFV? Send it to [email protected].

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