Close
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Menu
Search
  • Latest News
  • Cybersecurity
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Mobile
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity
    • Virtualization

    Check Point Adds Virtualization to Security Lineup

    By
    Cameron Sturdevant
    -
    October 10, 2008
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      The Check Point VPN-1 VE (Virtual Edition) is the first release of the company’s security gateway delivered as a virtual appliance for deployment in VMware ESX and ESXi environments.

      VPN-1 VE runs on the same Check Point SecurePlatform as a physical VPN-1 software appliance and can easily be integrated into existing Check Point security management consoles. VPN-1VE provides strong protection for virtual machines that would otherwise have to route network traffic to an external firewall/IPS device.

      My tests showed that using the VPN-1 in VMware ESX installation can significantly mitigate security risks while taking advantage of the consolidation benefits of virtualization. However, taking full advantage of VPN-1 VE requires more than knowing how to configure a Check Point firewall. IT managers will need to engage consulting services or have staff on hand who are fluent in both security and VMware ESX setup.

      While alternative security solutions are worth looking at for protecting virtual machines, none that I’ve seen is significantly easier to configure than the VPN-1 VE. Plus, for shops that already have Check Point solutions in place, benefits derived from unified management and security policy creation are hard to beat.

      With that said, however, the VPN-1 VE that I tested, which included VPN-1 UTM, costs $7,500 to secure five virtual machines and $15,000 to secure an unlimited number of virtual machines. VPN-1 VE licenses can be used only on VMware ESX or ESXi servers. The VPN-1 VE unlimited license is designed to use as many as four virtual cores.

      A 15-day trial of VPN-1 VE, which became available Sept. 15, can be downloaded from the VMware Virtual Appliance Marketplace (look for the “certified production ready” section). This is where you’ll also find several competitive products, including Stonesoft’s StoneGate Virtual Firewall/VPN and Virtual IPS, Vyatta’s Linux-based firewall/VPN, StillSecure’s Cobia Unified Network Platform, BlueLane’s VirtualShield for VMware ESX Server 3, Reflex Security’s Reflex VSA and Astaro’s Security Gateway.

      Virtual Protection Only

      The Check Point VPN-1 VE virtual appliance is used only inside the virtualized environment. It doesn’t protect the physical VMware ESX host systems. An external firewall, which would likely be a Check Point VPN-1, is required for that duty.

      The VPN-1 VE is a Check Point NGX R65 that provides identical security capabilities as are found in physical VPN-1 gateways. The VPN-1 VE enabled me to securely connect through the virtual gateways to shared resources inside my virtualized environment, including Web and application servers and other infrastructure, such as the DNS server. Using the VPN-1 VE, I was able to allow these resources to interact with each other and the outside Internet while maintaining standard security policies.

      It was easy for me to manage the VPN-1 VE using the same SmartDashboard interface to create security rules and to carry out all administrative functions that are already used to manage physical VPN-1 gateways.

      I used SmartDashboard to create and manage firewall rules that I then installed to my VPN-1 VE gateway. The SmartDashboard can be used to deploy policies to single VPN-1VE and physical gateways or to groups of firewalls.

      What it does not do is associate VMs and VPN-1 VE gateways in such a way that if VMs move to a new host using VMotion, the VPN-1 VE gateways move, too. Check Point has started down the road of gaining a basis for this functionality by participating in VMware’s VMsafe partner program. It’s worth noting that the competitive products noted earlier are also participants in the VMsafe program.

      Once the VPN-1 VE gateway was installed in my ESX environment, it was just a matter of implementing security policies as in any other firewall. There are no policies or rules for the virtual appliance that differ from the physical Check Point system.

      Except for initial startup, when the virtual appliance spiked to 50 percent of CPU utilization, the VPN-1 VE was a well-behaved guest in my VMware ESX cluster. I’ll keep the appliance around for the next several months to see how it affects performance with various workloads.

      The VPN-1 VE basic resource requirements are quite modest. By default the system uses a Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 for the OS (included in the license), one virtual CPU, 512MB of RAM and a 12GB hard disk.

      eWEEK Labs Technical Director Cameron Sturdevant can be reached at [email protected]

      Avatar
      Cameron Sturdevant
      Cameron Sturdevant is the executive editor of Enterprise Networking Planet. Prior to ENP, Cameron was technical analyst at PCWeek Labs, starting in 1997. Cameron finished up as the eWEEK Labs Technical Director in 2012. Before his extensive labs tenure Cameron paid his IT dues working in technical support and sales engineering at a software publishing firm . Cameron also spent two years with a database development firm, integrating applications with mainframe legacy programs. Cameron's areas of expertise include virtual and physical IT infrastructure, cloud computing, enterprise networking and mobility. In addition to reviews, Cameron has covered monolithic enterprise management systems throughout their lifecycles, providing the eWEEK reader with all-important history and context. Cameron takes special care in cultivating his IT manager contacts, to ensure that his analysis is grounded in real-world concern. Follow Cameron on Twitter at csturdevant, or reach him by email at [email protected]

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Android

      Samsung Galaxy XCover Pro: Durability for Tough...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 5, 2020 0
      Have you ever dropped your phone, winced and felt the pain as it hit the sidewalk? Either the screen splintered like a windshield being...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Why Data Security Will Face Even Harsher...

      Chris Preimesberger - December 1, 2020 0
      Who would know more about details of the hacking process than an actual former career hacker? And who wants to understand all they can...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      How Veritas Is Shining a Light Into...

      eWEEK EDITORS - September 25, 2020 0
      Protecting data has always been one of the most important tasks in all of IT, yet as more companies become data companies at the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      How NVIDIA A100 Station Brings Data Center...

      Zeus Kerravala - November 18, 2020 0
      There’s little debate that graphics processor unit manufacturer NVIDIA is the de facto standard when it comes to providing silicon to power machine learning...
      Read more
      Apple

      Why iPhone 12 Pro Makes Sense for...

      Wayne Rash - November 26, 2020 0
      If you’ve been watching the Apple commercials for the past three weeks, you already know what the company thinks will happen if you buy...
      Read more
      eWeek


      Contact Us | About | Sitemap

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      Terms of Service | Privacy Notice | Advertise | California - Do Not Sell My Information

      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×