3Com secures networks and reduces costs by embedding security products into network infrastructure; unifies network and security management

Hemel Hempstead, UK  - 1st September 2009 – 3Com Corporation (Nasdaq: COMS) today announced plans to deliver a broad array of high-performance, network-embedded and overlay security solutions to help enterprise customers build a secure network fabric that will simultaneously reduce security risks, management overhead and infrastructure costs. The Secure Network Fabric includes the integration of 3Com’s industry-leading TippingPoint® intrusion prevention system (IPS) technology and its H3C® enterprise network and security solutions to deliver a unified product line that combines security, network infrastructure and policy management. This Secure Network Fabric will be managed by a centralized policy management system that provides a single view of security devices and network operations, and allows rapid implementation and deployment of complex security policies to the distributed security enforcement systems.

Earlier this year, 3Com talked about its intention to provide its customers with networks that no longer require them to compromise their requirements for performance, reliability and security. Today’s announcement further supports 3Com’s commitment to deliver on the promise of a “no compromise” network. As it executes the security strategy outlined today, 3Com will provide the following:

•   Flexible security appliances and embedded security blades in the H3C network chassis to improve performance and reduce hardware costs, while integrating security at more points throughout the network fabric. This includes new VPN and firewall solutions – the H3C SecPath F-Series and H3C SecBlade VPN firewalls – introduced today. [H3C SecPath and SecBlade Products Announcement].
•   TippingPoint IPS blades, as well as H3C security modules, will be embedded in the network infrastructure products provided by H3C, providing a more comprehensive product portfolio with improved performance.
•   A unified network and security management framework based on TippingPoint’s Security Management System (SMS) and H3C’s Intelligent Management Center (IMC) spanning all security devices to reduce the cost of implementing and managing complex security policies, and provide greater visibility to network operations.

“The proliferation of internal and application-specific network security threats and the burden of compliance initiatives have greatly increased network security complexity and management costs,” said Saar Gillai, 3Com senior vice president, worldwide products and solutions. “To address this, we are integrating our industry-leading TippingPoint IPS with our H3C networking and security solutions to increase the level and sophistication of security services that enterprises should expect without sacrificing network performance. The integrated management framework will allow our customers to realize better protection, greater operational efficiency, reduced response times, and lower cost-per-incident.”

Traditional Security Approaches Giving Way to the Need for a Secure Network Fabric

At one time, enterprises could only afford to focus on securing the perimeter of their network from a hostile outside world without risking a decrease in network performance for their “trusted” internal systems and applications. However, the need for enterprises to ‘open up’ their networks to business partners, consultants and other ‘untrusted’ entities, as well as the proliferation of internal network threats from botnets and worms, has increased the requirements for a pervasive security layer within the network fabric without compromising network performance. 

3Com is responding to this growing customer need with a broad range of solutions comprising high-speed dedicated security appliances, and embedded devices consisting of high-performance modular blades for its H3C enterprise chassis portfolio.  The result is a highly flexible offering that works with the capabilities of the switches in the network and the traffic flow to match the needs of any network topology or application environment.   No other networking or security vendor can deliver the price-performance, deployment flexibility, embedded security options, and high-availability that 3Com delivers. As a result, enterprises can expect to achieve the maximum network performance with strong security services baked inherently into the network fabric.

Delivering Policy-based Solutions to Bridge the Gap between Security and Network Management

Critical to the success of a secure network fabric is a single-view, centralized policy management system, with distributed enforcement points throughout the network. As part of its integrated security strategy, 3Com is also unifying the management of all individual security devices with network policy management into a common security management platform - a single-vendor solution virtually unrivaled by any other network security vendor. By assembling disjoint policy implementations aligned with specific security devices into a unified framework, 3Com will be able to facilitate the creation and deployment of increasingly complex compliance and risk management initiatives that automate policy enforcement and adapt to emerging threats throughout the secure network fabric.

3Com will begin by integrating the TippingPoint SMS and the H3C IMC management platforms, and will ultimately deliver a unified policy-oriented management framework that will easily align the network with business objectives, while eliminating the manual event correlation and delayed responsiveness that burden enterprises today.  It will offer better communication between network and security operating centers for better visibility and control, while still allowing strict separation of duties between networking and security services as typically required in enterprise environments.

Supporting Quotes:

•   Commenting on 3Com’s security strategy, Phil Hochmuth, senior analyst at Yankee Group, added, “Enterprise network perimeters are dissolving as businesses open their doors to allow new levels of collaboration and interconnectivity with partners and customers. As a result of this, security must become pervasive throughout the network layer, which includes the switch fabric, as well as WLANs and the WAN. The integration of TippingPoint and H3C security technology into H3C's networking portfolio is a good example of this overall movement towards a converged network security and infrastructure.”