* NeoScale CryptoStor SAN VPN
Storage security vendor NeoScale is using VPN technology to protect storage data as it crosses metropolitan fiber networks.
One challenge in protecting storage data as it crosses Fibre Channel networks in metropolitan areas is that it requires a router to encapsulate the traffic in IP packets, then a separate device to encrypt it. This adds complexity, cost and latency to the network.
NeoScale’s CryptoStor SAN (storage-area network) VPN appliance performs both of these functions in a single box and does so with latency low enough so it doesn’t disrupt real-time storage applications such as synchronous disk mirroring. If latency is too high, sessions are lost. The company claims it processes traffic at wire speed.
One of the devices sits at each end of a SAN connection in line with the traffic and is connected to the network via 2G bit/sec Fibre Channel ports. As the traffic passes through, it is encrypted using advanced encryption standard, one of the standards used for IP Security (IPSec) VPNs. CryptoStor SAN VPN also compresses traffic to make better use of the metropolitan links that carry the traffic. At the receiving end, the second box decrypts and decompresses the traffic.
The devices can be clustered to perform backup for each other in case one fails.
The devices also use smart card two-factor authentication commonly employed with IPSec VPNs and access to the management ports are via authenticated SSL connections.
NeoScale SAN VPN is available now with a starting price of $40,000 for one appliance.
