CROSSBEAM SYSTEMS UNVEILS MULTI-SITE PERIMETER UTM SECURITY SOLUTION FOR EXTENDED ENTERPRISES WITH EXPANDED C-SERIES AND CENTRALISED MANAGEMENT

Crossbeam Systems, Inc., the leader in protecting the world's largest networks, today announced an expansion of its C-Series line of Unified Threat Management (UTM) security services switches and introduced SecureShore NMS, the company's new network management system. The new C2 and C6 bring Crossbeam's award-winning high-performance, multi-function security to large, multi-site deployments of extended enterprises, system integrators and managed security providers - combined with the operational simplicity of SecureShore NMS's centralised configuration, monitoring and management of up to 1,000 Crossbeam X-Series and C-Series devices.

"Our customers want fast and flexible equipment that works with best-in-class security vendors, so Crossbeam's new C-Series devices are a great foundation for the new wave of multi-function security," said Gordon Shevlin, vice president of sales for SiegeWorks, a leading global enterprise security services, consulting and integration firm. "The new C2 and C6 also round out Crossbeam's line nicely so that we can bid a single vendor from the branch office to the largest data centres."

As enterprise networks of all sizes continue to be threatened by worms, viruses and other malicious attacks, they are also undergoing fundamental change from new applications such as VoIP and web services resulting in new integrated security and network performance requirements. Featuring best-in-class UTM security and unmatched price-for-performance, the C2 and C6 were developed for these demanding and distributed network environments that feature a mix of small and large packet application traffic and attacks by multiple-vector threats. Most importantly, they combine with Crossbeam's X-Series products to give customers a comprehensive line of best-in-class, multi-function security platforms for all of their locations.

Using Crossbeam's market leadership in high-end UTM, the new C2 and C6 feature multi-function security from best-in-class vendors and are designed to protect locations with under 100 employees. The C2 and C6 feature integrated security that combines firewall, IPSec and SSL VPN, intrusion prevention and anti-virus, using Check Point Express CI. The C2 and C6 will also run leading integrated security applications from Trend Mico, Aladdin and Websense, so customers can customise the layers of security required at various locations of their extended enterprise.

"Today's enterprise customer is increasingly operating a globally dispersed network with regional and branch offices that have the same need for consistent and reliable security as the enterprise headquarters," said Paul Weinstein, vice president of business development for Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP). "Combining the performance of Crossbeam's new C-Series products with the integrated security of Check Point Express CI creates a powerful solution for enterprises to extend the multi-function security from their headquarters to all of their remote locations."

"This expansion of our C-Series is in response to our customers who wanted to extend the Crossbeam security in their headquarters out to every field location for a consistent approach to security regardless of network size or location," said Peter George, president and CEO of Crossbeam Systems. "Adding the C2 and C6 to our existing C-Series and X-Series products also gives our channel partners the most comprehensive set of UTM solutions on the market that are clearly differentiated by their best-in-class security, high performance and reliability."

C-Series Expansion: C2 and C6
The C2 and C6 redefine the price-for-performance benchmarks for lower-end UTM devices. The C2 features four auto-sensing 10/100/1000 ports and delivers 350 megabits per second (large packet) performance and more than 292,000 packets per second (small packet), which is up to three times existing devices. The C6 features four auto-sensing 10/100/1000 ports and four 10/100 ports, and delivers more than 1.2 gigabits per second of throughput making it ideal for protecting perimeters and internal network segments. Both the C2 and C6 have 512 MB of expandable memory, an 80 GB hard drive and include high availability features such as Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol and session state synchronisation. Initial set-up, as well as configuration back-up and recovery, are simplified through a USB flash memory stick.

SecureShore NMS
As Crossbeam's customer engagements have expanded beyond initial deployments of individual X-Series switches in data centres, the company has addressed the need for a comprehensive, multi-device management system with the new SecureShore NMS. Featuring a Linux-based, client/server architecture, SecureShore NMS provides complete configuration, monitoring and management of Crossbeam X-Series and C-Series deployments of up to 1,000 devices. Key highlights include bulk processes for device configuration, back-up and restore, patch updating and operating system upgrades. SecureShore NMS also comes with flexible, user-defined administration to easily group and assign attributes to devices or SecureShore NMS users.

Pricing and Availability
The C2 and C6 will be generally available worldwide on 7th November from Crossbeam authorised channel partners.