AppExpert policy expression evaluator

Much has been talked about the NetScaler AppExpert visual policy builder, which makes the task of creating policies, for various feature actions - like caching, rewrite, responder etc, a very simple task. As easy as it is to create policies on NetScaler, without necessarily scripting anything, and adding to the overall management complexity of the appliances, we are continually looking for ways to improve upon the richness provided within the graphical configuration utility, and further simplify the overall administrative experience. One such add-on, developed and provided on NS OS versions 9.1, and on the more recent builds of 9.0, is the advanced expression evaluator. This is a tool that can be invoked either independently or from within the context of a policy expression being created, and essentially provides the administrators a very quick and easy way of validating their expression, and even sampling the expression's functioning with sample data.

In the attached video, i will be taking you through the creation of a few simple policy expression, and using the expression evaluator to check for the validity of the expressions, and also use it to understand how the expression is evaluated for traffic passing through the system. The tool provides some built-in sample requests and responses, and it is also possible to paste from standard header capture tools and plugins for application specific requests and responses. You will see through the video, both the power of the visual policy builder, that helps create the policy expression with inline documentation, as well as the ability to quickly check the evaluation of those policy expressions on actual traffic that might pass through the system.

The tool aims to eliminate any expression errors at config time, and also increase the evaluation awareness, so users can build the best expressions for their environments, and get the most out of the rich appexpert policy framework on the NetScaler.

Click here  to view the video