Scaling internet infrastructure was a significant challenge before concepts like cloud computing, DevOps, and SDN emerged. In the late 1990s, Alteon Networks revolutionized the industry with some of the first gigabit Ethernet switches and hardware-based load balancers. These devices, equipped with failover capabilities, filtering, and various layer 3/4 functionalities, became the backbone of many major web platforms of the time.
The Alteon load balancer stood out as a unique solution in the pre-standard gigabit Ethernet era. While the name is now closely associated with load balancing, Alteon was a pioneer in NIC and switch innovation throughout the 1990s. As John Hayes described it, networking at the time was as groundbreaking as AI is today.
Experience the thrill of that era by watching this brilliantly crafted video!