INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Data Centres
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“A futureproof SDP can
scale and grow with
network speeds and
traffic loads.”
environments. They need a SDP.” The e-Book looks at:
Addressing the new threat landscape; Understanding SDPs;
Exploring features and use cases; Facilitating active security
devices; Securing virtual and cloud environments; Generating
session metadata; Isolating application traffic; Gaining
visibility into SSL-encrypted traffic; Getting started with a
security delivery platform; and 10 buying criteria for SDPs. This
final chapter looks at: Acquiring a futureproof Security Delivery
Platform; Choosing a technology provider; and Getting the
most out of a SDP investment.
It states: “The enterprise network is anything but static, and
sooner or later, the increasing volume of traffic will drive
network upgrades. IT organisations should choose an SDP
from a provider that offers a broad selection of network
visibility appliances, including both physical and virtual
versions. A futureproof SDP can scale and grow with network
speeds and traffic loads.”
The eBook makes recommendations about what is required.
“Look for an SDP that provides centralised management,
monitoring, and configuration of the physical and virtual
traffic policies for a unified approach,” it says. “The centralised
management console should allow managers to map and
direct network traffic to the tools and analytics infrastructure.
SDPs don’t just deliver traffic to security tools. They also offload
intensive traffic-inspection processes and deliver the right traffic
to the right tool, helping users optimise their security tools for
greater efficacy and increased return on investment. The eBook,
written by Crystal Bedell and Steve Piper, describes current
networking challenges. It states: “Despite a plethora of network
security and monitoring tools, detecting and responding to
cyberthreats are increasingly challenging tasks. The very nature
of corporate networks and the way in which security tools are
deployed put IT teams at a clear disadvantage.
“The corporate network is no longer a static, well-defined
entity that can be adequately protected with an armoury of
perimeter-based security tools. Instead, it’s an amorphous,
dynamic entity that extends well beyond the four walls of
the data centre. Technologies such as cloud computing,
virtualisation, and mobile computing add to the complexity.
“Meanwhile, IT teams must shoehorn security tools into the
network infrastructure and hope that their limited view of
traffic will be enough to expose the low-and-slow activity
that’s characteristic of advanced threats. But as long as
there are blind spots on the network, there’s a chance that
malicious activity is going undetected. IT organisations
need a new approach that enables visibility across the
entire IT infrastructure, including physical, virtual and cloud
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“To benefit fully from the agility afforded by virtualisation and
cloud computing, however, IT organisations must address
related security concerns. Choose an SDP that enables
you to extend visibility into the virtualised servers/cloud
infrastructure. Pay particular attention to compatibility with
your virtualisation stack.”
The eBook also offers the following advice on customer
support: “High-quality customer support is an important
criterion for selecting any vendor, especially an SDP provider.
“Select a vendor that offers a broad range of service and
support solutions to help you confidently deploy and maintain
your SDP. As you implement new technologies and architecture,
the provider’s professional services team should be available to
help you maintain high availability, solve problems quickly, and
grow your SDP to meet business needs.”
Organisations use the Gigamon Visibility Platform to make it
easier to manage, secure and understand all their network data,
enabling stronger security and enhanced network performance.
Visit www.gigamon.com to find out more about Gigamon
products. To download the eBook click on the site’s
resources link. n
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