Brocade, McAfee ink deal on network security

McAfee and Brocade have announced a partnership under which the companies plan to deliver network security systems integrating McAfee's security software into Brocade's network infrastructure products.

Brocade said in an announcement on Tuesday that the goal is to provide a set of integrated security offerings spanning the endpoint, edge and core of the corporate network.

The deal is the latest in a series of partnerships by Brocade. In recent months it has tightened relationships with companies such as Dell and IBM in an effort to expand its presence in the datacentre.

The network level is becoming more important to enterprises' security measures as a result of growing regulatory pressures, increasing volume of data traffic and increased internal and internet bandwidth, according to Brocade.

"Recognising the eventual integration and overlap of security within the network environment, we are... offering customers a set of proven solutions that provide greater choice and flexibility in the marketplace," said Brocade senior vice president Marc Randall.

Under the multi-year partnership with McAfee, Brocade will integrate McAfee's Firewall Enterprise and intrusion prevention technologies into its NetIron MLX series of routers.

The companies plan to fine-tune Brocade's ServerIron application delivery controllers to load-balance McAfee's firewall software, and to make McAfee's Network Access Control (NAC) product interoperable with Brocade's FastIron CX and FastIron WS edge switches.

In addition, Brocade will tailor its IronView network management software to interoperate with McAfee's security products, with a view to further automating the network-level response to security events.

Under the next phase of the relationship, the partners expect to focus on improving the network infrastructure's ability to draw on metrics and security intelligence information.