Virtual Desktop Strategies, Server Hypervisors
Article | April 27, 2023
It’s an impactful release focused on significant NSX Security enhancements
Putting a hard shell around a soft core is not a recipe for success in security, but somehow legacy security architectures for application protection have often looked exactly like that: a hard perimeter firewall layer for an application infrastructure that was fundamentally not built with security as a primary concern. VMware NSX Distributed Firewall pioneered the micro-segmentation concept for granular access controls for cloud applications with the initial launch of the product in 2013. The promise of Zero Trust security for applications, the simplicity of deployment of the solution, and the ease of achieving internal security objectives made NSX an instant success for security-sensitive customers.
Our newest release — NSX-T 3.2 — establishes a new marker for securing application infrastructure by introducing significant new features to identify and respond to malware and ransomware attacks in the network, to enhance user identification and L7 application identification capabilities, and, at the same time, to simplify deployment of the product for our customers.
Modern day security teams need to secure mission-critical infrastructure from both external and internal attacks. By providing unprecedented threat visibility leveraging IDS, NTA, and Network Detection and Response (NDR) capabilities along with granular controls leveraging L4-L7 Firewall, IPS, and Malware Prevention capabilities, NSX 3.2 delivers an incredible security solution for our customers“
Umesh Mahajan, SVP, GM (Networking and Security Business Unit)
Distributed Advanced Threat Prevention (ATP)
Attackers often use multiple sophisticated techniques to penetrate the network, move laterally within the network in a stealthy manner, and exfiltrate critical data at an appropriate time. Micro-segmentation solutions focused solely on access control can reduce the attack surface — but cannot provide the detection and prevention technologies needed to thwart modern attacks. NSX-T 3.2 introduces several new capabilities focused on detection and prevention of attacks inside the network. Of critical note is that these advanced security solutions do not need network taps, separate monitoring networks, or agents inside each and every workload.
Distributed Malware Prevention
Lastline’s highly reputed dynamic malware technology is now integrated with NSX Distributed Firewall to deliver an industry-first Distributed Malware Prevention solution. Leveraging the integration with Lastline, a Distributed Firewall embedded within the hypervisor kernel can now identify both “known malicious” as well as “zero day” malware
Distributed Behavioral IDS
Whereas earlier versions of NSX Distributed IDPS (Intrusion Detection and Prevention System) delivered primarily signature-based detection of intrusions, NSX 3.2 introduces “behavioral” intrusion detection capabilities as well. Even if specific IDS signatures are not triggered, this capability helps customers know whether a workload is seeing any behavioral anomalies, like DNS tunneling or beaconing, for example, that could be a cause for concern.
Network Traffic Analysis (NTA)
For customers interested in baselining network-wide behavior and identifying anomalous behavior at the aggregated network level, NSX-T 3.2 introduces Distributed Network Traffic Analysis (NTA). Network-wide anomalies like lateral movement, suspicious RDP traffic, and malicious interactions with the Active Directory server, for example, can alert security teams about attacks underway and help them take quick remediation actions.
Network Detection and Response (NDR)
Alert overload, and resulting fatigue, is a real challenge among security teams. Leveraging advanced AI/ML techniques, the NSX-T 3.2 Network Detection and Response solution consolidates security IOCs from different detection systems like IDS, NTA, malware detection. etc., to provide a ”campaign view” that shows specific attacks in play at that point in time. MITRE ATT&CK visualization helps customers see the specific stage in the kill chain of individual attacks, and the ”time sequence” view helps understand the sequence of events that contributed to the attack on the network.
Key Firewall Enhancements
While delivering new Advanced Threat Prevention capabilities is one key emphasis for the NSX-T 3.2 release, providing meaningful enhancements for core firewalling capabilities is an equally critical area of innovation.
