Valt.X locks down storage resources

By Deni Connor
Network World, 01/28/02

TORONTO - Storage security vendor Valt×X is looking to protect enterprise data where it lives: directly on your hard drive.

The company last week unveiled the Valt×X Dual Storage Firewall and the RAID Storage Firewall, which sit between a computer's motherboard and hard disk drive to control access to crucial server and workstation operating systems, configuration settings and other system information. The idea behind the storage firewalls is to deflect hacker or virus attacks and keep them from spreading to other networked resources.

The Valt×X Dual Storage Firewall and RAID Storage Firewall work in tandem with mirrored storage arrays, known as RAID-1 level storage components. The combination saves the mirrored RAID settings so they can be automatically relaunched in the event of failure or intrusion to the network.

When a network administrator boots the server, the Valt×X hardware stores the image of the drive and locks the system to prevent any changes from being made. The Valt×X Dual Storage Firewall partitions the server's disk into two partitions: one contains the disk data, and a separate protected area mirrors the system configuration, operating system and applications. The server reads this protected copy when it boots but can not change it without entry of a proper supervisor password.

Ed Kozlowski, president of automotive bearing manufacturer Wheel Weights International in Toronto, bought two Valt×X firewalls after suffering through a messy virus attack. "It caused a lot of lost time and expense getting it corrected that could have been avoided [with Valt×X in place]," Kozlowski says.

The Valt×X RAID Storage Firewall and Dual Storage Firewall compete against adapter- and software-level products such as Jungsoft's HDD Sheriff or Juzt-Reboot Technology's Juzt-Reboot but differs in their implementation. HDD Sheriff and Juzt-Reboot load software on the system, which viruses or malicious code easily could wipe out.

Valt×X Dual and RAID Storage Firewall operate on X86-based servers using Linux, Unix, Windows NT/2000 or NetWare NOS software. The Valt×X Dual Storage Firewall is $125 per server and will be available in March; the Valt×X RAID Storage Firewall is $160 per server and will be available next month.