Novell unveils security appliance

Novell this week is expected to launch a software-based security appliance for small and midsized businesses that will protect them from threats such as hackers, viruses, worms, spam and intrusions.

The Novell Security Manager, which will be unveiled at the RSA Conference this week in San Francisco, consists of software installed on an industry-standard server. Novell Security Manager, which is based on Linux, has a Web-based management interface and a reporting tool. Novell OEMs the software from Astaro Networks, who sells security gateway appliances

Novell Security Manager includes six security applications - firewall, VPN gateway, intrusion protection, virus protection, spam protection blocks and content filtering.

These capabilities allow an IT administrator to control the flow of traffic into an organization and block attacks on the network. The VPN capability provides secure network access to remote users. With spam protection blocks, the IT administrator can select rules, patterns and thresholds to quarantine or report suspected spam.

The Novell Security Manager sits at the edge of the network and can protect Windows, NetWare, Linux and Unix networks. Novell and Astaro are working on future releases of the Novell Security manager to include Novell’s BorderManager functionality.

The Novell Security Manager is available now starting at $315 for a single server and ten-device license.