SOLUTION BRIEF

Intel Inside®Intel®Xeon®Processor E5 Family

Enterprise SecurityServer Performance

Enabling security to work harder

CHALLENGES

• Improve components. Replace underperforming network processor and CPU in existingproduct line with stronger, more reliable alternatives

• Move to x86. Redesign solution platform as a customer-friendly, x86-based architecture,suitable for commodity hardware

SOLUTIONS

• Strong connections. Intel® Ethernet Controller 10 Gigabit 82580EB and 82599EB builtinto all versions of Arkoon’s Fast360* appliance

• Performance boost. Product line is equipped with Intel® Atom™ processors or the Intel®Xeon® processor E3 and E5 families for a high-performance, x86-based platform

IMPACT

• Customer experience. Users were impressed by the performance, reliability and through-put of the revamped solution

• Ongoing innovation. Arkoon plans to use its relationship with Intel and its ecosystem todrive further improvements and customization

• Superior security. Optimized for x86, the platform supports Arkoon’s strategy to continueproviding the highest quality network security

Arkoon enhances its core network security appliance with Intel®technology for performance and reliability

“We certainly made the right

choice to embed Intel® technology

into our solutions. Not only has it

delivered performance, security,

reliability and throughput advan-

tages that we’re proud to pass on

to our customers now, but the

support and consultancy that the

Intel specialists are ready to share

will be invaluable in future product

development too.”

Laurent Hausermann,Chief Technology Officer,Arkoon Network Security

In search of a solution

For organizations like government departmentsand industrial research facilities, data securityis a constant concern. The consequences ofwrong people having access to sensitive filesand information over an improperly securednetwork could be disastrous. These organiza-tions rely on network security specialists suchas Arkoon Network Security to help them en-sure that their corporate networks remainimpervious to unauthorized access attempts.Arkoon’s mission is to provide organizationswith long-term protection against constantly-changing threats via flexible, proven, qualitysecurity products while providing the high-est levels of professional service.

Arkoon, a Cassidian CyberSecurity company,prides itself on delivering high-quality net-work security appliances to its customers. Todo this, it works with a variety of componentproviders to create a bundled offering thatincludes hardware, software and networkconnectivity. “To stay competitive with thelarger players, we need to make sure thatwe’re using top-notch technologies and de-livering the most compelling solutions,” ex-plains Laurent Hausermann, chief technologyofficer at Arkoon.

Unfortunately, some external componentsof one of Arkoon’s core product lines, theFast360 network security appliance, werethwarting the solution's effectiveness. Theappliance combines a number of intuitive se-curity services including application control,IP security, VPN, VLAN, anti-virus, anti-spam,URL filtering, and identity-aware policies.The network processor in the appliance wasnot based on the x86 architecture, makingit hard for some customers to make full useof the solution within their IT environments.This lack of compatibility, along with theprocessor’s limited features and performance,had begun to have a detrimental effect onArkoon’s bottom line. Hausermann and histeam, therefore, decided to redesign thearchitecture on which the appliance wasbuilt.

“We wanted to create an appliance that wouldwork within an x86 environment so that ourcustomers could benefit from the affordabilityof commodity hardware,” explains Hauser-mann. “We believe that the more tailored ahardware solution becomes, the more com-plex it gets, and complexity can lead to lowerquality. Using mainstream general purposehardware keeps it simple for our users, but

Copyright © 2013 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Inte inside, Intel Atom, Intel Xeon and Xeon inside are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. andother countries.This document and the information given are for the convenience of Intel’s customer base and are provided “AS IS” WITH NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. Receipt orpossession of this document does not grant any license to any of the intellectual property described, displayed, or contained herein. Intel® products are not intended for use inmedical, lifesaving, life-sustaining, critical control, or safety systems, or in nuclear facility applications.

