Netscout has announced two new products in its nGenius Packet Flow Switch (PFS) family, designed for critical network security visibility applications. The nGenius PFS 2200 series and nGenius PFS 4200 series, provide 10G and 40G platforms for delivering packet data to network security systems, launching advanced security-optimised capabilities in its product line.
According to a 2016 study on IT initiatives from business information provider IHS, almost 2 out of 3 respondents reported that they plan to implement network visibility and performance monitoring in the next 12 months. Network monitoring is the most important component in the initiatives aimed at reducing network and communications systems downtime, which according to IDC costs North American businesses US$700m annually.
Improving network security and reliability are the key drivers for network monitoring projects, both in service provider and enterprise environments. As these organisations seek to improve capital and operating efficiencies, they are under pressure to rationalise network resources and extend the life of their current investments, rather than add new network capacity. The expansion of security capabilities within the Netscout portfolio enables the networking and the security teams to implement joint security visibility projects, easing the expansion and adoption of security systems that require access to packet data, such as Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS), Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW), Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), and many others.
“Network security is fast becoming an urgent priority as a result of the rapid proliferation of IT applications and threats,” said Brian McCann, the president of Netscout’s Packet Flow Switch Business Unit. “Netscout is pioneering business assurance by combining monitoring and cybersecurity defenses into a unified architecture, Netscout delivers a complete business assurance solution, powered by IP intelligence. In doing so, Netscout is helping IT operations reduce costs, increase visibility, and spend less time managing their tools.”
