ConSentry Takes Embedded Approach To LAN Security
ConSentry’s LANShield Switch inspects packets at speeds up to 10 Gbps and includes Layer 7 visibility, user access and threat control, and policy-setting features. The switch supports access control solutions from vendors such as Cisco Systems, Microsoft and Check Point Software Technologies, said Faizel Lakhani, vice president of marketing at ConSentry, Milpitas, Calif.
The LANShield Switch protects the corporate network from emerging threats from contractors and partners using the LAN, as well as mobile workers bringing notebook PCs onto and off of the network, Lakhani said. “By consolidating security and switching into a single box, the cost of securing ports drops significantly,” he said.
Customers are overwhelmed with bolt-on security technologies because the extra layers are difficult to manage, which suggests that integrating multiple security technologies into a single box is a logical approach, said Babak Pasdar, founder and CTO of IGXGlobal, Hackensack, N.J. “An integrated solution is a better alternative because a lot of the bolt-on technologies are good for edge-type scenarios but not necessarily for the core,” he said.
ConSentry’s market strategy involves solution providers with competency in perimeter security, Lakhani said. “These VARs have been roadblocked from getting into the corporate network, but the LANShield gives them an opportunity to look at broader-based deployments,” he said.
The switch presents services opportunities around designing and building rule sets for identity to determine user access policies, Pasdar said. “The solution creates opportunities for us to go in and position our services,” he said.
The LANShield switch comes with 44 10/100/1000 ports with Power over Ethernet, four Gigabit Ethernet ports, and two 10-Gigabit ports, and will be available in the third quarter priced at $14,995.