FalconStor Integrates Virus Scanning Into IPStor Appliance

The company is now offering Trend Micro's antivirus software as an option for its IPStor appliance, which manages both SAN and NAS data over IP networks on Solaris and Linux platforms, said Jon Greene, director of product management at FalconStor, based here.

The virus-scanning feature was implemented for use with NAS-based data because such data is stored in a file format, making it easier to scan than block format data stored on a SAN, Greene said. As such, it allows a central point of control for managing the NAS data, he said.

The feature also could be implemented for SAN-based data, but it would be a much more complicated feature and would require agents on the individual servers connected to the SAN, Greene said.

"By putting Trend Micro on the IPStor appliance, customers have one place to update, one place to manage," he said.

Jeff Manuszak, network engineer at Chi, a Warrensville Heights, Ohio-based solution provider and FalconStor reseller, said he expects the Trend Micro option to be very useful in centralizing the virus scanning of NAS-based files.

Such data also could be protected if all clients with access to the data had up-to-date virus protection, but that is difficult,especially with mobile PC users, Manuszak said. Putting the antivirus capability on servers is easier to manage, but still not fool-proof, he said.

Instead, integrating the antivirus software with the IPStor appliance is an easier-to-manage and more efficient way to scan the files, Manuszak said. In addition to central management of the virus-scanning capabilities, it is easier to quarantine infected files through a single appliance, he said.

"If you don't feel confident that every single machine has the most up-to-date antivirus software all the time, it's easier to have central control," Manuszak said.

Chi routinely puts several terabytes of NAS-based data behind IPStor, so the price is not a concern, Manuszak said. However, for companies with 300 Gbytes or less of NAS data, an alternative to an IPStor appliance could be a separate server with antivirus capability that could scan the files during off-peak hours, he said.

Alliance Technology Group, a Hanover, Md.-based solution provider, did not have much of a NAS business until it recently started working with FalconStor, said Pat Edwards, vice president of sales at the solution provider. The new antivirus capability could help boost sales, he said.

"Security patches can be a challenge at the customer site, especially in the amount of work needed to make sure all servers are up to date," Edwards said. "So this is a real plus for IPStor. We can even lead with that,ask the customer about their interest in NAS, and say, 'By the way, it can handle anti-virus security as well.' "

Customers are not always interested in buying new NAS equipment, Edwards said. "But they are interested in carving part of their existing SAN disks to use as NAS, and the IPStor appliance would give both centrally managed storage and centrally managed security."

The Trend Micro option for the IPStor appliance is available now, with prices starting at about $5,000, depending on platform and number of processors in use, Greene said.

In addition to the new antivirus feature, the IPStor appliance still offers optional snapshot technology along with rapid failover and fail-back capabilities, according to FalconStor.