Since NetScaler VPX was first launched in the AWS Marketplace in 2012, we’ve seen many customers begin to actively explore the merits of deploying a dedicated virtual ADC in the cloud.

Virtual appliances aren’t new, so what’s different about supporting an ADC in the cloud? Aren’t they all just pieces of software that run on a VM? The answer: not really. In fact, when your application moves to the cloud, it becomes part of a highly automated and elastic topology that you need to take into consideration when deciding on a specific service to support your applications there.

It’s no wonder that many administrators and architects choose to simply “check a box” to load balance their servers with their cloud provider’s load-balancing offering; it’s already there, after all. Convenience is a difficult factor to counter, especially when you’re busy and need to move on to other projects that need to get done.

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Why NetScaler?

  1. NetScaler provides complete hybrid and multi-cloud supportability. NetScaler provides a single management and control plane that can span deployments on-premises and in the public cloud, and enables shared ADC capacity across instances in hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Put simply, enterprise businesses can simplify application monitoring and management with NetScaler. While cloud providers offer an extensive array of monitoring tools for workloads provisioned in their infrastructure, they fall short when it comes to extending visibility and failover to applications that remain on-premises or are deployed in a competitive cloud provider’s domain.
  2. NetScaler solutions offer an end-to-end application delivery network infrastructure. NetScaler is a software solution that provides server load balancing, security, and increased branch-to-cloud resilience on the WAN. Enterprise businesses can simplify operations by consolidating on-premises and cloud-hosted infrastructure, while gaining increased visibility and security across their hybrid infrastructure. Many cloud providers offer fairly rudimentary services that are only supported in the public cloud, and businesses need to maintain separate infrastructure for on-premises workloads. Additionally, cloud providers do not currently offer any solutions to improve WAN resilience.
  3. Better cost efficiencies in production. NetScaler’s operational costs are up to 40% lower when supporting multiple applications in high throughput environments. NetScaler can support thousands of VIPs from a single instance.tco

One of the leading cloud provider load balancing service is priced per instance, and multiple instances are required to support more than one FQDN. Additionally, data transfer rates can negatively impact overall cost savings in high throughput instances.

Citrix has made significant investments to support NetScaler VPX in the cloud since it was first launched. In my subsequent blogs, I’ll explore many of the new enhancements and capabilities that have been implemented to make it easier getting started in the cloud.

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