Astaro releases new Command Centre hardware appliance for managed security

Published 5th December 2008

Multi-role based administration and central management appliance provides comprehensive tools for controlling installations; supports Astaro’s managed security services initiative

Reading, UK, 2nd December 2008 – Astaro (www.astaro.com), a leading vendor of integrated security appliances, today announced that its Astaro Command Center (ACC) central management platform is now available as a range of dedicated hardware appliances, alongside its previous software and virtual appliance formats. ACC allows customers, partners and managed service providers (MSPs) to monitor and manage up to 200 Astaro gateway appliances from one central location.

“The ACC Management Appliance is a central component in our commitment to support our customers and partners with the tools they need to make the most of their security implementations,” said Walter Schumann, General Manager EMEA for Astaro AG. “Today, many of our partners are looking to offer their customers managed security services. By providing a dedicated hardware version of our ACC, we can help our partners expand these services offerings efficiently and meet customer requirements as part of our managed security services initiative.”

With ACC, security installations across multiple locations can be managed conveniently from a central location. For end-users, this can include different sites or departments, while Astaro partners can manage different customers from a single console. Role-based access control is included within ACC, offering a tiered approach to management – different individuals can have various levels of input and control. With ACC, Astaro addresses the requirements of specialised value added resellers and systems integrators that want to offer managed security services to their customers.

Hardware components, network capacities as well as running services of all connected devices can be monitored with the central dashboard. Trend indicators make it possible to forecast developments in important system parameters, helping partners to monitor service level agreement data. ACC can also integrate with Yahoo Maps, allowing organisations to precisely locate the geographic position of all their managed gateways.

Other management functions within ACC include:
• Comprehensive authentication, logging and reporting functionality
• All monitoring data are available to the ACC administrator accurately to within a few seconds.
• User authentication via Active Directory, eDirectory, TACACS+, LDAP or Radius
• Automatic transmission of status reports

Price and availability
The new management appliance comes in four different models – ACC 1000, ACC 2000, ACC 3000 and ACC 4000 – and will be available as of 1st December 2008 through Astaro channel partners. ACC will continue to be available as a software appliance or as a virtual appliance free of charge via download through Astaro’s website: http://www.astaro.com/download/acc. Pricing for the hardware appliance will start at €995.

Organisations interested in ACC can try out the new appliance online at
http://accdemo.astaro.com.

Company Profile
Astaro AG has headquarters in Karlsruhe and Boston, USA. In the fast growing market for unified threat management, the Astaro Security Gateway, an award-winning appliance, protects 100,000 networks of more than 47,000 customers in 60 countries. Astaro products are available through an international network with over 2,500 partner companies providing local support services. For more information, visit www.astaro.com.

Press contact
Mark Kember
Goode International
+44 (0) 1491 873 323
mark.kember@goode.co.uk