In this article, we outline the principles and best practices for implementing an application delivery infrastructure. Prior to reading the rest of this article, it is a good idea to revisit the eight tenets of flexible computing, which are:
- Computing elements are separated into modular building blocks
- Desktops and applications are made available separately, as independent on-demand services
- Desktop images are minimized to just those required to satisfy hardware variations
- Desktops and applications are delivered dynamically to their points of consumption and use
- Applications execute in safe containers, eliminating application conflicts
- End-users are provided with their own personalized computing environments
- End-users have the freedom to choose their computing devices
- The unique digital personality of each end-user is fully supported and managed
To create an IT infrastructure that supports these tenets, we need to understand the technological trends that organization are required to adopt that affect the approach taken in implementing an ADI, and require a fundamental change in the way IT professionals view application delivery infrastructure. These vital technological trends are:
- Centralization. Placing the appropriate IT infrastructure under your direct control, to apply the technologies that will make the infrastructure flexible.
- Virtualization. Removing the physical links between IT platform elements, to create the dynamic building blocks of application delivery
- Optimization. Ensuring that the performance of every delivery session is optimized for both the application being delivered and the end-user scenario.
- Monitoring. Enabling visibility into the application delivery experience from the end-user's perspective, to make informed decisions about tuning the infrastructure for best performance. The following sections are dedicated to explaining these trends, and describing the associated principles that should be taken into consideration.
