The Xceedium GateKeeper platform provides a centralized and browser-based method of accessing and managing data center components.

The central GateKeeper appliance is at the heart of the platform, and functions as a single access point (consisting of 4 Gig Ethernet ports and dual 10/100 ports) into which administrators, vendors, and other personnel can connect to, control, and manage the devices, servers, and applications behind it. The device itself provides in-band management capabilities, with end users able to use either graphical (RDP, Terminal Services for MS; VNC for UNIX and Mac) or CLI environments (such as Telnet and SSH) to access the target systems. A management interface allows for the definition of users along with their associated access rights; end users see only those devices and services to which they are authorized. According to the vendor, the appliance supports the exposing of "any well-defined TCP/UDP port service."

End users themselves access the platform via a Java-enabled Web browser. The platform is self-provisioning; once the user connects to the platform and is authenticated, they are delivered the necessary Java applets required to perform the activities at their access level.

A key security and enabling technology behind GateKeeper is the vendor's Universal Port (UP) Tunneling Technology, which restricts access to system resources at the port level by dynamically mapping the ports a user should have access to. After the user connects to the GateKeeper, a Java applet is downloaded to their computer that binds key ports to the local loop-back interface. While local applications continue to then function as if the port access is still directly available, in actuality all communications across the target ports are encrypted and delivered to and through the GateKeeper for subsequent analysis and redirection.

According to the vendor, the platform supports access of both virtual and legacy infrastructures, including the ability to manage both blade and non-blade components.

In addition to the platform's in-band management capabilities, the product boasts out-of-the-box integration with out-of-band access components, including serial consoles, KVM switches, and power management. Again, the GateKeeper can automatically (based on policy) limit a user's access to a specific port/system on the OOB box, hiding any and all other systems or ports available through it.

Additional features include activity logging and reporting, identity and policy-based access control, monitoring and alerting capabilities, and LeapFrog prevention technology, which prevents CLI users (SSH, Telnet) from cross-connecting to an unauthorized server after a successful connection to an authorized resource. The LeapFrog technology relies on socket level filters that monitor the actual commands issued by the user, not allowing them to enter commands that would enable them to leave the device they've been authorized to control.

New to the product line is the introduction of the Xceedium GateKeeper 620 model, which the vendor describes as targeted to the mid-market and including all the technologies of the original appliance.

Xceedium GateKeeper is available now; with pricing starting from $5,000 for a branch office deployment up to enterprise-level pricing.

Visit the Xceedium Web site for further information.

product submission by EITPlanet Staff

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