Barracuda Networks, Inc. (NYSE: CUDA), a leading provider of cloud-connected security and storage solutions, today announced the availability of new capabilities supporting Microsoft deployments in the areas of Windows Remote Desktop Services, virtualization and public cloud. Barracuda is demonstrating the technology this week in Booth #334 at the GARTNER Security & Risk Management Summit in National Harbor, MD.
“Firewalls need to keep up with tech shifts from on-premises, desktop, dedicated server hardware to mobile, virtualized and cloud computing platforms,” said Stephen Pao, GM Security at Barracuda. “The Barracuda NG Firewall helps customers swiftly and safely transition to newer topologies proposed in the Microsoft ecosystem. The latest release expands our integration with Microsoft Hyper-V virtualization and Microsoft Azure public cloud infrastructure enabling our customers to further capitalize on their Microsoft investments.”
The latest version of the Barracuda NG Firewall includes capabilities such as:
- Full user awareness for Windows Remote Desktop Services. Barracuda NG Firewall rules can be user aware even when multiple users on a Remote Desktop Server are behind a single IP address. The latest version of Barracuda NG Firewall adds another integration that makes use of a small, lightweight transparent client that simplifies integration and does not rely on external authentication protocols.
- Support for Hyper-V virtualization. Barracuda NG Firewall Vx virtual appliances can be deployed on Microsoft Hyper-V servers, in addition to VMware.
- Extended support for Microsoft Azure cloud. The latest Barracuda NG Firewall version now supports next-generation firewalling capabilities and high speed (>1 Gbps) site-to-site secure remote access from on-premises networks to Microsoft Azure or Vnets within Microsoft Azure. It enables organizations to deploy securely interconnected multi-zone network architectures. For more information, visit http://cuda.co/ngfw-azure.
Additionally, concurrent with these new capabilities, Barracuda has released other features in the Barracuda NG Firewall version 5.4.3 that continue to support its leading next-generation firewall capabilities, including:
- Application-based dynamic uplink selection. In addition to using application awareness capabilities to block or allow traffic, the Barracuda NG Firewall application-based dynamic uplink selection provides traffic prioritization, improved Quality of Service (QoS) and faster performance for accessing services on the Internet.
- New application usage and risk reports. This latest Barracuda NG Firewall version provides new reports that help administrators enforce Internet usage policies and offers recommendations for redefining policies based on risk.
- Higher performance antivirus scanning. Re-architected to provide higher performance, the Barracuda NG Firewall utilizes a single-pass, antivirus scanning architecture that inspects both unencrypted and SSL-encrypted traffic.
Continued Industry Leadership
According to the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Network Firewalls report in April 2014, “through 2018 more than 75 percent of enterprises will continue to seek network security from a different vendor than their network infrastructure.” The report also indicates “less than 20 percent of Internet connections today are secured by next-generation firewalls (NGFWs). By year-end 2014, this will rise to 35 percent of the installed base, with 70 percent of new enterprise edge purchases being NGFWs.”
The Barracuda NG Firewall is designed to protect edge deployments, especially in environments with limited IT resources. Further, as companies move to public cloud environments like Microsoft Azure, hybrid architecture like Barracuda’s becomes increasingly important. Thomas Kaliwoda, VP of Network at Swarovski, believes that “the Barracuda NG Firewall is the only product in the market that could meet our needs for distributed network security in all 1200 store locations where IT personnel are not available.”
Barracuda will host a Solution Provider Session titled Federating Security Using Physical, Virtual, Public Cloud and Hosted Deployments at the GARTNER Security & Risk Management Summit on Wednesday, June 25, 2014, at 9:30 a.m. in Potomac B, featuring:
- Thomas Kaliwoda, VP IT Infrastructure Services, Swarovski
- Steve Pao, GM Security, Barracuda
- Todd Stoeterau, Network Manager, Silversea Cruise
