Server blade vendor OmniCluster Technologies is expanding its plug-and-play server blade offerings. The first of its new offerings is a security appliance scheduled to hit the market in May.

by Amy Newman Managing Editor, serverwatch.internet.com [April 26, 2002]

Server blade vendor OmniCluster Technologies is expanding its plug-and-play server blade offerings and launching into the blade appliance space.

The first of its new offerings is a security appliance that integrates Check Point's VPN-1/FireWall-1 technology (popular with Managed Security Service Providers) with OmniCluster's SlotShield appliance blade technology.

The turnkey solution is scheduled to hit the market in May.

The SlotShield Firewall/VPN 3000 uses the Intel Pentium III to provide server security that "goes beyond the perimeter," Christopher Fleck, president and CEO of OmniCluster told ServerWatch. This creates what OmniCluster is describing as "the industry's first PCI-based 'Secured by Check Point' offering."

The SlotShield Firewall fits inside the target machine and enables security profiles to be customized for the unique requirements of that specific machine. OmniCluster believes that by applying such a granular security method, a system administrator has control over a specific server's transactions, enabling limited cross-system infection and strict, unique rules for different systems within the environment.

Its VPN capability allows for the termination of a VPN physically inside the target server, while not impacting the target server's operating system, and thus maximizing the end-to-end encryption of data right into the server.

SlotShield supports any server running Windows NT service pack 6, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Linux kernel 2.2x and 2.4x.

OmniCluster plans to release two other appliance products this quarter. In June it will release a virus-screening product developed with McAfee and a Citrix Metaframe Server developed with Citrix.

In addition to the appliance offerings, OmniCluster is growing its core offerings. Last month, the vendor unveiled the SlotServer 3000, a blade server that complements the SlotServer 1000, which has been on the market since April 2001. The SlotServer 3000 uses a Pentium III-based PCI card that interfaces with the host computer through the PCI bus.

Like its predecessor, the SlotServer 3000 is built on an industry standard PCI architecture and is compatible with virtually all operating environments, from Windows to RedHat Linux to FreeBSD. Both blades fit in any industry standard server or rack.

The SlotServer 3000 is being positioned as OmniCluster's flagship offering, ideal for server appliance applications, Fleck said. The SlotServer 1000 will continue to be sold but will be marketed as a basic server that best meets entry-level and utility DNS needs.

The SlotServer 3000 communicates with the system through three different interface modes: shared storage, gigabit Ethernet, and bus-master DMA. It also comes with OmniCluster's Virtual Disk Manager, a GUI-based software management tool featuring drag-and-drop operating system image allocation and full SlotServer storage system management.

Other key features in the SlotServer 3000 are:

• A 700 MHz x86 Intel Pentium III processor
• Up to 2 GB of RAM
• Up to 4 SO-DIMM modules with optional ECC support
• At least two Ethernet interfaces
• Expandable functionality using PMC adapters
• A 10/100 Mbps Ethernet interface
• Multiple 10/100 Ethernet ports
• Gigabit Ethernet on the PCI interface
• RAID, SCSI, SAN, and NAS compatibility
• An on-board high-speed IDE interface

Pricing and availability
The SlotServer 3000 is priced at $1,195 per blade. SlotShield is priced at $599 and will come with the Check Point solution preloaded.

Both products are available from Omnicluster. The SlotShield is also available from Check Point's extensive network of resellers.

—End