Version 3.0 Adds Key New Features

Version 3.0 adds three very significant enhancements to the ScaleOut StateServer (SOSS) product line. First, the GeoServer™ option extends distributed caching across multiple, geographically distributed data centers so that they can share fast-changing workloads and stay fully protected against site-wide failures. Second, version 3.0 adds an internal cache for deserialized .NET objects that greatly boosts read performance and reduces CPU and networking overheads. Finally, version 3.0, introduces significantly enhanced support for running client applications on networked computers that connect to a remote SOSS distributed cache.

These new features are described in more detail below.

ScaleOut GeoServer Option

The GeoServer option extends ScaleOut Software's distributed caching across multiple, geographically distributed data centers by replicating stored objects between ScaleOut StateServer caches running on server farms at different sites. This feature, which is licensed separately from ScaleOut StateServer, lets up to eight data centers protect against loss of data due to a site-wide outage. GeoServer's capabilities help IT managers meet the stringent performance and uptime needs of high-end Web sites and other mission-critical applications.

Unlike most replication solutions, GeoServer uses scalable and highly available connections that take full advantage of all servers in each farm. To maximize performance and availability, all servers within both the local and remote StateServer farms participate in data replication. As servers are added or removed at each farm, GeoServer automatically reconfigures its network connections to maintain the best possible replication performance without the need for manual intervention.

ScaleOut GeoServer makes use of a site's existing virtual private network or other secure communications channel.

.NET Cache for Deserialized Data

Version 3.0 also adds an important new performance enhancement that dramatically speeds up data access by applications. The .NET cache holds recently accessed objects (both session and API-generated) from SOSS's distributed cache as deserialized data. The .NET cache avoids the need to repeatedly read and deserialize the same data from SOSS's distributed cache if it has not changed since the last access. This boosts overall access performance by dramatically reducing the response time for subsequent reads. The .NET cache also reduces the networking overhead to retrieve objects from the distributed cache, and it reduces the CPU usage required to copy and deserialize data.

The .NET cache reduces SOSS's response times well beyond that of other "out-of-process" stores and enables it to approach the performance of "in-process" data access. For example, the read response time for a 100KB dataset stored within an ASP.NET session object has been measured at more than five times faster than the other out-of-process storage alternatives, including both Microsoft StateServer and SQL Server.

The size of the .NET cache is configurable, and objects are automatically replaced on a least recently used basis when the cache is full. Objects optionally can be specified as non-cacheable so that they will not take up space in the cache if it is known that they will not be accessed again.

Remote Client Option

ScaleOut StateServer, version 3.0, introduces significantly enhanced support for running client applications on networked computers that connect to a remote SOSS distributed cache. In normal usage, client applications run on a server within the SOSS farm and connect to the server's local SOSS service process. With the Remote Client option, client applications can run on a different server farm or on other networked computers. A key advantage of using SOSS's Remote Client option is that it lets the user optionally dedicate a server farm to hosting the SOSS distributed cache. This offloads CPU and networking overheads from other server farms and allows the SOSS farm to be optimized for hosting a distributed cache.

SOSS's Remote Client option provides the client application with both high availability and scalable performance. Once the remote client has been configured with a list of gateway addresses for the SOSS servers, it automatically connects to the SOSS distributed cache even if one or more servers is offline. If an SOSS server should fail or be taken offline, the client application and management tools automatically re-establish a connection as necessary to other SOSS servers in the distributed cache. Likewise, if a new SOSS server is added, the remote client automatically detects the new server and communicates with it.

The Remote Client option's client libraries maintain load-balancing information obtained from the SOSS cache so that access requests are directly sent to the SOSS servers that store the requested objects. This avoids extra "hops" to access or deliver objects to the appropriate SOSS servers, and it ensures that the access load is evenly spread across the distributed cache without the need for an additional load-balancer.

Version 3.0 remote client support is licensed separately from SOSS.

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