Testing outside the box

Four special Clear Choice Tests push the limits of what products can do.

By Christine Burns, Network World, 02/28/05

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In the majority of Network World Clear Choice Tests, the bottom line is a firm recommendation of which comparable product offers the top performance, the best management wares and the most useful feature set. But in some test cases, the question of which product is best is better answered with "it depends" - it depends on the technology, it depends on your network, it depends on your users' requirements, and it depends on your budget.

In 2004, four tests fell into that category. In these tests, we examined a new breed of intrusion-prevention system (IPS); delved into the security of two VoIP configurations; completed a survey of where wireless gear stands up and falls down on security; and put a record-breaking number of anti-spam software, appliance and service products through the wringer. Because of the nature of these tests, naming absolute winners wasn't possible. But that's not to say that some of these products aren't worthy for this year's Best Products portfolio.

IPS 'In the Wild'

For our first-ever "In the Wild" IPS test last February, we spent five months testing 11 products on a live distributed network. We examined what these products could detect, how powerful and flexible they were in blocking traffic, and how their management systems supported real network topologies.

In our test, conducted in concert by Lab Alliance members David Newman, Joel Snyder and Rodney Thayer, Top Layer Networks' Attack Mitigator IPS 100 and Captus Networks' Captus IPS 4100XT got top ratings among rate-based IPS products, which block traffic based on load. With a clear focus on the problem of denial of service and distributed DoS attacks, Top Layer brings together all the tools needed to protect against the widest variety of intentional and unintentional problems. Captus' product had an astonishing level of detail and control when it comes to managing packet flows.

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