Enterasys Adds Security to Data Center Solutions

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Enterasys Adds Security to Data Center Solutions
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Rawlson O’Neil King, theWHIR.com
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April 7, 2004 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY
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REVIEW) — The data center and the information within are most critical
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assets to a Web hosting firm. A data center represents the public
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Internet presence of all a host’s clients as well as the engine behind
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its secured customer support operations. As a network scales to
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accommodate large numbers of dedicated server connections as well
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high-speed server and backbone ports, bandwidth has to be a top
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priority, but not the only priority.
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With so much riding on the network, other
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critical features and technologies must be taken into account,
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including, among other things, built-in fault tolerance, power and
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system redundancy, policy-based management, Layer 2-7 switching/routing
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support, traffic filtering and access control services, rate limiting,
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multi-frame classification and intrusion detection.
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Enterasys Networks (enterasys.com)
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provides intelligent infrastructure solutions allowing enterprise
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customers to ensure that these critical features and technologies are
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addressed. The company’s value proposition is providing return on
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investment to enterprises through the deployment of leading technology
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and architecture. To that end, the company offers a suite of four
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solutions specifically designed to enhance data center performance.
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Dragon is the company’s host- and
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network-based intrusion defense system. Enterasys Dragon secures a
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network by providing high-speed sensors to detect and respond to
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suspicious activity, forensic data to determine the impact of network
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attacks, and the scalability to deploy and manage large numbers of
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sensors without negatively impacting the network’s operation.
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With the combined power of its network
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sensor, host sensor and enterprise management server, Dragon provides
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an integrated solution for detecting and stopping misuse and attacks
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across the entire IT infrastructure. It is one of the only intrusion
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defense systems to combine events on the network with those on the
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hosts, firewalls, routers, switches, other intrusion defense systems
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and applications, providing complete detection for large environments.
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With comprehensive analysis and real-time monitoring capabilities,
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Dragon delivers a higher level of defense to business-critical IT
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infrastructures.
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Enterasys’ Matrix switches expand
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bandwidth and deliver wire-speed performance to gigabit rates. Matrix
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also prioritizes business-critical applications such as streaming
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video, ERP, voice over IP, and e-commerce, using advanced QoS features.
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The key function of the switch, however, is security. Most networks
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provide full access and then limit users to specific servers. In a
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secure network, users are not allowed access until they provide user
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credentials, typically a name and password. Matrix switches offer
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features designed to establish safeguards preventing unauthorized
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network access. User-based security and authentication are provided via
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standards-based IEEE 802.1X user authentication.
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The firm’s NetSight Atlas is a scalable
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configuration and management solution designed to provide advanced
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configuration, monitoring and control of network devices within a data
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center. NetSight however moves beyond simple device control, through
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its business and policy management focus. In addition, NetSight
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provides application-aware bandwidth management with quality of service
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and prioritization, ensuring that everyone, including corporate users
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and online customers, gets the bandwidth they need when they need it.
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Finally, Enterasys’ X-Pedition solution
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provides high-performance routing. The solution supports all critical
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applications with wire-speed performance, precision control of
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application services and integrated network management. It assures high
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availability of internal and external networks, resulting in on-demand
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access to business-critical Web content, ERP applications,
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voice/video/data, e-commerce and more. In addition to Layer 2 switching
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and wire-speed full-function routing, the X-Pedition’s ability to
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switch Layer 4 application flows extends its functionality well beyond
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the boundaries of traditional routers. This advanced capability
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provides pinpoint control of network traffic through extensive
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security, port-level accounting and comprehensive Quality of Service
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(QoS), all at the application level, and all without sacrificing
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wire-speed performance.
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These Enterasys products are notably
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different from its competitors since they aim to integrate a higher
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level of intelligence, such as security features, into the physical
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networking hardware.
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Hosting firms can benefit from these
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offerings by integrating them into enterprise offerings or rolling
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their usage into their outsourced managed security services. Enterasys
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has been attempting to make its offering more appealing by launching a
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new partner program. The company also recently entered into a strategic
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alliance with Lucent Technologies (lucent.com) to deliver its secure data center network solutions.
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As part of the alliance, the two
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companies will offer customers reliable network security assessment and
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deployment services, and security infrastructure solutions that will
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enable enterprises to protect their networks from security intrusions
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and other vulnerabilities. The solutions, which leverage the
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capabilities of the security practice at Lucent, are designed to help
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enterprise customers with multi-vendor wireless and wireline networks
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withstand security threats, while safeguarding productivity and network
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uptime.
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“Our alliance with Lucent represents a
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significant opportunity to expand our market reach and provide enhanced
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Secure Networks solutions to enterprise customers worldwide,” said Mark
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Aslett, president of Enterasys. “As we announce our new relationship,
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we’re pleased to work with Lucent Worldwide Services to reach out to
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new and existing customers to enable them to maintain critical business
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continuity.”
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