F5 Joins the Web Services Interoperability Organization

Seattle, WA, USA. August 19, 2002

F5 is the first Internet traffic management vendor to join WS-I and deliver a Web services-enabled platform to successfully and securely deliver applications

F5 Networks, Inc., the leading provider of Internet Traffic Management (ITM) products, today announced it is the first ITM vendor to join the Web Services Interoperability Organization (WS-I) to help influence and establish emerging standards for Web services. F5 shares WS-I's vision of promoting open standards for Web services interoperability, and is the only networking vendor to offer a fully integrated suite of ITM products that are Web services-enabled via F5's open iControl Application Programming Interface (API).

"We're excited to have F5 Networks join WS-I and welcome their participation in the various working groups," said Tom Glover, chairman of WS-I. "The goal of true interoperability can only be achieved with the participation of companies from a diverse set of industries. F5's participation will help to ensure that the deliverables WS-I produce will meet the real-world interoperability needs of businesses."

Network devices will play a critical role in web services

To successfully deploy Web services and mitigate the risks associated with these new applications, it is crucial that the application and network work in concert to avoid challenges with the availability, scalability, and security of mission-critical deployments. F5 Networks is the only networking vendor that enables applications and web services to 'speak to' and influence the behavior of the underlying global network via F5's open iControl architecture and API; accessible via SOAP/XML and CORBA interfaces to suit a variety of application requirements. Through iControl, each F5 networking device is a Web service provider and consumer offering comprehensive programmatic interfaces exposed via Web Services Description Language (WSDL). Through support for WSDL and SOAP/XML, iControl enables applications to monitor critical network information and combine it with application health and performance to adjust both application and network behavior for optimized scalability, availability, and performance. Further, support for Microsoft .NET and J2EE development platforms enables developers to leverage this API with familiar tools, speeding development and deployment.

"F5 is excited to be part of the WS-I whose mission aligns well with F5's iControl architecture and our goal of helping customers deploy a secure, end-to-end, standards-based web services framework," said Dan Matte, vice president of product management and marketing at F5 Networks. "As enterprises embrace web services, it's crucial that developers plan for intelligent integration between web services and the physical network supporting these applications. By supporting SOAP/XML, the common communications standard for web services, F5's networking devices speak the same language that the applications themselves do to ensure they interoperate in harmony."

About The Web Services Interoperability Organization

The Web Services Interoperability Organization (www.ws-i.org) is an open industry organization chartered to promote Web services interoperability across platforms, applications, and programming languages. The organization brings together a diverse community of Web services leaders to respond to customer needs by providing guidance, recommended practices, and supporting resources for developing interoperable Web services.

About F5 Networks

F5 Networks is the leader in Internet Traffic Management (ITM) and delivers application aware networks through its open Internet Control Architecture. F5 features the industry's leading set of integrated products and services that manage, control and optimize Internet traffic and content. Our solutions automatically and intelligently deliver the best possible Internet performance and availability for service providers, enterprises and e-businesses. Our products remove bandwidth congestion and optimize the availability and speed of mission-critical Internet servers and applications, including web publishing, content delivery, e-commerce, caching, firewalls and more. Our solutions are widely deployed in large enterprises, the top service providers, financial institutions, government agencies, healthcare, and portals throughout the world. The company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and has offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. F5 Networks is located on the web at www.f5.com.

Contact

F5 Networks, Inc.
Alane Moran
Tel: +1 206/272-6850
Email: a.moran@f5.com

Prepared by Robin Cover for The XML Cover Pages archive. See: "Web Services Interoperability Organization (WS-I)."

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F5 shares WS-I's vision of promoting open standards for Web services interoperability, and is the only networking vendor to offer a fully integrated suite of ITM products that are Web services-enabled via F5's open iControl Application Programming Interface (API). "We're excited to have F5 Networks join WS-I and welcome their participation in the various working groups," said Tom Glover, chairman of WS-I. "The goal of true interoperability can only be achieved with the participation of companies from a diverse set of industries. F5's participation will help to ensure that the deliverables WS-I produce will meet the real-world interoperability needs of businesses." Network devices will play a critical role in web services To successfully deploy Web services and mitigate the risks associated with these new applications, it is crucial that the application and network work in concert to avoid challenges with the availability, scalability, and security of mission-critical deployments. F5 Networks is the only networking vendor that enables applications and web services to 'speak to' and influence the behavior of the underlying global network via F5's open iControl architecture and API; accessible via SOAP/XML and CORBA interfaces to suit a variety of application requirements. Through iControl, each F5 networking device is a Web service provider and consumer offering comprehensive programmatic interfaces exposed via Web Services Description Language (WSDL). Through support for WSDL and SOAP/XML, iControl enables applications to monitor critical network information and combine it with application health and performance to adjust both application and network behavior for optimized scalability, availability, and performance. Further, support for Microsoft .NET and J2EE development platforms enables developers to leverage this API with familiar tools, speeding development and deployment. "F5 is excited to be part of the WS-I whose mission aligns well with F5's iControl architecture and our goal of helping customers deploy a secure, end-to-end, standards-based web services framework," said Dan Matte, vice president of product management and marketing at F5 Networks. "As enterprises embrace web services, it's crucial that developers plan for intelligent integration between web services and the physical network supporting these applications. By supporting SOAP/XML, the common communications standard for web services, F5's networking devices speak the same language that the applications themselves do to ensure they interoperate in harmony." About The Web Services Interoperability Organization The Web Services Interoperability Organization (www.ws-i.org) is an open industry organization chartered to promote Web services interoperability across platforms, applications, and programming languages. The organization brings together a diverse community of Web services leaders to respond to customer needs by providing guidance, recommended practices, and supporting resources for developing interoperable Web services. About F5 Networks F5 Networks is the leader in Internet Traffic Management (ITM) and delivers application aware networks through its open Internet Control Architecture. F5 features the industry's leading set of integrated products and services that manage, control and optimize Internet traffic and content. Our solutions automatically and intelligently deliver the best possible Internet performance and availability for service providers, enterprises and e-businesses. Our products remove bandwidth congestion and optimize the availability and speed of mission-critical Internet servers and applications, including web publishing, content delivery, e-commerce, caching, firewalls and more. Our solutions are widely deployed in large enterprises, the top service providers, financial institutions, government agencies, healthcare, and portals throughout the world. The company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and has offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. F5 Networks is located on the web at www.f5.com. Contact F5 Networks, Inc. Alane Moran Tel: +1 206/272-6850 Email: a.moran@f5.com Prepared by Robin Cover for The XML Cover Pages archive. See: "Web Services Interoperability Organization (WS-I)."