Consolidation in the name of network security

David Auslander and Ken Won, Sun Microsystems Inc.   Today’s Top Stories   or  Other Security Stories  

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March 31, 2004 (Computerworld) -- Your mom always told you that there was safety in numbers. But then again, your mom wasn't managing a Fortune 1,000 data center.
In this age of constant, high-risk security threats, many IT managers have found that more data infrastructure means more complexity and the potential for more attacks on their networks. That's why IT managers today are putting mom's old adage to the test and are consolidating their data center infrastructures in the name of network security.
By simplifying and streamlining their infrastructures through a consolidation initiative, IT teams are finding that they're able to equip their networks to better thwart a variety of threats, including unauthorized users, data corruption, the spread of viruses and worms, and a range of other malicious system- and network-level attacks.
Sprawl and complexity equal vulnerability
In recent years, business realities such as unplanned growth and mergers and acquisitions have transformed many data centers from highly sophisticated entities to unbearably complex ones. It's not uncommon today for a Fortune 1,000 company to find itself running six or more operating systems and four hardware/vendor platforms, while also managing hundreds of different applications.
The sprawling, ad hoc nature of these enterprise environments makes them vulnerable to security risks, in part because it provides hackers with a wealth of targets from which to choose. At the same time, network complexity makes it difficult for internal IT teams to detect and respond rapidly to attacks. The problem continues to intensify as hackers grow increasingly savvy and aggressive in their methods of attack.
Three-pronged strategy: Minimize, standardize, harden
A growing number of IT managers have discovered that the best defense against security threats is a broad consolidation initiative focused on three distinct efforts: minimize, standardize and harden.
Minimize: This effort focuses on reducing network sprawl in all its various forms, including streamlining operating systems, servers, storage, applications, middleware and desktops.
One of the key lessons learned in IT security in recent years is that less is definitely more when it comes to safeguarding enterprise assets. For example, many companies maintain thousands of servers that are underused, leading to poor manageability and a multitude of potential entry points for intruders. Similarly, the more operating systems you have installed on each server, the greater the opportunity to exploit security holes in the operating system itself.
By minimizing these redundant hardware and software systems, IT teams become better equipped to secure their network, and the challenge for hackers becomes more formidable.
This applies to data storage components as well. By consolidating data storage requirements onto a more robust solution that offers fault tolerance, redundancy and RAID technology, your data is safe, secure and

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