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Home > News > NTT COMWARE Adds Functions to Ultra Monkey, the High Performance and High Scalability Load Balancing Software, and Releases as Open Source Code
-- NTT COMWARE Launches Start of SI Service for Regular Customers as well as Professional Service for Systems Integrators --
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| 2005.10.19 |
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NTT COMWARE Adds Functions to Ultra Monkey, the High Performance and High Scalability Load Balancing Software, and Releases as Open Source Code
-- NTT COMWARE Launches Start of SI Service for Regular Customers as well as Professional Service for Systems Integrators --
NTT Comware Corporation (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Yuhji Imai; below, NTT Comware) has added functions to Ultra Monkey (*1), the open source software (OSS) load balancing solution utilized worldwide, and has publicly released the source code.
The development of Ultra Monkey Layer 7 Load Balancing Function (*2) is the first of its kind to be conducted in Japan, and is receiving attention worldwide.
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[Background]
- In recent years, the adoption of load balancers designed to mitigate the high loads that result from serving large numbers of clients on online shopping and search sites has become commonplace. Further, many systems including online shopping sites now require the entire purchasing process from product selection to payment finalization to be conducted on the same server. However, the previous version of Ultra Monkey did not include the functions that would enable it to meet this requirement, forcing site operators to purchase costly load balancing solutions on the market.
In response to these issues, NTT Comware has developed the Ultra Monkey Layer 7 Load Balancing Function which was made possible through its selection in the Japan Information-Technology Promotion Agencyfs (IPA) Infrastructure Building Program for Open Source Software.
In addition to enabling users to conduct high performance and high scalability load balancing processing, this solution can be installed for about one-fifth the cost of installing products currently available on the market through the application of IA server and Linux technologies.
[Overview of added functions]
- The newly added functions include the Layer 7 Load Balancing Function (Diagram 1) utilized for session (*3) management, which is required for the operation of online shopping and other web sites, and the SSL (*4) Encrypted Data Load Balancing Function which is compatible with encrypted data.
Making a purchase on an online shopping site involves the completion of a number of separate processes from the selection of a good to the finalization of payment arrangements for that good. In order to assign a relationship between the user and the information about the product to be purchased, as well as the information entered by the user during payment finalization, sessions for each user must be managed. However, because load balancing which recognizes the individual data for each user is not possible when only Layer 4 information is utilized, NTT Comware has added new functions which utilize Layer 7 information. Further, a function is also included which is compatible with data which has been encrypted as a means to protect personal information including customer names, addresses and account numbers.
In addition, NTT Comware has launched the SI service in order to provide this system to regular customers, as well as the professional service which provides high level technical support for systems integrators.
[NTT Comware and open source software development]
- From early on, NTT Comware has understood the importance of the role played by OSS such as Linux in the creation of customer-oriented flexible system architecture. Since the establishment of its Linux Center in 1999, NTT Comware has been active in the branch of the field of SI which utilizes OSS, which is demonstrated by its numerous achievements including the construction of NTTfs communications system as well as the undertaking of UNIX-based to Linux-based system migration. These activities have received wide recognition, and in December 2004, NTT Comwarefs proposal Ultra Monkey Layer 7 Load Balancing Framework Development was selected as one of the accepted proposals submitted to the Japanese Information-Technology Promotion Agencyfs 2004 (second half of fiscal year) Infrastructure Building Program for Open Source Software.
[Source code release]
- The source code for the Ultra Monkey Layer 7 Load Balancing Function as well as other solutions is, or will be, available at the websites below.
[Terminology]
- *1: Ultra Monkey
Refers to the project of which aims to provide IP network load balancing and high availability services by utilizing Linux open source components. This term also refers to the load balancing solution of the same name. This system is utilized by many Web hosting companies and ISPs, and in Japan, it is used by all member networks of the Open Source Development Network (OSDN) which includes SlashdotJapan, SourceForge.jp and japan.linux.com.
(http://www.ultramonkey.org/)
- *2: Layer 7 Load Balancing Function
Refers to the function which utilizes Layer 7 (of the OSI7 Layer Model) information such as Cookies and URLs to conduct session management and load balancing. Because the previous version of Ultra Monkey only utilized Layer 4 information such as IP addresses and port key numbers), there was significant demand for an expanded version which could utilize Layer 7 information.
- *3: Session
Refers to the series of processing items conducted by a user during a website visit. As an example, all of the processes conducted at an online shopping site from log-on to log-off would count as one session.
- *4: SSL
An acronym for Secure Socket Layer. This solution encrypts data (personal information such as name, address and telephone number, as well as confidential corporate information) exchanged over the internet.
* Ultra Monkey is the registered trademark of VA Linux Systems Japan and Simon Horman. Other company names and product names contained above are the trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective company.
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The information shown in this page is the latest as of the day of the release. It is subject to change without further notice. Thank you for your kind understanding and consideration.
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