Software and workloads used in performance tests may have been optimized for performance only on Intel microprocessors. Performance tests, such as SYSmark and Mobile-Mark, are measured using specific computer systems, components, software, operations, and functions. Any change to any of those factors may cause the results to vary. Youshould consult other information and performance tests to assist you in fully evaluating your contemplated purchases, including the performance of that product when combinedwith other products. For more information go to http://www.intel.com/performance

*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. 0613/JNW/RLC/XX/PDF 329184-001EN

we still needed a strong level of computingand network performance behind our soft-ware so that we could keep up with thehigh standards our customers expect."

A fast move to x86

Arkoon investigated a number of x86 proces-sor options, wanting to make sure it kept toits commitment to only using the best tech-nology components in its solutions. “We choseIntel technology in the end, for a number ofreasons,” Hausermann says. “We were im-pressed with the performance it offers, forexample, enabling our software to benefitfrom parallel processing. We also liked thehigh throughput capabilities, which help re-move system bottlenecks. And, of course, asa security specialist, we also considered thesecurity features of Intel technology impor-tant.”

The team chose to integrate Intel EthernetController 10 Gigabit 82580EB and 82599EBinto all versions of the Fast360 appliance.The entry-level version of the appliance wasalso equipped with the Intel Atom processor,while an alternative version designed forlarger, more complex networks was poweredby the Intel Xeon processor E3 and E5 fami-lies. “Having the network controller and theCPU from the same provider adds a new ben-efit to our solution,” says Hausermann. “Itmeans that we can offer much tighter inte-gration between the software and hardwarein our appliance bundle. Our software canalso leverage multicore design and pipeline

packets into our parallel advanced securityinspection engine. All these advantages helpedus make our offering compelling and keepus in a competitive position.”

The revamped product was ready to go onsale just six months after Arkoon chose Inteltechnology for its new architecture. A keysuccess factor was the coherency of the de-sign as all the appliances use the same soft-ware stack.

A toolkit for innovation

“Our customers have been very impressedwith the new appliance,” comments Hauser-mann. “They like the great performance itdelivers for all levels of network traffic,whether it’s small data packets or very largeones. The reliability of the solution is alsoimportant for them.” Arkoon has been able todeliver an improved quality product withouta corresponding increase in cost for the cus-tomer, making the solution a highly cost-effective option.

Arkoon feels that its closer collaborationwith Intel will help it stay ahead of customerdemand and become more agile and innova-tive. Hausermann explains: “We need to beable to respond quickly to changing industrydemands. Having access to Intel’s extensiveexperience and expertise, as well as theopportunity to work with other members ofthe Intel ecosystem, will help us to createinnovative solutions more quickly.” He andhis team look forward to offering customersmore customizable solutions through Arkoon’scontacts with leading technology and com-ponent providers and its relationship withIntel.

“We certainly made the right choice to embedIntel technology into our solutions,” saysHausermann. “Not only has it delivered per-formance, reliability and throughput advan-tages that we’re proud to pass on to our

Lessons learned

When competing with the leading namesin your industry, staying ahead is essen-tial. Arkoon took action to make sure itscore product delivered the superior qua-lity and performance that would positionit competitively and enhance its custo-mers’ experience. By embedding IntelEthernet Controller 10 Gigabit 82580EBand 82599EB, Intel Atom processors andthe Intel Xeon processor E3 and E5 fa-milies into its Fast360 appliance, Arkooncreated an industry-leading solution thatis designed to support continued innova-tion in line with technological advances.

customers now, but the support and con-sultancy that the Intel specialists are readyto share will be invaluable in future productdevelopment too.”

Arkoon is always looking to the future, en-suring it continues to ride the wave of tech-nology innovation to meet its customers’needs. Hausermann concludes: “The mostimportant thing for us is that our cutomers’data stays safe. With Intel, we feel confidentthat we can continue to meet users’ securityexpectations while leading the way in per-formance and innovation.”

Visit Intel's Technology Provider website at(www.inteltechnologyprovider.com)

Find the solution that’s right for your organ-ization. Contact your Intel representative,visit Intel’s Business Success Stories for ITManagers (www.intel.co.uk/Itcasestudies)or explore the Intel.co.uk IT Center(www.intel.co.uk/itcenter).

Visit Arkoon's website at www.arkoon.net

Network security specialist enhances core productoffering with embedded Intel® technologies