Monthly Newsletter January 2008
Powerful perimeter security on a budget
Background
Information technology, electronic communication and network connectivity have become crucial to the success of the Paterson Institute for Cancer Research. However, with over 200 staff and growing network infrastructure needs, the Institute recognised the need to upgrade the security and capacity of its existing firewall.
Research organisations reliant upon charitable funding such as the Paterson Institute generally face resource limitations in terms of system developments. Given the nature of the data used at the Paterson Institute, security is a key priority. The Paterson Institute therefore needed to find a solution to secure and manage the network from external threats that also provided considerable value for money.
Organisation
The Paterson Institute for Cancer Research is an internationally renowned research institute of The University of Manchester, which is supported by major core funding from Cancer Research UK.
With excellent laboratory facilities and state of the art core services, the Institute supports a number of investigative programmes, spanning both basic and translational cancer research. The Paterson Institute also has a strong academic programme and is committed to training the next generation of cancer scientists
The infrastructure consists of a high speed LAN with a mix of 100mbs and 1gbps edge switches. There is also routed connectivity to a number of separate research and allied organisations and high speed links to academic networks.
Requirements
The Paterson Institute for Cancer Research had initially installed a Global Technology Associates (GTA) GB-1000 firewall. However, after 6 years of robust reliability with the GB-1000 firewall the Institute needs had grown. The present firewall did not provide the performance that the Institute’s expanding network environment required. A true multi gigabit firewall solution was required to ensure no degradation of network bandwidth.
With its increased reliance on electronic communications, the Institute were also concerned with the level of protection they were receiving against email threats from the current solution in place. Spam and viruses attacks were a growing concern for the Institute and they needed a solution to manage the risks.
Cost was the dominant factor when sourcing a solution to meet all their needs and due to the limited resources, the solution also had to be easy to use and future compatible. New technology often increases demands on support teams and the institute did not have the funds to heavily invest in further training or complicated changes in the infrastructure. A user-friendly solution, requiring little support was necessary, so that IT staff could focus on the Institutes core business objectives.
Solution
The GB-3000 Gigabit Firewall UTM Appliance from GTA provided all the advanced network security features needed with one of the best price/performance values in today’s firewall market.
Global Secure Systems (GSS), a certified GTA partner and expert in IT security, has worked with the Institute for over 6 years and originally installed the GB-1000. After the Institute out grew the original solution, GSS recommended the GTA’s flagship firewall to address all of their needs. “We chose the GTA solution due to its ease of manageability, scalability and value for money,” explains Malik Pervez, Head of IT at Paterson Institute for Cancer Research. “We have worked with GSS for a number of years and have been very satisfied with the level of service they provide. Our experience with the last model and the trust we have built with GSS resulted in the Institute investing in the GB-3000.”
The increased processing power of the GB-3000 handles the high volumes of network traffic at the Institute without throughput degradation. The GB-3000 supports up to ten gigabit interfaces, each with true gigabit throughput. The solution also provides GTA’s optional Mail Sentinel Anti-Virus and Anti-Spam providing an answer to the Institutes threat management needs. The full-featured anti-spam and anti-virus options together allow the Institute to take back control of email by providing a level of defence at the perimeter with a gateway level solution.
The new solution is also easy to use and the interface allowed a smooth transition from the previous model to the new model. “No major training needed to be planned and the support team provided by GSS were more than helpful, providing guidance and assistance along the way,” says Malik. “Anytime we have a problem or question, we just call the GSS helpdesk and they continuously solve any issues.”
The GB-3000 integrates powerful security with comprehensive network features and gateway threat management capabilities into a single, affordable solution. “Managing and securing breaches can be a challenging task for any organisation. Being a research organisation, we have to watch our spending closely as well as handle the IT security challenges without compromising business needs. But the GB-3000 recommended by GSS met all of our present and future needs – including spam and virus protection! - and also, most importantly, provided value for money. With the GB-3000 we have considerably reduced threats to our critical systems with a reliable, secure and easy to manage solution - with no expensive recurrent costs.”
The future
Expandability is the basis of the GB-3000's hardware which allows it to readily adapt to Paterson Institute’s changing network environment. With two module bays, the GB-3000 can support up to ten 10/100/1000 interfaces and the standard unrestricted user licenses ensure there will be no licence issues with the Firewall should the network expand in the future.
As the Paterson Institute continues to develop they plan to continue to move forward with the GB-3000 Firewall Appliance as their preferred platform for connecting and securing the network.
Find out more about the GB-3000
This story was originally featured in the GSS Monthly Newsletter January 2008
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