Radware, a provider of application delivery and security solutions for virtual and cloud data centers, recently introduced DefenseFlow. This solution leverages the Cisco eXstensible Network Controller (XNC) and SDN technologies to provide DoS and DDoS protection natively, as a network service.
It's thanks to Cisco XNC, in fact, that Radware was able to compose a native SDN solution based on the DefenseFlow SDN application that offers complete, cost-effective protection against DDoS attacks in Cisco SDN-enabled networks.
Put simply, DefenseFlow is an SDN application that allows SDN-enabled networks to become part of the DDoS protection service, which allows operators to assign a DoS protection service for each virtual network segment or customer. In all, the solution relies on Cisco XNC, onePK and OpenFlow-enabled Cisco switches and routers, as well as the DefenseFlow anti-DoS SDN application and DefensePro attack mitigation solution.
Earlier this year, Radware entered into a collaborative partnership with Mellanox Technologies, also with the aim of increasing network security by leveraging the power of software-defined networking.
"With Radware's DefenseFlow, we can revolutionize the way security services are implemented and managed," said Avi Chesla, chief technology officer of Radware, in a statement. "By using the programmability of SDN technologies to collect statistics, analyze the information and control the infrastructure layer to proactively defend against DoS and DDoS network flood attacks, we transform point security solutions into highly scalable network services that are easy to provision and offer tremendous cost reduction."
Cisco's eXtensible Network Controller is a key component of the company's Open Network Environment (ONE) SDN strategy, which was introduced last year with the goal of helping customers drive business innovation through trends such as cloud, mobile, social networking and video. Put simply, XNC complements current approaches to technologies like SDN with tools that help make networks more open, programmable and application aware.