Feature Articles Archive

  • As you may have heard, the SSL certificate vendor Comodo had a security breach recently which allowed a hacker to get valid, signed certificates for a number of websites including...

    OCSP And You

    As you may have heard, the SSL certificate vendor Comodo had a security breach recently which allowed a hacker to get valid, signed certificates for a number of websites including...

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  • One of the biggest differentiators in load balancing is whether or not the product has the ability to manipulate traffic using application logic, not just direct traffic. The best known...

    iRules: Cold Dead Hands

    One of the biggest differentiators in load balancing is whether or not the product has the ability to manipulate traffic using application logic, not just direct traffic. The best known...

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  • I’m a big fan of virtualization.  There’s a lot to like about it, including consolidation (getting rid of space-heater servers that do nothing running 1% CPU and sucking up electricity...

    Achilles Heal for Virtual Load Balancers: SSL

    I’m a big fan of virtualization.  There’s a lot to like about it, including consolidation (getting rid of space-heater servers that do nothing running 1% CPU and sucking up electricity...

    Continue Reading...

  • SSL performance is a tricky thing to measure.  There are a lot of different aspects to consider, and on top of that different vendors use slightly different definitions for the...

    CPS versus TPS: How to Measure SSL Performance

    SSL performance is a tricky thing to measure.  There are a lot of different aspects to consider, and on top of that different vendors use slightly different definitions for the...

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  • Ah, SSL.  Everyone uses it, but to most people it’s a confusing mess of protocols and configurations.   What’s worse is that even if dealing with SSL is part of...

    3 Most Common SSL Problems

    Ah, SSL.  Everyone uses it, but to most people it’s a confusing mess of protocols and configurations.   What’s worse is that even if dealing with SSL is part of...

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  • One of the most important technologies used in the modern Internet is the TLS/SSL protocol (typically called just SSL, but that’s a whole different article).  The two benefits that TLS/SSL...

    SSL: Who Do You Trust?

    One of the most important technologies used in the modern Internet is the TLS/SSL protocol (typically called just SSL, but that’s a whole different article).  The two benefits that TLS/SSL...

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  • Wondering WTF happened?  Wondering why we seemed to have gone back in time?  Well, the explanation is rather simple. I’m an idiot. I migrated from one hosting system to another. ...

    Tony, You Idiot

    Wondering WTF happened?  Wondering why we seemed to have gone back in time?  Well, the explanation is rather simple. I’m an idiot. I migrated from one hosting system to another. ...

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  • Ok, I’m not really a Tolkin fan (you dare speak such heresy! -ed), but I couldn’t resist the nerd reference.  Especially from a guy with a license plate that says...

    One Arm, One Network, To Rule Them All

    Ok, I’m not really a Tolkin fan (you dare speak such heresy! -ed), but I couldn’t resist the nerd reference.  Especially from a guy with a license plate that says...

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  • In the load balancing world, many vendors have the concept of “sorry servers”, or “backup server farms/pools”.  Essentially, if most or all of your primary servers are down, traffic is...

    Your Epic Fail: Fast or Slow?

    In the load balancing world, many vendors have the concept of “sorry servers”, or “backup server farms/pools”.  Essentially, if most or all of your primary servers are down, traffic is...

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  • If there’s one thing that made load balancing and web servers in general “click” with me, and make it much simpler to troubleshoot, it’s this:  See the world like a...

    HTTP Message: The PDU of Layer 7

    If there’s one thing that made load balancing and web servers in general “click” with me, and make it much simpler to troubleshoot, it’s this:  See the world like a...

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