Heading off Problems with Application Delivery in an Era of AI

Static Routing Policies: Relying on unchanging routing rules fails to account for real-time network conditions, leading to inefficient resource utilization and potential bottlenecks. And we all know that bottlenecks introduce latency, which makes users unhappy. So, more modern approaches to routing should be used that incorporate an understanding of congestion and can change routes when necessary. I mean, if gamers know how to use tools to get rid of lag, then professionals can certainly do so as well.

Lack of Dynamic Decision-Making: Without adaptive mechanisms to respond to current server health and network congestion, traffic may be directed to overburdened or failing resources, causing delays and reduced availability. Again, angry users! This one goes with the first one because no single switch or router has visibility into the bigger picture. There's got to be something—SDN, whatever—that’s overseeing traffic and can identify when there’s a problem—and do something about it.

Insufficient Load-Balancing Algorithms: Poorly designed load-balancing strategies can result in uneven distribution of traffic, with some servers overwhelmed while others remain underutilized, impacting both performance and scalability. This one is typically the hardest to get right because it requires matching algorithms with the application to which traffic is distributed. At a minimum, a little testing here wouldn't hurt.

Inadequate Health Checks: Failing to implement robust health monitoring means traffic might be sent to unresponsive or degraded servers, leading to increased latency and potential downtime. Oh, observability save us! Network responsiveness is not an indicator of application health. Repeat after me, network responsiveness…You get the picture. As with load-balancing algorithm choices, a little testing and ensuring you're measuring the metrics that matter will go a long way toward keeping users happy.

Absence of Programmable Infrastructure: Without programmable application delivery controllers (ADCs), it's challenging to customize traffic steering to align with specific application requirements, hindering responsiveness to dynamic conditions. This one is really important, more so than you might think. That’s because there are so many legacy, traditional, and bespoke applications out there that just choosing an algorithm may not be enough to address performance and delivery problems. Scaling patterns exist: X-axis scaling uses techniques like clustering and cloning, Y-axis scaling uses routing based on identifiable variables, and Z-axis scaling uses sharding. These patterns aren't about algorithms, and they pair up with application architectures to ensure performance and scale. But Y- and Z-axis scaling requires programmable infrastructure. So it’s kind of really super important to have.