Radware Beefs Up Switch Line

The Mahwah, N.J.-based vendor Tuesday plans to introduce Web Server Director (WSD) 8.0, the latest version of its application switch, which combines load-balancing, security and business-continuity features into a single 1U system, said Doron Abrahami, senior marketing analyst at Radware.

"It ensures that whatever resources you have, you are using them in an optimal way," Abrahami said.

On the security front, WSD includes a knowledge base of more than 1,000 attack signatures, or patterns used to detect viruses, Trojan horses or attempts to breach a network by exploiting configuration errors.

With the new version, users have more control over which signatures are used in a security monitor. The upgrade also adds the ability for users to enter signatures themselves and offers expanded configuration and reporting capabilities around denial-of-service attacks.

WSD 8.0 also adds SSL back-end encryption with Layer 7 switching, which enables the system to decrypt transactions, look deep into the packets for security and routing purposes, then re-encrypt the transaction at a lower level so it is still protected as it completes its path through the network, Abrahami said.

The enhancements make an already attractive product even more appealing, said Jeff Bewley, managing partner at NetBriar, a security solution provider based in Tulsa, Okla.

"The security features in WSD started out as icing, but now [the switch] can stand alone as a security device," Bewley said.

The new version also adds multihoming capabilities, which, when combined with WSD's global redirection features, give users the ability to load-balance traffic simultaneously across data centers and across multiple ISP connections.

Pricing for WSD 8.0, scheduled for general availability within two weeks, ranges from $8,995 to $46,000.