The benefits provided by virtualization, particularly for SMBs are clear: cost reduction, resource optimization and easier service deployment and management, in addition to faster data recovery. However virtualization enables multiple services, many with different trust levels, to run on the same physical platform.

This is a practice that requires powerful solutions to secure traffic flowing between each of the virtual machines. As it is not possible to place a traditional firewall within a virtual network, the best way to monitor communication in a virtual environment is to deploy a virtual security appliance.

Virtual machines host the same Operating Systems, CRM, ERP and business critical applications as physical servers, with multiple virtual machines now sharing a single hardware platform. Email and web servers, which were traditionally located in the DMZ, can therefore be hosted in the same environment as production servers, making the latter potentially more accessible.

As you move from a physical environment to a virtual network, you need a proactive, all-in-one virtual security appliance to ensure that all your protection requirements continue to be met. A mature, IPS-based Unified Threat Management solution with an integral real-time analysis will enable you to benefit from all the advantages of virtualization, including load-balancing, portability and fast data recovery.

If you haven’t already engaged with the teams performing the data center consolidation and virtualization projects, do so in 2010. — GARTNER INC., (1) Addressing the Most Cmmon Security Risks in Data Center Virtualization Projects, Neil MacDonald, Gartner Inc., January 25, 2010

NETASQ’s zero-day Intrusion Prevention System lies at the heart of all Virtual Appliances for SMBs. Located in the system kernel, it embeds firewall, antivirus and antispam functionality. It also includes protection for your VoIP traffic and supports both IPSec and SSL VPN tunnels ensuring full protection of your inter-site communications.

The NETASQ engine analyzes network protocols and applications to detect and block threats, delivering outmost security by dramatically reducing the risk of false alarms thanks to behavioral analysis, coupled with a range of contextual signature databases.

To remain competitive, small and medium businesses need to minimize the costs of their IT infrastructure, which often leads to compromises as to the quality of the deployed IT services. Taking this into account, with NETASQ Virtual Appliances for SMBs organizations can benefit from the full range of security features at no initial cost, by just subscribing for the services, which include firmware and protection updates.

The benefits of an annual subscription are clear: drastic reduction of IT security costs, full cost control, rapid return on investment on a state-of-the-art protection.