Juniper's vGW Virtual Gateway Offers VM Security

The networking giant unveils a virtual security firewall gateway.

Virtualization can be a great way for enterprises to reduce costs and avoid so-called server sprawl, but this new generation of virtual machines (VM)s require security just as their physical counterparts. Enter Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) which this week announced a new virtual security solution called the vGW Virtual Gateway.

 

The vGW builds on technology that Juniper gained when it acquired Altor Networks for $95 million in December. The vGW expands on the Altor technology and now integrates with the Juniper's SRX security gateway to provide security policy, management and enforcement across both virtual and physical infrastructure.

 

"The vGW is software that sits on the server and then communicates with the SRX," Peter Lunk, director of product marketing at Juniper's Security Business Unit, told InternetNews.com. "The SRX sends security zone information to the vGW which then puts virtual machines into secure zones."

 

The idea of VM security isn't new, with multiple vendors including Sourcefire, IBM and VMware in play, but Juniper said it's bringing additional layers of depth and scalability to virtual security. Also, while virtualization can sometimes be a challenge for application performance, Lunk said the vGW has a negligible impact on a virtual server's performance.