Riverbed is the only vendor to offer end-to-end security in its WDS solution. By offering a multi-layer security feature set, the Riverbed Optimization System (RiOS) enables protection of data in motion and at rest. In doing so, Riverbed helps eliminate any trade-off between security and performance for customers who want the best of both worlds.
Enhanced Acceleration and Support for SSL Traffic
Steelhead appliances accelerate SSL WAN traffic to deliver LAN like performance.
Riverbed is the first company to introduce true SSL acceleration (not SSL off-load) that does not require the distribution of certificates or private keys to the edge, yet does enable SSL traffic to be decrypted, optimized, and then re-encrypted before moving onto the WAN. When traffic reaches the other side of the network, the same process is repeated: decryption, decoding (the other side of the Riverbed optimization algorithm), and then re-encryption for delivery to the client. These optimizations are bi-directional ensuring that all traffic is encrypted end-to-end from client to server, to or from branch offices.
Some other symmetric application acceleration solutions may claim to accelerate encrypted traffic, but they require the distribution of certificates or private keys to the branch office, which introduces significant security vulnerabilities, and is not acceptable to most IT architects.
With RiOS 5.0, Riverbed continues to improve on its industry-leading SSL acceleration functionality by making it even easier to setup and manage. Enhancements include auto-discovery of SSL peers, support for digital certificate domain-level wildcards, and manageability improvements for peer trust relationships. These new features simplify SSL acceleration across the enterprise to enable greater scalability and reduce administrative overhead.
Appliance-to-Appliance Encryption
Steelhead appliances offer IPSEC encryption between appliances as an option. Turning this feature on ensures that the references and underlying data shared between two sites are encrypted before they leave the Steelhead appliances. If you already use a VPN to encrypt data between two sites, this feature may not be needed. Steelhead appliances support DES, 3DES, AES-128, and AES-256 encryption.
Data Store Encryption
RiOS also provides encryption capability for the data stored on disk in Steelhead appliances for organizations that require high levels of security or face stringent compliance requirements. Encryption standards supported include AES-128, AES-192, and AES-256 and keys are maintained in an encrypted key vault.
