Advanced SAN Security

SAN Security refers to processes and solution features that protect the integrity and availability of data stored on storage networks. There are four aspects to a comprehensive SAN security solution:

Secure roles-based management with centralized authentication, authorization and logging of all changes
Centralized authentication of devices connected to the network to ensure that only authorized devices can be connected to the network
Traffic isolation and access controls that ensures that a device connected to the network can securely send/receive its data and is protected from activities of other devices in the network
Encryption of all data leaving the storage network for business continuance, remote vaulting and backup

Solutions incorporating the Cisco MDS 9000 Family enable storage professionals to achieve optimal security for today’s SANs, especially for environments requiring the highest levels of security such as in government, banking, and patient records in healthcare environments. Cisco takes a comprehensive approach to network security with the MDS 9000 SAN-OS. In addition to valuable services such as VSANs, which provide true isolation of SAN-attached devices, SAN-OS offers numerous additional security features that enable the most secure local and remote SAN deployments.

Along with its storage networking partners, Cisco Systems delivers industry-leading security services that offer authentication, data encryption for privacy, data integrity; secure, standards-based management and hardware-enforced access controls.

End-User Concerns

To ensure that SAN data is secure and protected from violation, SAN administrators must first address numerous concerns before making a decision for any change. They also must get viable answers to important questions in an effort to address these concerns. Cisco Systems storage networking solutions deliver industry leading, intelligent services that ensure secure traffic isolation, authorization, authentication and encryption to help end-users address these key concerns:

Compliance & Regulations
- Are my products certified under Federal standards? (Federal)
- Are my products able to help me with my Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA (healthcare) regulations?
Management Access
- Are unauthorized people able to access certain areas of my network?
- Can someone who is authorized perform one function within the network make a mistake and take down another part of the network?
- Am I able to track/view all actions performed within my network from one central location?
- How do I avoid malicious attacks on the data that is stored on my SAN?
Device Authorization and Authentication; Traffic Isolation
- How can I ensure one host does not have access to another host’s data?
- How can I ensure that one misbehaving host/target does not impact the entire SAN?
- How can I ensure that only certified devices can connect to the network?
Maintaining Data Integrity and Encryption
- How do I prevent someone from viewing or modifying confidential data?
- Does connecting a Fibre Channel network to an IP network impact the integrity of my data?

The MDS Advantage: MDS 9000 SAN-OS Feature Glossary
This glossary, a resource and guide for end-users, sales representatives, SEs and partners, defines all of the intelligent features in the MDS 9000 Family, and aligns each one to 5 key SAN customer business objectives: SAN Consolidation, Business Continuance & Disaster Recovery, Advanced SAN Security, SAN Management, and Intelligent Fabric Applications

Hierarchical Navigation

Advanced SAN Security

Introduction

Advanced SAN Security

End-User Concerns