Organisations are embracing virtualised environments for the cost savings they bring to the enterprise. In order to move a VMware environment from test to production, it is critical for organisations to ensure that the applications deployed on virtual machines have the same level of performance, availability and security they have in the physical world.
To help ensure secure migration to and maintenance of virtual environments, NetIQ Corporation, an Attachmate business, today announced its adherence to industry-set security configuration standards and best practices, as NetIQ Secure Configuration Manager has achieved the Centre for Internet Security (CIS) Benchmark for VMware ESX Server 3.x.
An increasing number of companies are recognising the cost savings benefits - specifically during these energy-conscious times - of reduced power output that comes from migrating to a virtualised environment. Leading industry analyst firm, Gartner Inc, predicts that by 2009, 60% of production virtual machines will be less secure than their physical counterparts as the rapid implementation of virtual machines breaks down some of the old security disciplines in the data centre. [1]
Automated security precautions to ensure that applications are secure against vulnerabilities and threats is an essential element of moving VMware projects from the testing phase to actual production. SCM's adherence to the CIS Benchmark for VMware ESX Server 3.x provides assurance for customers that they have the correct configuration of ESX servers as defined by CIS, thereby protecting VMware servers against denial of service and other potential security vulnerabilities.
Ulrich Weigel, EMEA product line director at NetIQ, comments: "Migrating to the virtualised infrastructure requires the same service levels - performance, availability, security - as the physical environment, otherwise all the cost saving benefits could be put at risk. It is vital that organisations have comprehensive systems and security management in place to secure critical applications and provide administrators with full visibility across the entire environment. Our ability to ensure that the servers are correctly configured to align with security industry best practices helps VMware projects quickly and confidently move into production without sacrificing the cost efficiencies they promise."
In addition to SCM's compliance with this CIS Benchmark, NetIQ continues to demonstrate its ongoing commitment to provide complete management solutions for VMware with the addition of new features for the NetIQ AppManager Suite - its flagship systems management solution. A new reporting pack for NetIQ Analysis Center includes specific reports for the VMware infrastructure, enabling customers to better document and report on their virtual investment strategy.
For more information on CIS Benchmarks, please visit http://www.cisecurity.org.
[1] Gartner "Data Centre Conference: Day 3 Highlights 'Virtualisation'" by Mike Chuba et al, 30 November 2007.
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