Jim Metzler

Author Archives: Jim Metzler

Reinventing the WAN

While some organizations continue to make use of WAN services such as Frame Relay and ATM, the use of those services is quickly diminishing. As a result, we are rapidly approaching a time when IT organizations will have only two WAN services to choose from: MPLS and the Internet. Given that trend, a key question facing network organizations is how to best design a branch office WAN using just those two services.Location of functionality Abogado states that security in the branch will evolve from a model that relies on the perimeter approach to a multi-layered model that requires embedding security into all branch technologies. The philosophy behind this change is that administrators will have to make the “trust" zone an “untrust” zone, since attacks can come from any vector, including inside the branch. He believes that a single layer of encryption is probably insufficient, and that IT organizations should consider encryption at both the application and network layers. Increased branch deployment of network and data segmentation are also key technologies that will support the multi-layer security model.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Reinventing the WAN

While some organizations continue to make use of WAN services such as Frame Relay and ATM, the use of those services is quickly diminishing. As a result, we are rapidly approaching a time when IT organizations will have only two WAN services to choose from: MPLS and the Internet. Given that trend, a key question facing network organizations is how to best design a branch office WAN using just those two services.Location of functionality Abogado states that security in the branch will evolve from a model that relies on the perimeter approach to a multi-layered model that requires embedding security into all branch technologies. The philosophy behind this change is that administrators will have to make the “trust" zone an “untrust” zone, since attacks can come from any vector, including inside the branch. He believes that a single layer of encryption is probably insufficient, and that IT organizations should consider encryption at both the application and network layers. Increased branch deployment of network and data segmentation are also key technologies that will support the multi-layer security model.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)