Crossbeam Systems Enhances Operating System for C-Series

Offers intelligent fail-open and layer-2 bridging on enterprise UTM platforms

• By James E. Powell
• 04/24/2007

Crossbeam Systems today announced their C-Series suite of unified threat management (UTM) platforms has been upgraded. The C-Series Operating System (COS) 6.0 offers flexible network security design with Layer-2 bridging and intelligent bypass ports, giving administrators more control over security infrastructures.

Layer-2 bridging support eliminates changes to network topologies when a new security application is added; in Layer 2 mode, the C-series platform and applications are transparent to a potential hacker, which improves the network’s security.

Intelligent bypass ports allow administrators how choose how to manage traffic flows in case of a failure. A system can permit traffic to continue to flow through the device during a power or application failure. Crossbeam’s C6 provides two bypass segments, C12 provides four segments, and the C25 model provides six.

These capabilities let administrators to balance strong security and optimal network performance. "In large enterprise networks, security is no longer deployed solely at the perimeter -- it is also being implemented deeper within the corporate network, requiring a new level of architectural flexibility," said Bill Duross, manager, network services, Stratus Technologies, in a statement. “UTM platforms like Crossbeam's C-Series give our administrators the ability to deploy the platform as a traditional Layer 3 device, or as a transparent Layer 2 device that can be added in without altering network routing and policy."

According to the company, the C-Series’ other new features include:

%%Departmental/internal Layer 2 firewall with Checkpoint VPN-1 Power NGX

• In-line Layer 2 Web security with Websense Security Suite 6.3 and Websense Threat Manager 1.1

• Scaling capabilities (such as bulk import of routing tables)

Application performance remains strong, with COS 6.0 providing up to 6 Gbps of firewall traffic. Its content filtering can support thousands of users. "It is difficult to strike a balance between continuous network availability and effective security policies in a fluid network security landscape," said Charles Kolodgy, research director at IDC, in a statement "Flexibility in design is critical, and Crossbeam has figured out a way to let network administrators mesh security policy with network requirements with its newly upgraded C-Series.”

For more information about the company and its products, visit http://www.crossbeamsystems.com.