eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
With new storage security appliances aimed at Fibre Channel and SCSI backup, Decru is making headway in its effort to create an enterprise-wide security platform.
Decru this week introduced the DataFort FC1020, a storage security appliance with 10 ports aimed at high-performance tape backup environments that require significant throughput.
The FC1020, for use with Fibre Channel-based tape systems, supports more than 10GB per second of compression and encryption throughput from a 2U chassis.
To achieve even more performance, users can create clusters of DataFort FC1020 appliances, achieving up to 48 ports per cluster.
With the higher port density of the FC1020—other products in the DataFort line have less ports—users can expect to achieve 75 percent better price-performance than they would if they bought five DataFort FC520s to get the same throughput, said Michelle Borovac, director of marketing at Decru of Redwood City, Calif.
The FC1020 seems particularly well-suited to large, enterprise environments that might want to get away from the approach of using multiple boxes, said Jon Oltsik, senior analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group of Milford, Mass.
“Think of this as the difference between your edge switch and your aggregation switch. Thats what they are doing, but in an encryption appliance,” he said.
Decru is also announcing a companion product that provides native support for SCSI tape backup environments.
The two-port DataFort S115 supports the SCSI protocol while allowing organizations to lock down all sensitive data using the same management and key management system used with other products in the DataFort line, Borovac said.
Along with the two new appliances, Decru has announced a new version of its Lifetime Key Management System, a software utility that automates key archival and recovery.
Version 2.5 provides broader support for larger enterprises, enabling organizations to back up encryption keys and configuration information for up to four distributed instances of the Lifetime Key Management system simultaneously.
Previous versions of the product supported automated backup to one Lifetime Key Management system, Borovac said.
Finally, Decru has added support for SHA-512 hashing algorithms to its encryption hardware, which are considered stronger algorithms for authentication and integrity.
These algorithms will be incorporated into all new DataFort appliances and also is available as a firmware upgrade for existing DataFort models already in use, Borovac said.
“Decru is the only storage security company that engineers its own encryption hardware versus purchasing an encryption chip off the shelf,” Borovac said.
“This gives Decru the flexibility to adapt its products to address emerging and future standards and protects the investments of its customers,” added Borovac.
“By using hash, you are ensuring integrity, but hashing and integrity are part and parcel of security,” Oltsik said. “Its certainly a step in the right direction for Decru, but its not a radical leap beyond what other vendors have done.”
As a whole, Decrus announcements show that the company is doing the basic blocking and tackling it needs to enhance their products and keep pace with its competitors, Oltsik said.
“On one hand they continue to march down the path of being very in tune with what security requirements are out there, but on the other hand, they want to occupy as much shelf space as possible, so they are introducing specific appliances for tape backup in big and small environments,” Oltsik said.
“Its like saying that if people want light beer, well make ten versions of light beer and push everybody else off the shelf.”
Decru DataFort FC1020 and Lifetime Key Management 2.5 are available immediately, while DataFort S115 will be available by March of 2006.
All products are available through Decrus direct sales force, as well as through a select group of channel partners, VARs and integrators.