Check Point Consolidates Virtual Security Gateways Through Virtualization

Internet security firm Check Point Software Technologies today introduced new technology that enables businesses to consolidate up to 250 virtual security gateways onto a single appliance or server, helping to reduce costs and boost performance for private cloud environments.

Dubbed Check Point Virtual Systems, customers can secure multiple network segments using any of the company’s software blade protections, including Firewall, VPN, Intrusion Prevention (IPS), Application Control, URL Filtering, Anti-Bot, Antivirus and Identity Awareness.

“From enterprises to large service providers, administrators often have multiple security appliances in place, each requiring separate maintenance and management, which can make security expensive, difficult to manage and inefficient,” said Dorit Dor, vice president of products at Check Point Software Technologies. “Check Point has been providing customers with virtual firewalls on dedicated systems for years. Now, Check Point is taking virtualization to the next level — enabling customers to provision virtual systems on every gateway and with the breadth of software blade protections.”

In terms of scalability, in addition to supporting up to 250 virtual security gateways on each server or appliance, customers can also cluster up to eight gateways using proprietary load balancing technology. Additionally, the company says its new 64-bit GAiA™ operating system, its “unified secure platform for all Check Point appliances, open servers and virtual gateways”, boots performance and supports more than eight times more concurrent connections than previous versions.

“For many companies, virtualized security has become a strategic technology investment. Consolidating multiple security functions onto a single gateway can result in significant cost savings,” said Chris Christiansen, Program VP for Security Products and Services at IDC. “Check Point’s security expertise, combined with its Software Blade Architecture, offers customers a solution to ease network strain and complexity when securing private cloud environments.”

Available now, pricing for Check Point Virtual Systems starts at $3,000 for three virtual systems. Customers using Check Point 4800 appliances and above have a Virtual System bundled with each appliance.