News Briefs: July 1, 2008

By Systems Management News Team

July 1, 2008 —  (Page 1 of 1)
Astaro Adds P2P to Security Gateway
Astaro released an update to its Security Gateway software, with new filtering options targeting instant messaging programs, VOIP and peer-to-peer applications. Security Gateway is available as a software or hardware appliance. Both versions use the same software, and with the release of this version, both offer tailor-made application filters that can keep employees from misusing the corporate network. For more lenient companies, the gateway can simply restrict bandwidth available to applications like BitTorrent and Skype. The Astaro Security Gateway is available as a software appliance for just under US$400. There are multiple forms of hardware-based appliances, and these begin at just under $1,000.


Tripwire Releases Free Virtualization Security Checker
Tripwire, a configuration and audit control provider, hopes to make it free and easy to keep virtual machines (VMs) running securely. The company released a free tool to check the configuration VMs for security holes. The software, known as ConfigCheck compares the configuration files of VMware ESX server images and compares them against VMware’s own best practices. Non-compliant VMs can be tagged or fixed to fall in line with the proper procedures. Tripwire ConfigCheck is available for free from www.vmware.com/go/configcheck. The software will bring VMware's Hardening Guidelines into full force against VMs.

Scalr a Self-Curing Server Farm Product
Web 2.0 application provider Intridea has released what it said is a self-curing and self-scaling hosting environment that utilizes the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) Web service. Scalr can set up server farms capable of scaling up to 100,000 or more users. Intridea executives said there is no installation or configuration required. Amazon EC2 provides resizable compute capacity in the cloud, and Scalr lets developers create server farms through a Web-based interface using pre-built Amazon Machine Images for load balancers, according to the company. Once a server farm is set up, Scalr will continuously monitor it and provide automatic scaling.  

AMD and Raritan Make DASH SDK
AMD and IT management product provider Raritan have created an SDK for Desktop and Mobile Architecture System Hardware standard. The DASH standard is a set of specifications from the Distributed Management Task Force to provide standards for remote management of desktop and mobile systems. AMD executives said the SDK is designed to reduce the cost of managing desktop and notebook clients for businesses by decreasing development time and improving interoperability. Both Raritan and AMD are members of the Distributed Management Task Force, and have collaborated on past standards, including Open Platform Management Architecture, an interface standard for systems management cards.

NetSuite Acquires OpenAir
On-demand integrated business management software provider NetSuite has signed a definitive agreement to acquire OpenAir, a company that makes professional services automation software. NetSuite will reportedly pay US$26 million in cash. NetSuite executives said the acquisition will bring together two of the industry’s top cloud computing business application providers. NetSuite added that all OpenAir employees will be retained, and the company will establish an east coast headquarters in OpenAir’s Boston location.

Idera Adds Six New SQL Tools to Beta
Systems management and database compliance specialist Idera has added six new editing and analysis tools to its SQL administrator toolset public beta, which consists of desktop products for monitoring and troubleshooting on the Microsoft SQL Server, the company said. Among the new items available in the beta are a job editor that edits SQL Agent jobs, a review and rebuilding tool for SQL Server indexes and a user clone that creates new users with a template. There is also a new search function, a status checker on all managed servers and an analyzer of index usage patterns. Idera executives said users of the public beta who provide feedback can buy the final version at a lowered price of US$195 per copy.



Related Search Term(s): Desktop management, security, server management, SQL, virtualization, AMD, Astaro, Idera, Intridea, NetSuite, OpenAir, Raritan, Tripwire, VMware

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