Sourcefire announces new virtual appliances.(IT News and Products)

Open source innovator and Snort [R] creator, Sourcefire, Inc. have announced the Sourcefire 3D System 4.9, with the new Virtual 3D Sensor[TM] and Virtual Defence Centre[TM]. These new virtual appliances will enable users to deploy the company's leading security solutions within their virtual environments, increasing protection for both physical and virtual assets. Available during the second half of 2009, the Sourcefire 3D System 4.9 also features the industry's first Policy Layering capabilities that deliver increased customisation for large or multi-organisational networks, including cloud or virtual implementations.

With the new Virtual 3D Sensor and Virtual Defence Centre, Sourcefire is enabling customers to:

* Secure virtualisation--Protecting virtual infrastructure from internal and external attacks with virtual security appliances

* Virtualise security--Leveraging cost- and energy-saving benefits of virtual security appliances to improve security efficiency As part of the Sourcefire 3D System 4.9, the new virtual appliances allow organisations to inspect traffic between virtual machines, while also making it easier to deploy and manage sensors at remote sites where resources may be limited. They also enable Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) and cloud computing companies to easily implement Sourcefire's leading security solutions for increased protection. MSSPs can configure multiple Virtual Defence Centres to support multiple customers from a single VMware server, increasing the efficiency of management efforts.

Users can deploy Virtual 3D Sensors on VMware ESX and ESXi platforms to inspect traffic between two or more virtual machines (VMs), while also using physical Sourcefire 3D Sensors to inspect traffic going into and out of a VMware virtual environment. Deployed as software running within VMs, the Virtual 3D Sensor also makes it easier for users to inspect traffic on remote segments of the network where local IT security resources may not exist (e.g., retail stores, remote offices) or where little rack space remains in the data centre. The Virtual 3D Sensor will provide simultaneous execution of Sourcefire IPS[TM], RNA[R] (Real-time Network Awareness) and RUA[TM] (Real-time User Awareness) functions. Customers can deploy the Virtual Defence Centre to monitor any combination of up to 25 virtual or physical 3D Sensors. They can also opt to monitor their Virtual 3D Sensors from the same physical Defence Centre they use to monitor their physical 3D Sensors.

Policy Management, Visibility and Control for Cloud, Virtual and Large Network Deployments

The Sourcefire 3D System 4.9 release, including the Virtual 3D Sensors and Virtual Defence Centre, will be available during the second half of 2009.

www.sourcefire.com.

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