The End Of Security Appliances As We Know It?
Astaro is looking to combine the benefits of low-cost virtualized hardware with its security gateway software to offer a "virtual appliance."
Astaro Security Gateway for VMware is a software offering optimized to run on a VMware virtual machine. To build this offering, Astaro has migrated its appliance-specific operating system (a security hardened version of Linux) and software, over to a virtual hard drive (VHD).
The benefits of virtualization are many. Administrators can make the appliance portable because the VHD can be copied to another system. That capability also lends itself to backup and disaster-recovery chores; administrators can keep copies of the virtual appliance off-site.
Virtualization can be rolled back to a previous iteration if an update goes wrong or another problem occurs because administrators can use VMware's snapshot technology to create backup points for the Astaro virtual appliance.
Virtualization also brings better control to upgraders; for example, an increase in hard-drive capacity entails little more than expanding the VHD, while performance can be increased by simply moving the VHD to a faster machine. All of those elements help to eliminate the need for proprietary hardware, while also reducing overall costs. Smaller sites can use the product on an existing server by creating a virtual machine on that server and installing Astaro's gateway.
Astaro Security Gateway for VMware includes all of the expected security goodies. Solution providers will find a stateful packet inspection (SPI) firewall, proxy server, VPN and intrusion protection. Antispyware, content filtering, antivirus and antispam also are available options for the product, allowing administrators to pick and choose which security solutions they need.
Two versions of the virtual appliance are offered: one optimized for VMware ESX server and another for all VMware virtual machines. CRN Test Center engineers installed the standard version of the gateway on a dual-core system running Windows XP Pro and VMware workstation. Installation was simple, consisting solely of copying an image file to the target system and then using VMware to load the image.
After the virtual appliance boots, a login screen is offered via a command line. After some simple changes to the virtual network cards, all further installation and management chores are completed via an HTTPS browser session.
By pointing the browser at the default IP address, installers are presented with the Web front end of the product: WebAdmin. One of the first chores is to install a license, which basically consists of importing a file from the host operating system into the virtual appliance. The licensing file controls what sub products are available, along with user counts and options.
After initial setup, the virtual appliance is like any other appliance and solution providers will find that each of the included modules follow a common interface, thereby reducing the learning curve. For more complex implementations, the 438-page user manual covers most any conceivable situation.
The appliance's browser-based WebAdmin console offers elegant simplicity, yet readily exposes features via a convenient drill-down interface. Wizards exist to quickly deploy associated features, while a robust help system paces administrators through the more intricate security processes. The WebAdmin console is part of Astaro's unified management paradigm, where all reporting, updating and management functionality is powered by a single console, further easing use of the system.
A robust feature set combined with previously unavailable flexibility will ensure Astaro's Security Gateway for VMware's position in the appliance market.
Prospective partners will be impressed with the company's channel programs. Astaro sells more than 90 percent of its products through its partner base of about 300 solution providers.
Authorized partners have an annual minimum sales requirement of $2,500; Premier partners focus on enterprise accounts and have a yearly sales goal of $200,000; Preferred partners have a sales commitment of $50,000; and Certified partners have access to a dedicated Web portal, beta-testing programs, MDF funds and other marketing support.
Astaro also offers free training and certification, promotional spifs, lead generation and free demo units.
