F5 Announces Second Annual iRules™ Contest To Highlight Innovative Application Delivery Networking Solutions

Published 10th October 2006

Popular contest returns to reward the most inventive and eye-catching uses of F5’s iRules to solve application delivery challenges...

SEATTLE, OCTOBER 10, 2006 – F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV), the global leader in Application Delivery Networking, today announced its second annual DevCentral iRules™ contest, seeking out the most outstanding business solutions created with F5’s unique and powerful iRules. The “iRule. Do You?” contest gives application architects and developers, systems engineers, and network professionals the opportunity to showcase their iRules expertise and share best practices with others building innovative application delivery solutions based on F5’s acclaimed BIG-IP® product family. The contest will commence October 11, 2006 at 9 a.m. PDT, and remain open for entries through 5 p.m. PST, November 17, 2006.

Following the contest, award-winning and honorable mention iRules will be posted to DevCentral, F5’s collaborative online community. (To view a showcase from last year, click here or visit devcentral.f5.com.) With over 11,000 members worldwide—a group that has more than tripled in size since last year’s contest—DevCentral provides members with a place to learn about iRules, engage in peer-to-peer discussions, download free code samples, and support community-driven innovation. And because DevCentral is available to the public, all F5 customers and partners can benefit from the collective knowledge of over 11,000 thought leaders to address both common and uncommon IT challenges.

Since its introduction in 2004, iRules has experienced widespread adoption by F5 customers, who use them in a number of ways to streamline their networks’ ability to support a variety of application requirements. Utilizing F5’s exclusive and unique TMOS architecture, iRules provides unparalleled flexibility for organizations wishing to solve complex application delivery challenges spanning virtually any IP application type or protocol. With the recent introduction of F5’s iRule Editor, a freely available tool, iRules are now easier than ever to create and deploy in any IT environment.

“Throughout the last two years, DevCentral and iRules have become increasingly significant components of Application Delivery Networking,” said Erik Giesa, Vice President of Product Management and Marketing at F5 Networks. “By enabling customers to customize granular parameters, as well as collaborate with one another, F5 is helping foster application-fluent network environments that maximize the effectiveness of deployments by establishing a worldwide community of iRules experts. Simultaneously, we continue to reach out to existing and potential customers in a variety of ways on DevCentral, providing unparalleled F5 resources though wikis, discussion forums, tutorials, free samples, and DevCentral TV video clips featuring tips and best practices. To meet the demand for our growing audience, these clips are now available on iTunes® and Yahoo!® Podcasts as well.”

“DevCentral and iRules continue to be notable differentiators for F5,” said Zeus Kerravala, Vice President with Yankee Group. “In conjunction with their product suite, implementing iRules allows F5 users to enhance the performance and malleability of their IP applications and IT environments. With the ability to finely and broadly tune individual policies, enterprises can capitalize on their application and network investments with targeted efficiency.”

On December 12, 2006, prizes will be awarded to the top three entries in both customer and F5-affiliated reseller categories. Judging will be conducted by an expert panel comprised of industry leaders including:

Zeus Kerravala, Yankee Group
Abner Germanow, IDC
Jason Bloomberg, ZapThink
Ronald Schmelzer, ZapThink
Jason Rahm, 2005 iRule Contest Grand Prize Winner
The F5 DevCentral team

All contestants will receive a limited edition iRule t-shirt for their submission. For complete contest details, or to submit one or more iRules, simply visit http://devcentral.f5.com. Participation requires free F5 DevCentral registration.