Distributed Firewall for VDS Switchports
While NSX-T has thus far supported workloads connected to both overlay-based N-VDS switchports as well as VLAN-based switchports, customers had to move the VLAN switchports from VDS to N-VDS before a Distributed Firewall could be enforced. With NSX-T 3.2, native VLAN DVPGs are supported as-is, without having to move to N-VDS. Effectively, Distributed Security can be achieved in a completely seamless manner without having to modify any networking constructs.
Distributed Firewall workflows in vCenter
With NSX-T 3.2, we are introducing the ability to create and modify Distributed Firewall rules natively within vCenter. For small- to medium-sized VMware customers, this feature simplifies the user experience by eliminating the need to leverage a separate NSX Manager interface.
Advanced User Identification for Distributed and Gateway Firewalls
NSX supported user identity-based access control in earlier releases. With NSX-T 3.2, we’re introducing the ability to directly connect to Microsoft Active Directory to support user identity mapping. In addition, for customers who do not use Active Directory for user authentication, NSX also supports VMware vRealize LogInsight as an additional method to carry out user identity mapping. This feature enhancement is applicable for both NSX Distributed Firewall as well as NSX Gateway Firewall.
Enhanced L7 Application Identification for Distributed and Gateway Firewalls
NSX supported Layer-7 application identification-based access control in earlier releases. With NSX-T 3.2, we are enhancing the signature set to about 750 applications. While several perimeter firewall vendors claim a larger set of Layer-7 application signatures, they focus mostly on internet application identification (like Facebook, for example). Our focus with NSX at this time is on internal applications hosted by enterprises. This feature enhancement is applicable for both NSX Distributed Firewall as well as Gateway Firewalls.
NSX Intelligence
NSX Intelligence is geared towards delivering unprecedented visibility for all application traffic inside the network and enabling customers to create micro-segmentation policies to reduce the attack surface. It has a processing pipeline that de-dups, aggregates, and correlates East-West traffic to deliver in-depth visibility.
Scalability enhancements for NSX Intelligence
As application infrastructure grows rapidly, it is vital that one’s security analytics platform can grow with it. With the new release, we have rearchitected the application platform upon which NSX Intelligence runs — moving from a stand-alone appliance to a containerized micro-service architecture powered by Kubernetes. This architectural change future-proofs the Intelligence data lake and allows us to eventually scale out our solution to n-node Kubernetes clusters.
Large Enterprise customers that need visibility for application traffic can confidently deploy NSX Intelligence and leverage the enhanced scale it supports.
NSX Gateway Firewall
While NSX Distributed Firewall focuses on east-west controls within the network, NSX Gateway Firewall is used for securing ingress and egress traffic into and out of a zone.
Gateway Firewall Malware Detection
NSX Gateway Firewall in the 3.2 release received significant Advanced Threat Detection capabilities. Gateway Firewall can now identify both known as well as zero-day malware ingressing or egressing the network. This new capability is based on the Gateway Firewall integration with Lastline’s highly reputed dynamic network sandbox technology.
Gateway Firewall URL Filtering
Internal users and applications reaching out to malicious websites is a huge security risk that must be addressed. In addition, enterprises need to limit internet access to comply with corporate internet usage policies. NSX Gateway Firewall in 3.2 introduces the capability to restrict access to internet sites. Access can be limited based on either the category the URL belongs to, or the “reputation” of the URL. The URL to category and reputation mapping is constantly updated by VMware so customer intent is enforced automatically even after many changes in the internet sites themselves.
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Server Virtualization
Article | May 17, 2023
Virtualization has become integral to modern computing, enabling organizations to optimize their resources and increase efficiency. Following are the upcoming events taking place in France, China, USA, Netherlands, and Germany, from April 2023 to December 2023. Let's take a closer look at each of these events and know what attendees can expect to gain from them.
The following events will provide insight into the growing impact of virtualization on upcoming as well as established organizations. The renowned speakers in the following events will give economic value to the concept of virtualization and how it can transform business operations. By attending these events, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the latest trends, technologies, and strategies in virtualization, as well as the potential benefits and challenges associated with its implementation.
