Network Associates to bring Sniffer under net management umbrella

In addition to incorporating intrusion-detection capabilities into its Sniffer protocol-analysis product line this year, Network Associates plans to give Sniffer the ability to report potential problems to network management platforms from Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Computer Associates.

"Sniffer's strength over the years has been to do very quick analysis," Network Associates president Gene Hodges said. "Now we want it to fit under the larger network umbrella." Sniffer today is oriented toward sharing information with its own management console.

Last month Network Associates' Sniffer Technologies division shipped a version of the Sniffer tool designed to share information with the Micromuse network management product, Netcool. The next goal is to develop Sniffer to work with IBM's Tivoli Enterprise Console, as well as HP's OpenView and CA's Unicenter TNG.

"We're also strengthening the enterprise reporting that Sniffer does," Hodges said. "We want it to do application-performance management by looking at application data, whether it's SAP or voice over IP."

Sniffer will also report on capacity utilization, the company told analysts in New York this week. "This would make it more of a tool for end-to-end management for backbone carriers," Hodges said.

In other news, Network Associates late Wednesday concluded an agreement with Secure Computing to sell the Network Associates Gauntlet firewall/VPN product line to Secure Computing for an undisclosed price.

Network Associates last year began selling off most of the assets of its PGP division, of which the Gauntlet firewall was part. Remaining assets include the PGP file desktop and e-mail encryption software, for which Network Associates is still seeking a buyer.

Secure Computing president and chief operating officer Tim McGurran said one of the main attractions to Gauntlet is its installed base of over 4,000 customers and 100 value-added resellers.

"We want to buy this because of the great customer list," said McGurran. That list includes the U.S. Army and Navy, as well as companies like State Farm Insurance.

Secure Computing already markets its own firewall/VPN product called Sidewinder. McGurran said Secure Computing plans to support the Gauntlet firewall over the course of this year. But while the company isn't ready to publicly announce specific plans, the probable outcome is that Gauntlet will be phased out in favor of Sidewinder.

In some regards, it will close a chapter in the history of the development of the firewall.

Gauntlet, created over a decade ago by Trusted Information Systems, and Sidewinder were both among the very earliest firewalls to reach the market. Network Associates paid $250 million for TIS three years ago, and while Secure Computing isn't divulging what it's paying for Gauntlet, McGurran said the acquisition price was not in that range at all.