Rackspace’s intrusion detection system is the first level of the company’s three-tiered security system called PrevenTier, launched in August of last year. PrevenTier, which is capable of handling 30 million packets per second, uses Rackspace’s patented technology to examine incoming packets for signs of malicious activity, analyzing source and destination IP addresses, protocol information, flow information and traffic volume. PrevenTier also deploys technology from Arbor Networks (arbornetworks.com) and Riverhead Networks (riverheadnetworks.com) to detect and remove malicious traffic while leaving legitimate traffic to flow unimpeded.
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“Monitoring and defending our server base from security threats is not an easy task, and we discovered that there simply was not a solution out there that could get the job done well enough to truly protect our network and our customers,” says Paul Froutan, vice president of engineering for Rackspace Managed Hosting. “We developed our own intrusion detection and response solution as one of the technology tools that allows us to make good on our promise of Fanatical Support. Our customers feel more secure knowing that the network is protected by a patented technology, identifying and reacting to the malicious traffic, and then utilizing other tools to filter it out.”
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Rackspace said that it has made several upgrades to its intrusion detection system since filing for the patent.