1. 18th Workshop on Virtualization in High-Performance Cloud Computing
May 25, 2023 | Hamburg (Germany)
The VHPC workshop at the International Supercomputing Conference - High Performance 2023 invites researchers and industrial practitioners to submit original and high-quality papers on virtualization in HPC, containers, virtualization, and cloud computing. The workshop will cover a broad range of topics related to virtualization, including virtualization for scientific computing and big data analytics, virtualization for high-performance computing and data centers, and virtualization for edge, fog computing, and more. The workshop will provide a forum for researchers to present their latest research findings, share ideas, and collaborate on new research directions.
2. VMware Explore 2023
August 5-10, 2023 | Nevada (USA)
The VMware Explore 2023 conference is a specialized event focusing on virtualization and cloud computing technologies for data centers and virtual workspace infrastructure. It will cover topics on cloud & edge infrastructure, networking & security, modern applications & cloud management, hybrid workforce, vision & innovation. VMware Explore 2023 will host a community of technology users and leaders involved in enterprise applications, cloud architecture, infrastructure, end users, networking, and security.
3. Data Center World
May 8 - 11, 2023 | Texas (USA)
This is the only global event that brings together the entire data center industry, making it the go-to resource for anybody looking to optimize their data center strategy. Data Center World is the premier event for digital infrastructure, that will cater to the needs of data center managers, IT executives, and the pioneers who will shape the future of the digital sector. The technologies and concepts for designing, managing, and optimizing data centers will be presented at the event, along with expert advice and guidance.
4. The Fourteenth International Conference on Cloud Computing, GRIDs, and Virtualization
June 26 - 30, 2023 | Saint-Laurent-du-Var (France)
The Fourteenth International Conference on Cloud Computing, GRIDs, and Virtualization is an upcoming conference that will provide a forum for researchers and practitioners to present and discuss the latest research, trends & practical applications in cloud computing, grids, and virtualization. The conference will cover various topics related to these fields, including cloud security and privacy, cloud storage, cloud economics, and more. The conference will provide a platform for attendees to discuss emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities in these fields, as well as present their research findings and insights.
5. Knowledge 2023
May 16 - 18, 2023 | Las Vegas (United States)
The event is organized by ServiceNow, which provides cloud-based IT service management, IT operations management, and IT business management solutions. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bill McDermott will deliver the opening keynote address. The event will include a wide range of sessions: Hands-on Labs, Presentations from Experts, Art of the Possible HackZone Demo, Annual Hackathon, Community Meetups, challenges, and more. Attendees will be able to connect with visionaries worldwide and gain new ServiceNow skills and fresh insights into the power of digital transformation.
6. 2023 5TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HARDWARE SECURITY AND TRUST (ICHST 2023)
July 8 - 10, 2023 | Wuxi (China)
The 5th International Conference on Hardware Security and Trust (ICHST 2023) will serve as a workshop for ICSIP 2023 and is sponsored by Southeast University, China, with co-sponsorship from Southeast University Wuxi Campus and the School of Cyber Science and Engineering. ICHST is an annual symposium that will seek to promote the rapid growth of hardware-based security research and development. It will focus on presenting new findings in hardware and system security, covering topics such as secure hardware techniques, tools, design and test methods, architectures, circuits, and applications.
7. .NEXT
May 9 - 10, 2023 | Chicago (USA)
.NEXT conference is a series of annual events organized by Nutanix, a cloud computing and hyper-converged infrastructure company. It will cover fascinating insights about new work, global supply chains, utopian visions, the metaverse and Web3, smart technology, intelligence, and many more. The conference will typically feature keynote presentations, technical sessions, and hands-on labs focused on cloud computing, data center infrastructure, and digital transformation. Attendees will also be able to experience test-drive demos.
