Optimizing Network Performance with Content Switching: Server, Firewall and Cache Load Balancing: Server, Firewall, and Cache Load Balancing

Both network and Web performance are topics of major concern to businesses who increasingly depend on the Internet as a business channel. As CDNs (Content Delivery Networks) become a popular choice for both improving Web performance and being able to serve richer Internet content, network managers and network engineers need to learn about the underlying technologies like caching, load balancing and the use of firewalls which make increased performance possible. Content switching is the umbrella term for the technologies (web caching and re-direction, server load balancing, and firewalls to protect your content from unauthorized modification) which make Content Delivery Networks possible. The Authors explain these key technologies that are used to improve Web performance and will allow companies to serve richer web content securely. A running example throughout the book shows how these technologies are used in one company to optimize its Web site.