Foundry Introduces New High Performance Application Switch Family and Web Firewall Security

WebKnowHow
Thursday, June 29, 2006; 05:14 AM

Foundry Networks,a provider of end-to-end switching and routing solution, announced a new family of ultra-high-performance ServerIron application switches to meet the growing demand for secure and optimized delivery of Web and triple-play services. The new family of switches helps enterprises and service providers achieve unmatched availability, performance, and scalability for business-critical applications. The company also announced a new version of TrafficWorks, the operating system software that powers the ServerIron family of switches, which now includes Web firewall features to protect Web-based applications against emerging attacks that impact service uptime and compromise of sensitive information.

The new family of ServerIron switches features Foundry's new generation application processor and ASIC technology to deliver scalable performance up to 350,000 connections per second and 12 Gbps of application level throughput. The switches are available in three modular chassis models, starting with a compact Two-Rack Unit (2RU) high 3-slot chassis to a highly scalable 8-slot chassis that supports up to 112 Gigabit Ethernet ports for large density server farms. Purpose-built with a network-centric architecture, the ServerIron 350, 450 and 850 PLUS series switches feature redundant power, hot swappable modules and fully interchangeable modules for investment protection and future expandability. A choice of 10/100, Gigabit copper and fiber, and 10 Gigabit interface modules provide connectivity options for the network and server farm.

Foundry's new version of TrafficWorks OS includes enhanced security features to protect Web applications from attacks that target sensitive data. Using a positive security enforcement model, these features provide protection for Web applications against key threats like buffer overflow attacks that can cripple servers, cookie poisoning and tampering that hijack sessions and user identity, forceful browsing attacks that allow illegal access to sensitive Web content, and SQL injection and cross-site scripting attacks that provide unauthorized access to sensitive data. Integration of these critical security capabilities into the TrafficWorks architecture and consolidation of Web firewall functions into the ServerIron family of switches simplifies the data center infrastructure, delivers better return on investment, and eliminates the need to purchase costly additional appliances that are limited to one function. The new Web firewall features are designed to work seamlessly and transparently to augment security for existing Web server farms.

"As Web applications proliferate to meet the growing demand for standards-based content and commerce services, there is also increasing exposure to attacks against these critical applications," said Joe Skorupa, research vice president, enterprise network infrastructure for Gartner Research. "Integration of Web firewall features to secure these sensitive applications and data into platforms that deliver performance acceleration and high availability for these Web applications is the logical evolution of the application delivery platforms."

"Migration of Enterprise applications to Web protocols is exposing these critical services to performance bottlenecks and security threats, and this challenge is compounded by the growing use of SSL-based secure Web transactions," said Gopala Tumuluri, director of product marketing at Foundry Networks. "The new ServerIron switch family delivers unmatched service performance and protection, including network-based SSL acceleration in a modular architecture for future-proof expandability and upgradeability."

ServerIron switches combine best-of-breed application traffic management with high-performance SSL acceleration and HTTP compression to optimize Web application performance. SSL acceleration is available as an optional service module. The switches also reduce bandwidth utilization and minimize bandwidth cost by compressing Web content returned by servers. In addition to reducing bandwidth costs, compression improves end-user response time over slow-speed links. To ensure business continuity in the event of a server or site failure, the ServerIron 350, 450 and 850 PLUS series switches support multi-site redundancy and scalability using DNS-based or IP-based Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB).

The new ServerIron 350, 450 and 850 PLUS family of switches is available immediately.

    -- ServerIron 350-PLUS:  Ultra-high-performance and compact application
       acceleration system featuring 2RU high chassis with 3 modular slots.
       This system is equipped with one WSM7 application switch management
       module and one power supply module. US List Price:  $34,995.
    -- ServerIron 450P-PLUS:  Ultra-high-performance application acceleration
       system featuring a 4-slot chassis. This system is equipped with one
       WSM7 application switch management module and one power supply module.
       This system features optional redundant power supplies that are fully
       front serviceable. US List Price:  $34,995.
    -- ServerIron 850-PLUS:  Ultra-high-performance application acceleration
       system featuring a 8-slot chassis capable of supporting up to 112
       Gigabit Ethernet ports. This system is equipped with one WSM7
       application switch management module and one power supply module. This
       system features optional redundant power supplies that are fully front
       serviceable. US List Price:  $38,995.

    Optional integrated SSL acceleration modules
    -- SRVC-SSL6-1:  Web acceleration service module with one processor
       featuring hardware-based SSL acceleration and Web traffic optimization.
       US List Price:  $9,995.
    -- SRVC-SSL6-2:  Web acceleration service module with two processors
       featuring hardware-based SSL acceleration and Web traffic optimization
       with twice the performance of the SRVC-SSL6-1. US List Price:  $17,995.