8. Wan Summit: Enterprise Networks Chicago
September 28, 2023 | Chicago (USA)
Connectivity infrastructure is the main topic of discussion at WAN Summit, an invitation-only conference for network and engineering professionals shaping the future of the workplace. In order to help businesses, provide a better experience for their customers, the WAN Summit will discuss the issues that persist in the networking department. The event will have sessions as network manager focus, enterprise case studies, exhibition and networking drinks reception, and so on.
9. Black Hat USA
August 5 -10, 2023 | Nevada (USA)
This year marks the 26th annual Black Hat USA conference, which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. Attendees of all experience levels can participate in four days of intensive cybersecurity training. More than a hundred carefully-chosen briefings, hundreds of open-source tool demonstrations in Arsenal, a robust business hall, networking and social events, and much more will fill the two days of the main conference. This year, Black Hat will also debut a live, in-person Certification program that will last for a whole day.
10. Gartner IT Symposium | Xpo
October 16 -19, 2023 | Orlando (USA)
The strategic concerns of enterprise CIOs and their executive teams are the focus of the Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo. At the Gartner IT Symposium, a worldwide network of experts and peers will talk about game-changing innovations. Chief Information Officers and other IT executives will discuss the latest developments in the fields of accelerating business transformation, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, customer experience, data analytics, executive leadership, and many other topics that will shape the future of IT and business.
11. Container Days
September 11 -13, 2023 | Hamburg (Germany)
An amazing learning experience on Kubernetes, Cloud Native, Container Security, DevOps, GitOps, Edge Computing, and more is available at CDS, where the CDS family increases yearly. Global tycoons will gather in person and online to share insights, make connections, and do business. Opportunities to meet like-minded people and open discussion forums are favorites among open-source and cloud-native project fans. More in-depth technical presentations and engaging panel discussions will be live across five stages this year.
12. Big Data Expo
September 12 - 13, 2023 | Utrecht (Netherlands)
Supply and demand in the big data industry are finally brought together at Big Data Expo. This is the only conference in the Benelux region covering every data management facet. Exhibitors are prioritized who regularly engage in data aggregation, generation, analysis, optimization, and application across a variety of scales and contexts. The two-day conference will cover various topics, from cloud computing and data visualization to data security and machine learning/artificial intelligence. If you're interested in data, the Big Data Expo is the place to be.
13. Red Hat Summit
May 23 - 25, 2023 | Massachusetts (USA)
The seminars, workshops, demos, laboratories, and training opportunities at Red Hat Summit 2023 in Boston (Massachusetts), will be invaluable to the individuals and their teams. In addition, this year's event will be held in conjunction with AnsibleFest, adding automation to the diverse mix of offerings that are used to address a world of IT challenges, in addition to keynotes, customer and partner stories, topics, and tracks designed to help you make the most of hybrid cloud technology. Participants will be able to watch or rewatch major announcements and view dozens of new sessions and recorded sessions from Boston—at no cost to you.
14. TechNet Cyber 2023
May 2 -4, 2023 | Baltimore convention center, Maryland (USA)
TechNet Cyber is the best chance to showcase products & services to the nation's top network security, operations, and defense decision-makers. The U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency is always on the lookout for fresh concepts to help standardize and streamline cyber operations throughout the Department of Defense and the armed forces' various components. To tackle global security concerns and successfully function in a digital world, AFCEA's TechNet Cyber acts as a focal point for a government-wide effort to consolidate the policy, strategic architecture, operations, and C2, as well as the combined capabilities necessary to do so.
15. IEEE International Conference On Smart Information Systems and Technologies
May 4 - 6, 2023 | Scientific Society (Kazakhstan)
The 2023 IEEE SIST International Conference, technically co-sponsored by the IEEE Ukraine Section, is an essential event in the scientific society of Kazakhstan. Professionals, researchers, scientists, specialists, and students from a unique opportunity for participants to expand their knowledge and various areas of the IT industry from around the globe will attend this conference. The conference will offer perspectives on specific topics, and contribute to finding solutions to current IT trends. Additionally, the conference will be covering several research areas, including technology and engineering management, governance, finance, economy, and more.
