Crossbeam Enhances X-Series

Adds fourth-generation application and network processing blades to help enterprise and carrier customers manage their security infrastructure

May 1, 2009

4 Min Read

PRESS RELEASE

BOXBOROUGH, Mass. " April 15, 2009 " Crossbeam Systems, Inc., the leading provider of next-generation security platforms for high-performance networks, today announced the continued evolution of its X-Series Next Generation Security Platform with the introduction of its fourth-generation application and network processing blades and the release of the latest version of its open secure X-Series Operating System (XOS) 8.5—key software and hardware components of the X-Series architecture.

The X-Series is a security platform, proven in carrier and large enterprise environments, that virtualizes the delivery of best-of-breed security applications. It is the highest-performing security platform, tested to "real world" rates of 40 Gbps with ultra-low latency, providing unprecedented scalability and flexibility to meet the needs of large enterprises and service providers.

The fourth-generation application processing (APM 8650) and network processing (NPM 8620, NPM 8650) blades enable customers to dramatically reduce their data center footprint and consolidate security and networking devices onto one X-series chassis at an increased ratio of up to 50:1—more than double the consolidation benefits over the previous generation. The enhanced level of consolidation lowers the power-performance measure down to an industry-leading 44W/Gb. Additionally, with the NPM 8620, customers can take advantage of the X-Series architecture in more data center and network locations.

"The traditional approach to security, in which every new threat or compliance mandate requires adding more special-purpose appliances and network gear to the security infrastructure, is simply too complex, too difficult to manage and too expensive to be considered viable," said Chet Gapinski, vice president of engineering at Crossbeam. "The X-Series delivers a proven carrier-class architecture for network security, providing the only open and extensible platform that easily scales on demand while driving down costs through massive network consolidation. Our new modules, combined with XOS 8.5, significantly extend these capabilities and benefits."

The fourth-generation blades, in connection with XOS 8.5, improve the X-Series by:

  • Further lowering the total cost of ownership by 15 percent or more through massive network security consolidation.

    • Delivering the industry's lowest cost to operate—40 to 70 percent lower than competitive security architectures.

    • Lowering power and cooling costs by 37 percent, reducing data center energy consumption for all security-related equipment by up to 75 percent.

    • Letting customers do more with less—more best-of-breed security applications can be easily deployed and provisioned within the same X-Series chassis, when and how they need it.

      "Forsythe is excited to see that Crossbeam has recognized and is offering a consolidated best-of-breed security platform that promises improved performance and scalability to provide material cost savings and increased protection," said Steve Abbott, senior vice president at Forsythe, a leading IT infrastructure provider and integrator with 50 locations across North America serving clients in all industries, including many Fortune 1000 companies. Forsythe has helped some of its key customers realize significantly lower total cost of ownership by deploying Crossbeam's consolidating solutions. "These days, our clients who select best-of-breed solutions to meet the full range of their enterprise security needs are also experiencing a secondary complication: the power, cooling and floor space costs that result from 'appliance sprawl'—something Crossbeam reduces significantly."

      A key innovation of Crossbeam's XOS open operating system is its patent-pending Secure Flow Processing technology—which sequences traffic flows through security applications running on the X-Series, according to each company's unique policies. Network traffic can be directed through a series of security applications, such as proceeding from a firewall to IPS for deeper rules-based inspection. The ability for customers to serialize and parallelize traffic via Secure Flow Processing is one of the powerful and unique benefits of the X-Series, facilitating the virtualization of security within data centers and throughout the enterprise without sacrificing performance.

      "Most enterprises and carriers can achieve savings through optimizing network security appliances," said Greg Young, research vice president at Gartner. "There are strategies for using security vendor provided virtualization and optimizing high availability that can yield significant digits worth of capital, operational and power savings."

      "The X-Series offers a unique advantage to resellers, enabling them to deploy a highly scalable security architecture that doesn't lock customers into a specific set of security applications," said Laurie Usewicz, vice president of sales at Westcon, a leading distributor for Crossbeam. "The new NPMs and APMs offer even greater cost savings and options for customers to address their evolving network and security needs. This is good news for our partner community, and enables Weston to more effectively support their success."

      The new X-Series blades are available immediately worldwide. Please contact Crossbeam Systems for more details at (866) 276-7797 (U.S. or Canada only) or (978) 318-7500, or send an e-mail to [email protected].

      About Crossbeam Crossbeam Systems, Inc. transforms the way enterprises, service providers and government agencies architect and deliver security services. The basis of Crossbeam's solution is its Next Generation Security Platform, a highly scalable software and hardware platform that facilitates the consolidation, virtualization and simplification of security services delivery, while preserving the customers' choice of best-of-breed security applications. Crossbeam offers the only security platform that delivers unparalleled network performance, scalability, adaptability and resiliency. Customers choose Crossbeam to intelligently manage risk, accelerate and maintain compliance, and protect their businesses from evolving threats. Crossbeam is headquartered in Boxborough, Mass., and has offices in Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. More information is available at www.crossbeam.com.

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