Keep Networks Safe And Sound

Solution providers have turned to a new wave of safekeeping devices to provide protection for their customers: Unified Threat Management (UTM) security appliances. The new devices include antivirus, intrusion detection and prevention, and firewall capabilities—all in a single hardware appliance. ZyXEL Communications recently released the ZyWall 70 UTM Security Appliance, which not only offers all of these security applications, but with an MSRP of $1,595, solution providers should have no problem selling and integrating the unit into their customer&s infrastructure.

The company&s primary focus for the ZyWall 70 has been the SMB space, particularly where there are no more than 100 users. The device is capable of doing 100 IPSec VPN tunnels simultaneously, allowing for secured connections to anyone dialing in.

The box is neatly packaged and comes wrapped in a red and gray aluminum case. All the ports reside on the front: one single LAN port, two WAN ports and four DMZ ports, making the 1U device easy to manage whether it is in a rack or on a table-top.

An added feature of the box is its bandwidth utilization feature, which provides administrators with the ability to load-balance their network with the two dedicated WAN ports through policy routes. For example, VoIP traffic will always go out on the dedicated T1 line, which is connected to WAN 1; and then the normal Web browsing (HTTP traffic) can go through a cheaper DSL connection on WAN 2.

This particular unit ships with the company&s SecuASIC Turbo Card for AV/IDP, which will increase acceleration of the antivirus and intrusion detection applications with its built-in flow processor when added to the appliance through an expansion slot in the back of the unit.

Since antivirus and intrusion detection and prevention Layer 7 scanning is CPU-intensive, the added turbo card will reduce latency caused by the bottleneck that lies in the WAN uplink. ZyXEL claims that with the turbo card, the ZyWall 70 is capable of achieving 20-Mbps speeds with all of the functionalities enabled.

For already existing ZyWall 70 units that lack the turbo technology, an upgrade will cost $575. The turbo card allows current customers to upgrade to UTM services without having to buy a brand new appliance. Users will not get the antivirus and intrusion detection and prevention functionalities without the turbo card.

One particular factor that stood out when deploying this unit was the ease of use and user-friendly design. From a technical perspective, configuring the device through the Web GUI was simple to manage.

The appliance uses Kaspersky Lab&s antivirus solution, a well-known utility often found in the enterprise-level space. Kaspersky Lab supports one of the largest collections of virus definitions in the world with over 120,000 records and counting. The company claims to release up to 20 new antivirus signatures per week.

Through the Web GUI, administrators have the option to update how often signatures are sent to the box. Updated signatures can be scheduled as frequently as every hour. Mailshell is the antispam solution. It can process more than a million filter checks in a fraction of a second, which consists of thousands of algorithms. The Mailshell SpamCompiler Engine checks for spam and then rates it based on thresholds set by the administrator in the GUI. Mailshell provides both outbound and inbound monitoring.

Content filtering is done by Blue Coat Systems. The company&s database of Web site ratings is extensive, and the most beneficial feature of the service is that the application is able to integrate inappropriate Web sites on the fly.

The appliance is also wireless-ready and is capable of hosting a wireless network through the expansion slot in the rear of the box. The wireless card must be a current ZyXEL card as the drivers are written and tested under the company&s infrastructure.

However, if a user decides to institute a wireless LAN, the turbo card cannot be used in conjunction with the box because it leaves the network without antivirus or intrusion detection and prevention protection. Those who currently wish to use those features and wireless will now be required to install an access point on their LAN. Deploying in this manner allows for wireless connection while also being protected by the security features with the turbo card.

One minor gripe: The device does not support Power over Ethernet.

Currently, ZyXEL has about 450 active partners. It is comprised of three tiers: Silver, Gold and Diamond. Partner status is determined heavily by revenue. For example, diamond status requires over $100K in revenue sales.

The company offers free lifetime technical support, as well as lifetime firmware upgrades, as long as the products are not discontinued.

Solution providers can take advantage of the many revenue opportunities due to all of the different applications. Depending on the product, margins can range from 10 percent to 45 percent.