Fortinet introduced its new Software-Defined Network Security (SDNS) framework for providing advanced threat protection in the modern, agile data center.
Fortinet said its goal is to provide actionable steps in delivering a comprehensive approach to securing the data center, while providing the most extensible platform for infrastructure integration with technology partners including HP, Ixia, PLUMgrid, Pluribus Networks, Extreme Networks and NTT.
Highlights of Fortinet’s SDN Security framework:
- Data Plane – the encapsulation of security engines from fixed hardware boxes into logical instances that can be more scalably distributed and embedded deep into virtualized switching fabric and abstracted network flows.
- Control Plane – the orchestration and automation of security policy with provisioning of elastic workloads to eliminate security and compliance gaps in highly agile, dynamic environments.
- Management Plane – a ‘single pane-of-glass’ for security policy and events across physical and virtual appliances, private and public clouds, and throughout converged infrastructure to ensure a consistent and compliant security posture.
“There is likely no single SDN platform that all enterprise and service provider customers are going to standardize on,” said John Maddison, vice president of marketing for Fortinet. “Hence the reason we are developing an eco-system to support different SDN platforms through proprietary and open Application Programming Interfaces (API’s). The key is providing scalable security modules that can be called on-demand, at the orchestration level.”
Fortinet noted that it is working closely with a large number of partners to tightly integrate security within their key infrastructure platforms. These platforms include SDN controllers, orchestration frameworks, hypervisors, cloud management, security management and analytics. Fortinet is currently working with more than two-dozen technology providers to ensure protection from cyber threats through Fortinet’s advanced SDN Security.
