F5 delivers 'most comprehensive' DDoS protection

F5 Networks, Inc. has introduced what it says is the industry’s most comprehensive on-premises DDoS solution available in a single product. The new solution delivers the widest ranging suite of protections against DDoS attacks that target business applications, the network, SSL, and DNS infrastructures. Fully leveraging the advanced hardware-acceleration capabilities built into the latest F5® BIG-IP® platform offerings, the new solution mitigates as many as 25 DDoS attack vectors in hardware to deliver superior performance and scalability. Now, customers of all sizes can ensure that their business critical applications are protected and available under the most demanding conditions.

The DDoS protection solution is one of several reference architectures connected to F5 Synthesis™, the company’s new architectural vision, also announced today. F5 Synthesis comprises a catalog of software defined application services™ (SDAS™) and solutions that enable customers to deliver device, network, and application services without constraints across data center, cloud, and hybrid environments. Supporting these services are multiple reference architectures that give customers prescriptive guidance on how best to implement F5 technology to address specific business challenges.

KEY BENEFITS

Extensive Protection against DDoS Attacks – F5’s DDoS protection suite mitigates multiple types of DDoS attacks, from ICMP floods, to DNS query floods, to application attacks such as Slowloris. With today’s announcement, F5 expands the number of attack vectors handled in hardware from one to 25—and performance improvements are seen across all vectors. Based on testing done with Ixia/BreakingPoint, for example, a fully-loaded F5 VIPRION® 4800 device can handle up to 470 Gbps of SYN flood traffic—as much as 10 times that of competitive DDoS solutions—all while continuing to process 160 Gbps of legitimate network traffic without performance degradation. With F5’s flexible hardware platform, additional DDoS features can continue to be incorporated in hardware with every release.

Comprehensive Security and Application Delivery Services on a Single Device – By mitigating DDoS threats in hardware, BIG-IP devices have substantial residual processing power to handle legitimate traffic and perform additional services. This enables customers to consolidate multiple security and traffic management functions—for instance, network firewall, web application firewall, anti-fraud, SSL termination, secure mobility, and access control services—on a single platform. Unlike competitive DDoS-only solutions, the BIG-IP platform is an “always on, always leveraged” technology.

Optimal DDoS Protection for any Sized Business – Hardware-accelerated threat protection is now available across F5’s full line of BIG-IP products, including the 5200, 7200, and 10200 series offerings, so companies of all sizes can take advantage of DDoS functionality at a price that’s optimized for their specific business needs. Large organizations and service providers with massive traffic volume benefit from the same hardware-accelerated DDoS protection on high-end F5 VIPRION devices.

Substantially Reduced TCO – With its expanded hardware offerings, integrated hardware-acceleration technology, and support for multiple application delivery, network, and security services on a single platform, F5 enables customers of any size to address their most pressing security and application delivery challenges while significantly reducing both CapEx and OpEx.