Virtualization is often considered a perfect match for an SME. Its management is usually easier—once you work out the infrastructure kinks—and costs are lower, as it takes prime advantage of each physical server. Yet, even with these clear benefits, virtual machines also come with their own set of security challenges. RedCannon recently released the vDefense security appliance, a powerful and unique unified threat management system that monitors virtual servers built around VMware vSphere and helps SMEs with compliance enforcement, firewall and traffic isolation, and other security concerns.
“Virtualization is growing rapidly, making it easier to consolidate a number of physical boxes to give them higher scale and a broader range of services in a small environment,” says Vimal Vaidya, RedCannon’s CEO, adding that the technique of running multiple operating systems and applications within those environments provides a way for a smaller company to offer a greater set of skilled services and to manage floor space, cooling, and the entire infrastructure more easily. Yet, as Vaidya cautions, with this greater flexibility comes a greater need for managers to monitor VM security.