ArrowPoint Helps iWant.com Grant Users' Wishes for a Fast, Reliable Web Site.Business/Technology Editors ACTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 2, 2000 ArrowPoint Content Smart(TM) Web Switches direct content requests to specific servers based on URLs and cookies ArrowPoint Communications today announced its Web switches are boosting content delivery and site performance for hundreds of thousands of page users on iWant.com, an online service that connects businesses with a community of qualified buyers. iWant.com in February launched a comprehensively re-designed site with a new look and feel and several new features that take advantage of ArrowPoint's content intelligence for maximizing site performance. Tapped for PC Magazine's "Top 100 Web sites" just months after its launch, iWant.com brings together individuals looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. specific items with sellers or stores who have what they're looking for. Once the two parties connect, they can discuss final price and shipping arrangements privately via the site. To manage user traffic across its site, iWant.com front ends its bank of five servers with ArrowPoint's CS-100 Content Smart Web Switch A Web switch from ArrowPoint Communications, Inc., Westford, MA, that routes traffic based on the URL of the request and an extensive database of rules. Using an ATM switch as its foundation, it analyzes the HTTP request and sets up a flow through the switch to the appropriate output port . ArrowPoint's Web switch optimizes server capacity by distributing content requests among iWant.com's Web servers, partitioning authorization and billing, static and dynamic content among them. This ensures the constant flow of changing content from sellers posting "wants" and buyers posting "leads" doesn't slow the site's performance despite heavy traffic. "Our fundamental premise is a buyer community and a seller platform, so we need to have a better experience for our users than a lot of other sites out there," said Peter Spellman, iWant.com's chief technology officer. "We see the CS-100's ability to route content based not on Internet protocol See Internet and TCP/IP. (networking) Internet Protocol - (IP) The network layer for the TCP/IP protocol suite widely used on Ethernet networks, defined in STD 5, RFC 791. IP is a connectionless, best-effort packet switching protocol. (IP) addresses alone, but on Layer 5 protocols at near wire speed as key to our current and future growth." "Layer 5" load balancing The fine tuning of a computer system, network or disk subsystem in order to more evenly distribute the data and/or processing across available resources. For example, in clustering, load balancing might distribute the incoming transactions evenly to all servers, or it might redirect them means the ability to read uniform resource locator See URL. (World-Wide Web) Uniform Resource Locator - (URL, previously "Universal") A standard way of specifying the location of an object, typically a web page, on the Internet. Other types of object are described below. (URL URL in full Uniform Resource Locator Address of a resource on the Internet. The resource can be any type of file stored on a server, such as a Web page, a text file, a graphics file, or an application program. ) and cookie data to direct content requests to servers. Today, only ArrowPoint's Web switches can direct Web traffic based on full visibility of lengthy URLs, host tags, and cookies, no matter where in the HTTP header A record sent by clients and servers communicating with each other via the HTTP protocol. The header is a stream of text that may be sent without any content following it or with the content that it describes. packet they are embedded. Competing solutions use IP addresses alone or very limited URL or cookie information, to make load-balancing decisions. This "content blind" approach stunts Web site architects' efforts to maximize server capacity, personalize content and prioritize content delivery as well as requests and transactions by high-value customers. Waste not iWant not Maximizing available bandwidth, personalizing its site and dividing content among particular servers are all key for iWant.com. In order to differentiate itself from its competition, iWant.com needed a fast, efficient, reliable and personalized Web environment that is more interactive than an online auction or simple storefront. Because it is a constantly changing virtual community, consisting mostly of buyers and sellers' online postings, iWant.com contains a large amount of processor-intensive, non-cacheable dynamic content. Essentially, every user login can change the site's complexion. By directing dynamic content sessions to a designated server, the ArrowPoint Web switch frees up bandwidth and better utilizes all of iWant.com's servers, including those delivering static hypertext transfer protocol See HTTP. (protocol) Hypertext Transfer Protocol - (HTTP) The client-server TCP/IP protocol used on the World-Wide Web for the exchange of HTML documents. It conventionally uses port 80. Latest version: HTTP 1.1, defined in RFC 2068, as of May 1997. (HTTP HTTP in full HyperText Transfer Protocol Standard application-level protocol used for exchanging files on the World Wide Web. HTTP runs on top of the TCP/IP protocol. ) or secure socket layer (SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) The leading security protocol on the Internet. Developed by Netscape, SSL is widely used to do two things: to validate the identity of a Web site and to create an encrypted connection for sending credit card and other personal data. ) authorization content. In addition, iWant.com is in the process of personalizing the site so that instead of going through the login procedure, users automatically receive a portal-like page customized for them. "As iWant.com designs its newer and more advanced features, such as personalization and automated billing, it plans to take even fuller advantage of the CS-100's ability to parse content requests by URL and cookie," Spellman said. "ArrowPoint gives iWant.com's customers a smooth-running, high-performance environment, where constantly changing content from buyers and sellers is the dominant feature," said Cheng Wu Cheng Wu (程武; b. 201) was an officer under the Cao Wei of the Three Kingdoms period in China. Cheng Wu was the son of Cheng Yu. Cheng Wu served under Xiahou Mao when fighting against the army under Shu, then having Xiahou Mao surround and then attack Zhao Yun as to , ArrowPoint CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. . "Additionally, ArrowPoint gives iWant.com the ability to personalize the site for many users, and the assurance its administrators need in managing site traffic so that they can turn their attention to the other myriad challenges that confront any Web startup." About iWant.com Based in Burlington, Massachusetts Burlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 22,876 at the 2000 census. History Burlington was first settled in 1641 and was officially incorporated on February 28, 1799. , iWant.com is one of the world's first online buyers communities. iWant.com's mission is to initiate one-to-one dialogues between buyers and sellers. This is not an automated response system, nor is this merely referrals to Web sites. In the age-old tradition of the vibrant marketplace, iWant.com is the starting point Noun 1. starting point - earliest limiting point terminus a quo commencement, get-go, offset, outset, showtime, starting time, beginning, start, kickoff, first - the time at which something is supposed to begin; "they got an early start"; "she knew from the for buyers and sellers to engage in a two-way, person-to-person selling process, allowing them to connect, to converse, and to initiate a business relationship. For more information, visit www.iwant.com. About ArrowPoint Communications ArrowPoint provides intelligent Web switches that help customers deploy global networks optimized for e-commerce transactions and Web content delivery. Based on patented "content switching" technology, ArrowPoint solutions are used by companies engaged in electronic commerce, value-added Web and application hosting services, Web publishing, and broadband content services. The company is headquartered in Acton, Mass., with regional offices in Canada, the United Kingdom and Singapore. For more information, call 978.206.3000 or visit the company Web site at www.arrowpoint.com. |
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