* NetContinuum secures Web applications while optimizing performance
As more application acceleration vendors get gobbled up by big network players such as Cisco and Juniper, companies like NetContinuum see the consolidation as a chance to highlight the benefits of putting multiple optimization features in one box.
Research firm Gartner says the application delivery and Web application firewall markets are going to converge, which could offer customers performance, management and cost-saving benefits. For NetContinuum it means the time is right to showcase its multi-purpose boxes and go head-to-head with competitors such as F5 Networks.
The Web application firewall vendor says it has always provided network managers with tools to secure their Web applications, but NetContinuum CEO Gene Banman says the company will start showing off its application delivery and optimization features.
“We are a full proxy at the HTTP level, so our network box sits between the servers and the network. We can get control of the whole session and apply sets of traffic management features based on rules set by the administrator,” Banman explains. “We can do load balancing, caching, compression and apply security. Essentially our technology maps out what’s most appropriate for each session from a single point of control instead of having to do this across boxes.”
An example of how NetContinuum can help security and deliver optimized application performance, Banman says, is in the case of HTTP Request Smuggling. According to the company, “an HTTP Request Smuggling attack piggybacks an HTTP request inside of another HTTP request, letting a remote attacker conduct cache poisoning, launch cross-site scripting, hijack user sessions, and evade IDS signatures.”
The attacks could potentially compromise Web applications that use Web caching, content switching and other traffic management techniques, the company says.
NetContinuum’s NC-1000 Application Security Gateway protects a customer’s Web applications from this new class of attacks, Banman says. The Web application firewall provides bi-directional, “deep inspection” of Web traffic, including encrypted traffic and encoded content, which allows enforcement of granular security policies. The NC-1000 is deployed within customers’ data centers between their routers and Web servers, automatically providing application security and optimizing application delivery, the company says. Available now, the NC-1000 costs less than $30,000.
NetContinuum is expected to announce products in a month or so that further show how its boxes can secure, optimize and deliver Web applications.
