Architecting Web sites for high performance

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Iyengar, Arun | Rosu, Daniela

Affiliations: IBM Research, T.J. Watson Research Center, P.O. Box 704, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, USA

Note: [] Corresponding author: Arun Iyengar, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, 19 Skyline Drive, Hawthorne, NY 10532, USA. Tel.: +1 914 784 6468; Fax: +1 914 784 7455; E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Web site applications are some of the most challenging high-performance applications currently being developed and deployed. The challenges emerge from the specific combination of high variability in workload characteristics and of high performance demands regarding the service level, scalability, availability, and costs. In recent years, a large body of research has addressed the Web site application domain, and a host of innovative software and hardware solutions have been proposed and deployed. This paper is an overview of recent solutions concerning the architectures and the software infrastructures used in building Web site applications. The presentation emphasizes three of the main functions in a complex Web site: the processing of client requests, the control of service levels, and the interaction with remote network caches.

Journal: Scientific Programming, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 75-89, 2002