Let’s say you had to explain the latest advances in internet security to someone who had been living under a rock for the past few years. What would you say?

When a friend asked me recently, I told him that the latest browsers are now supporting HTTP3. Previously, there was HTTP2, which improved upon the HTTP1.1 protocol because of its multiplexing capabilities. This enhanced performance, but it caused some head-of-line blocking issues.

Head-of-line blocking (HOL) is a performance-limiting problem that occurs when a line of packets is held up by the first packet. HTTP3 solved this problem by enabling other streams without packet issues to go through. HTTP3 is now available with support from the top browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.

With internet data consumption on the rise for the past decade, there is much more demand to consume faster, as well as for increased performance and security. HTTP3, coupled with TLS1.3, modernizes the internet with security and performance capabilities in mind:

  • HTTP3 fixed the head-of-line blocking issues that HTTP2 experienced, where when one stream is broken, all streams on that same pipe also go down.
  • HTTP3 uses QUIC where it is coupled with TLS 1.3. This minimizes connection establishment while combining cryptographic and transport handshake. QUIC is a general-purpose transport layer protocol and improves performance of connection-oriented web apps that are currently using TCP.
  • TLS 1.3 is a new encryption protocol that provides improved security and performance (reducing HTTPS overhead) over previous TLS versions.

The diagram below shows the difference between HTTP2 and HTTP3 and where QUIC (integrated with TLS1.3) fits in:

So, what’s this got to do with Citrix ADC? Well, just a reminder that Citrix ADC was the first ADC in the market to launch the TLS 1.3 protocol while the RFC was still being ratified. With that in mind, we already have more than 1,000 customers leveraging our software TLS 1.3 capabilities. In the near future, the hardware front-end acceleration will be available with our latest Citrix ADC models. And soon after we’ll have HTTP3 and QUIC support, as well.

Citrix ADC continues to leverage state-of-the-art innovation and advanced capabilities. Because we have a single code base, Citrix ADC runs on-premises and in cloud environments. Citrix ADC continues to empower our customers as they make their hybrid-cloud journey, while also rejuvenating with the latest protocols to improve their applications performance and security.

What’s even cooler is that Citrix Application Delivery Management (ADM) is also available to help easily manage Citrix ADCs while providing SSL insights. SSL insight produces visibility into secure web transactions (HTTPS), enabling IT administrators to monitor all the secure web apps being served by the Citrix ADC and providing real-time and historic views of secure web transactions. With this enhanced visibility, the administrator can assess the following:

  • Configuration Change Impact on Customer Usage: The administrator can understand the impact on clients before making a configuration change like turning off SSLv3 or removing a cipher like RC4-MD5. This can be done by assessing the historic transaction data on this protocol and cipher.
  • Quantify Client Performance: The administrator can understand the impact on the application response time based on the SSL ciphers/protocol used or the certificates negotiated.
  • Application Security: The administrator can assess if any of the applications have transactions running on low security protocols, ciphers, or weak key strength.

This controller-led ADM solution has become pivotal and essential, especially as many admins work away from the office and need to connect and get insights remotely.

Citrix ADC’s mission is to continually innovate and embrace improvements in the performance and security of the internet protocols that everyone relies on every day to conduct business. Learn more about Citrix ADC and Citrix ADM.

For Citrix Investors

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