Stonesoft Announces StoneGate High Availability Firewall and VPN Solution for Large-Scale Enterprises, ISPs and Carriers

StoneGate, With Multi-Link Technology, is the First Firewall to Enable End-to-End High Availability and Security From the Corporate Intranet to One or More ISP Connections

HELSINKI, Finland and ATLANTA, March 19 /PRNewswire/ — Stonesoft Corporation (HEX: SFT1V), a leading provider of enterprise-level security and high availability software solutions, today announced StoneGate(TM), its fully scalable Firewall and VPN solution for large-scale enterprises, service providers and carriers. The StoneGate Firewall and VPN provides maximum network and VPN security as it includes all the latest secure firewall features and adds Stonesoft’s proven high availability, high throughput and advanced, enterprise-wide management. StoneGate, with its revolutionary Multi-Link technology, is the industry’s first firewall to enable end-to-end high availability and security from the corporate intranet out to multiple ISP connections. With the StoneGate Firewall and VPN, Stonesoft delivers upon its vision for the Secure, Highly Available Enterprise(SM).

Unlike any other firewall on the market, StoneGate has been specifically designed to meet the network requirements of large enterprises, ISPs, MSPs and ASPs by tightly integrating the operating system and the firewall to enable centralized management and maximum security in addition to providing Stonesoft’s leading high availability and load balancing technology. Specifically, the StoneGate Firewall and VPN security solution contains breakthrough security technologies such as: Stonesoft’s unique Multi-Link technology to allow secure connections and load balancing between multiple ISPs; Multi-layer Inspection technology to enable maximum security; and the highest performance of any existing firewall with the ability to handle over 300,000 concurrent connections at wire-speed throughput.

“We have successfully leveraged our long history of providing the leading high availability and load balancing technology to third party firewalls and network servers and today, with the introduction of the StoneGate Firewall and VPN solution, we extend our core technology to the high-end of the market,” said Esa Korvenmaa, CEO, Stonesoft Corporation. “Our StoneGate Firewall software for large-scale enterprises, as well as our strategic partnerships with leading appliance manufacturers, demonstrates that Stonesoft is well-suited to deliver the most advanced, flexible and secure infrastructure software designed from the ground up to service the demands of the large-scale enterprise.”

StoneGate Firewall and VPN Features

StoneGate contains many breakthrough technologies never before seen in a firewall including:

— Multi-Link Technology — StoneGate is the only complete, end-to-end security solution, to provide complete security and high availability from the corporate network out to the ISP(s).

— Multi-Layer Inspection Technology — StoneGate enables maximum security and throughput as it is an embedded firewall operating system and provides the leading stateful inspection and application-level proxy technologies.

— Built-in High Availability and Load Balancing — StoneGate incorporates Stonesoft proven clustering technology to enable firewall and server load balancing.

— Unmatched Performance — StoneGate enables well over 300,000 concurrent connections at wire-speed throughput, unlike other firewalls, security is not sacrificed for performance.

— Advanced Management — StoneGate is managed from the OS through an easy-to-use GUI and provides superior, flexible management tools to enable easy management of multiple firewalls in multiple locations across the enterprise to significantly minimize human error.

— Intelligent Rule Base Technology — StoneGate enables unified, easy-to-use security policy definition, templates, sub-rule bases and inherited rules.

About StoneGate Multi-Link Technology

Stonesoft has long provided high availability and load balancing software for network servers. High availability eliminates the single points of failure within the network and load balancing ensures maximum throughput. The next single point of failure is the ISP itself. Now, larger organizations can use multiple ISPs to eliminate single points of failure. StoneGate is the first firewall and VPN to provide secure connections and load balancing between multiple ISP connections through its use of Stonesoft’s unique Multi-Link technology. Load balancing the actual ISP connection is a cost-effective solution as administrators can choose the least expensive connection, whether it be an ISP connection or a leased line.

StoneGate’s Multi-Link technology enables Stonesoft to provide the first complete, end-to-end high availability and security solution to provide load balancing and high availability from the corporate Intranet out to the Internet connections. StoneGate’s Multi-Link functionality actually load balances the Internet connections and is the first firewall to ensure load balancing for both inbound and outbound traffic. Stonesoft’s Multi-Link technology is designed to enable optimized network performance by always choosing the fastest path for traffic. Unlike any firewall available today, StoneGate has the capability to handle well over 300,000 concurrent connections at wire-speed and can be used for both VPNs and Internet access. “There is a growing need in high-end ISP, MSP and telecommunications markets for an advanced firewall and VPN solution,” said Chris Christiansen, Vice President, Internet Security Software, IDC. “Stonesoft’s StoneGate with its Multi-link functionality is very well positioned to meet those types of demanding network requirements.”

Strategic Partnerships

Stonesoft has forged several key strategic partnerships and global industry alliances with leading security software developers, MSPs, hardware manufacturers and premier channel distributors. With the introduction of StoneGate, Stonesoft is now aligning with leading appliance manufacturers, and today announced a strategic partnership with Zuma Networks to deliver the industry’s first, truly scalable appliance platforms. Stonesoft and Zuma Networks will provide next generation, high availability appliance platform technology for network security and IP services.

Pricing and Availability

Stonesoft’s StoneGate High Availability Firewall and VPN will be available worldwide in April, 2001 through Stonesoft’s worldwide distribution channel, and through Stonesoft VARs. Evaluation copies will be available at http://www.stonesoft.com. Pricing for StoneGate is between $10,000-$35,000 USD, and is dependent upon configuration and number of protected nodes.

About Stonesoft Corporation

Stonesoft Corporation is a worldwide software company, with international headquarters in Helsinki, Finland and U.S. headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Stonesoft is the provider of enterprise-level network security and high availability clustering technology for companies deploying business-critical network applications on Internet and mobile servers. Stonesoft’s StoneGate(TM) is a firewall and VPN solution providing advanced security, dynamic load balancing and high availability. The StoneBeat(R) clustering product line provides the same functionality for third party firewalls, Web, content scanning, storage and database servers in wired and wireless environments. All of Stonesoft’s solutions are designed to Enable the Secure, Highly Available Enterprise(SM). For more information about Stonesoft Corporation and its products and services, please visit http://www.stonesoft.com. NOTE: Stonesoft, StoneGate and StoneBeat are registered trademarks of Stonesoft Corporation.

All other company and product names contained herein are property of their respective holders. Statements contained herein are forward-looking.

Don't miss