Cisco Cisco ACE Application Control Engine Module Information Guide

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What market does the Cisco ACE Services Module address?

The Cisco ACE Services Module addresses the market commonly referred to as the application delivery space. Today, these functions include

server load balancing (SLB) and Layer 4–7 switching, advanced application optimization services, and server off-load functions such as SSL

acceleration and TCP resue—all of which and more are supported by the Cisco ACE and its companion solutions such as the Cisco AVS.

How does the Cisco ACE Services Module fit in the Cisco Business Ready Data Center?

It fits in the standard Cisco Catalyst 6500 chassis and can be included in a business ready data center as a multifunction device that

incorporates a variety of services with new levels of application infrastructure control, acceleration performance, application security and

infrastructure simplification. It works hand-in-hand with the new Cisco AVS product for additional Web application acceleration and in-depth

application protocol/payload security.

Can I upgrade my existing service module to a Cisco ACE Services Module?

No. The Cisco ACE Services Module is a new hardware and software solution. However, existing services modules such as the Cisco CSM

can coexist within the same chassis.

Functions

What are the main deployment scenarios for the Cisco ACE?

The Cisco ACE Services Module is typically deployed in a data center in front of multiple server farms and in support of many application

types. It is typically configured with client VLANs that service internal and external user application requests as well as server VLANs that allow

for segregation and protection of server resources.

What are the core features of the Cisco ACE Services Module?

The core features of the Cisco ACE Services Module fall into the following categories: application infrastructure control, application

performance, application security, and infrastructure simplification. In short, the explanations are as follows:

•

Unprecedented control for IT over the deployment and management of application service—By creating virtual partitions and with RBAC,

IT can dramatically improve service velocity, reduce management overhead, and simplify workflow. The device includes multiple management
interfaces, including an XML API, a management GUI, and a rich command-line interface (CLI).

•

Industry-leading performance and scalability of up to 16-Gbps throughput and 345,000 Layer 4 connection setups per second per module to

handle very large data files and rich media and large user bases.

•

Rich levels of application and network security, including bidirectional support for content inspection, SSL encryption and decryption, and

transaction logging for application security forensics.

•

Integration of Layer 2 to 7 functions by working with the controller and input/output ports of the market-leading Catalyst 6500 enterprise-class

switch in the same chassis and consolidation of multiple services within a single processing path yielding greater traffic efficiency, tighter
network design, fewer devices, superior availability and easier management.

The core features represent the following detailed functions:

SLB

•

Predictors—Round robin, Weighted Round Robin, least connections, IP hash, connection watermarks, and content awareness

•

Health probes—Layer 3 ping, Layer 4 User Datagram Protocol (UDP) data, HTTP GET, HTTP HEAD, Domain Name System (DNS), point

of presence (POP), Internet Mail Access Protocol (IMAP), Telnet, Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), TCP, UDP, Echo, Finger, Simple
Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), RADIUS, Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), and HTTP GET over SSL

•

TCP connection management (multiple client TCP connections traverse a single-server TCP connection)

•

HTTP redirection

•

Persistence—Cookie, cookie insert, offset and length, and header insert

•

Redundancy—Active-active, stateful, and active-backup