WatchGuard Unveils New Unified Threat Management Security Solutions for SMBs

WebKnowHow
Wednesday, June 14, 2006; 05:05 AM

Hong Kong based WatchGuard Technologies , provider of Unified Threat Management (UTM) solutions, announced a new UTM hardware platform that dramatically enhances performance, increases port density and adds security functions to the Firebox X Peak product line. The new product, known as the Peak e-Series, strengthens WatchGuard's Zero Day protection which stops the new and unknown threats plaguing small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs).

The added performance allows WatchGuard's set of security services – Gateway Anti-Virus/Intrusion Prevention, URL filtering, anti-spyware, and spam blocking – to operate efficiently without compromising the security of today's demanding networks.

WatchGuard is also releasing Fireware Pro 8.3, the latest version of its advanced appliance software. Fireware Pro now enables anti-virus scanning on HTTP traffic, extending AV protection to Web servers and clients. The new appliance software also supports networking functionality that provides greater security and flexibility to small and mid-sized businesses. This includes enhanced WAN failover capabilities to increase uptime and provide support for Dynamic DNS, which, along with added traffic management functions, can maximise network flexibility and efficiency.

The new Firebox X Peak e-Series now offers more ports and increased firewall and VPN performance. The Firebox X Peak, WatchGuard's top of the line UTM, now comes with eight Gigabit Ethernet ports. Also available is a Fibre-interface model. Performance and capacity has been doubled with up to 2.0 Gbps for firewall traffic and 600 Mbps for VPN traffic. All new Peak e-Series models ship with Fireware Pro as the standard appliance software. Memory has been doubled to increase data processing capacity.

The new WatchGuard Firebox X Peak appliances have also been redesigned to meet the stringent European Union RoHS and WEEE environmental requirements required to sell new electronic hardware in the EU.

"WatchGuard understands the security requirements of small and mid-sized businesses and this new UTM product line helps meet those unique needs with the most complete security appliance available," said Mark Stevens, WatchGuard chief strategy officer. "Integrated security capabilities that protect against today's most complex threats, hardware platforms that meet throughput and networking needs of the SMB, and true Zero Day attack protection set WatchGuard apart in the Unified Threat Management market."