Conclusion
The events will help organizations capitalize on the opportunities presented by virtualization and remain ahead of the curve in today's rapidly evolving digital landscape. The purpose of the events is to facilitate collaboration, the exchange of knowledge, and the discussion of innovative solutions for virtualized computing systems of the future.
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Server Virtualization
Article | June 9, 2022
Why Should Companies Care about Data Virtualization?
Data is everywhere. With each passing day, companies generate more data than ever before, and what exactly can they do with all this data? Is it just a matter of storing it? Or should they manage and integrate their data from the various sources? How can they store, manage, integrate and utilize their data to gain information that is of critical value to their business?
As they say, knowledge is power, but knowledge without action is useless. This is where the Denodo Platform comes in. The Denodo Platform gives companies the flexibility to evolve their data strategies, migrate to the cloud, or logically unify their data warehouses and data lakes, without affecting business. This powerful platform offers a variety of subscription options that can benefit companies immensely.
For example, companies often start out with individual projects using a Denodo Professional subscription, but in a short period of time they end up adding more and more data sources and move on to other Denodo subscriptions such as Denodo Enterprise or Denodo Enterprise Plus. The upgrade process is very easy to establish; in fact, it can be done in less than a day once the cloud marketplace is chosen (Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP). In as little as six weeks companies can realize real business benefits from managing and utilizing their data effectively.
A Bridging Layer
Data virtualization has been around for quite some time now. Denodo’s founders, Angel Viña and Alberto Pan, have been involved in data virtualization from as far back as the 1990’s. If you’re not familiar with data virtualization, here is a quick summary.
Data virtualization is the cornerstone to a logical data architecture, whether it be a logical data warehouse, logical data fabric, data mesh, or even a data hub. All of these architectures are best served by our principals Combine (bring together all your data sources), Connect (into a logical single view) and Consume (through standard connectors to your favorite BI/data science tools or through our easy-to-use robust API’s).
Data virtualization is the bridge that joins multiple data sources to fuel analytics. It is also the logical data layer that effectively integrates data silos across disparate systems, manages unified data for centralized security, and delivers it to business users in real time.
Economic Benefits in Less Than 6 weeks with Data Virtualization?
In a short duration, how can companies benefit from choosing data virtualization as a data management solution?
To answer this question, below are some very interesting KPI’s discussed in the recently released Forrester study on the Total Economic Impact of Data Virtualization. For example, companies that have implemented data virtualization have seen an 83% increase in business user productivity.
Mainly this is due to the business-centric way a data virtualization platform is delivered. When you implement data virtualization, you provide business users with an easy to access democratized interface to their data needs.
The second KPI to note is a 67% reduction in development resources. With data virtualization, you connect to the data, you do not copy it. This means once it is set up, there is a significant reduction in the need for data integration engineers, as data remains in the source location and is not copied around the enterprise.
Finally, companies are reporting a 65% improvement in data access speeds above and beyond more traditional approaches such as extract, transform, and load (ETL) processes.
A Modern Solution for an Age-Old Problem
To understand how data virtualization can help elevate projects to an enterprise level, we can share a few use cases in which companies have leveraged data virtualization to solve their business problems across several different industries.
For example, in finance and banking we often see use cases in which data virtualization can be used as a unifying platform to help improve compliance and reporting. In retail, we see use cases including predictive analytics in supply chains as well as next and best actions from a unified view of the customer. There are many uses for data virtualization in a wider variety of situations, such as in healthcare and government agencies. Companies use the Denodo Platform to help data scientists understand key trends and activities, both sociologically as well as economically.
In a nutshell, if data exists in more than one source, then the Denodo Platform acts as the unifying platform that connects, combines and allows users to consume the data in a timely, cost-effective manner.
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