Symantec Unveils New Firewall, Add-On For Windows And Solaris

The appliance, called Symantec Enterprise Firewall 8.0, provides advanced deep-packet inspection at the application layer to guard customer networks from complex attacks. It can scale to speeds in excess of 1.5 Gbps, depending on system configuration.

Greg Gotta, vice president of gateway and network security at the Cupertino, Calif.-based company, said that recent Internet threats necessitate an appliance with firewall technologies that are more sophisticated than those offered by traditional stateful-inspection devices.

"By integrating full application inspection, application-layer proxies, stateful inspection and packet filtering into a unique hybrid architecture, Symantec Enterprise Firewall helps ensure that the information entering and exiting the corporate network is thoroughly inspected at all levels," Gotta said. "As the number of application-level Internet attacks continues to rise, customers require more advanced firewall technologies."

The device is designed to minimize vulnerabilities by combining network security functions including centralized management and reporting, state-sharing integrated High Availability/Load Balancing (HA/LB), IPSec-compliant VPN, and automated content updates that download new URL lists and VPN clients as they become available, Gotta said.

The Symantec Enterprise Firewall also offers centralized policy configuration management through the Symantec Advanced Manager for Security Gateways add-on. Alternately, it can be managed individually via the secure, Web-based Symantec Gateway Management Interface, which is included with the appliance.

The Symantec Enterprise Firewall 8.0 is expected to be available to channel partners immediately. Pricing was not available.