Cisco Cisco ASA 5585-X Adaptive Security Appliance Guía De Información
While the organization is not yet using content security capabilities, they will play an
important role when MERDI implements its VDI project for the Butte School District,
and eventually extends state-of-the-art IT services to other Montana schools.
important role when MERDI implements its VDI project for the Butte School District,
and eventually extends state-of-the-art IT services to other Montana schools.
“As we look at the broad range of services that we can deliver with the Cisco
firewall solution, we will be able to offer school districts a comprehensive, end-to-
end computing solution from fiber networking to web security to content filtering,”
says Curtiss. “Whether it’s 1 or 2 school districts today, or 20 two years from now,
we can deploy the same portfolio of services over and over again.”
firewall solution, we will be able to offer school districts a comprehensive, end-to-
end computing solution from fiber networking to web security to content filtering,”
says Curtiss. “Whether it’s 1 or 2 school districts today, or 20 two years from now,
we can deploy the same portfolio of services over and over again.”
Advanced Multitenant Services
Among the most important advantages of the Cisco Next-Generation Firewalls is
native support for MERDI’s multitenant environment. The ability to serve diverse
customers and provide multiple levels of security with a single solution is already
achieving significant benefits.
Among the most important advantages of the Cisco Next-Generation Firewalls is
native support for MERDI’s multitenant environment. The ability to serve diverse
customers and provide multiple levels of security with a single solution is already
achieving significant benefits.
“Right now we are supporting two oil and gas companies that are head-to-head
competitors,” says Curtiss. “It was no small feat to get them to collocate in our
building and operate on what is essentially a shared network. We are using the
Cisco security solutions to create multi-security zones for these customers, so we
can guarantee that their traffic never overlaps end to end. And we can do that for all
our customers, whether we need to assure HIPAA requirements or support military
projects.”
competitors,” says Curtiss. “It was no small feat to get them to collocate in our
building and operate on what is essentially a shared network. We are using the
Cisco security solutions to create multi-security zones for these customers, so we
can guarantee that their traffic never overlaps end to end. And we can do that for all
our customers, whether we need to assure HIPAA requirements or support military
projects.”
Results
The Cisco ASA 5585-X platforms and other Cisco data center upgrades already
are yielding benefits in the area that matters most: bringing business and jobs to
Montana. In just the first few months since deploying the new infrastructure, one of
the projects utilizing the MERDI data center for the United States Air Force was able
to secure two years of additional funding due, in part, to the expanded capabilities
of the data center. For another project, an information clearinghouse that works with
multiple federal agencies, the upgraded data center and security services allowed
them to compete for additional business.
are yielding benefits in the area that matters most: bringing business and jobs to
Montana. In just the first few months since deploying the new infrastructure, one of
the projects utilizing the MERDI data center for the United States Air Force was able
to secure two years of additional funding due, in part, to the expanded capabilities
of the data center. For another project, an information clearinghouse that works with
multiple federal agencies, the upgraded data center and security services allowed
them to compete for additional business.
“As a result of the upgrade, they can triple the amount of contracts they can take
on,” says Curtiss. “From an economic development perspective, this is a huge
benefit. Without the Cisco solutions, it wouldn’t be possible. We wouldn’t be able to
contemplate the kinds of services we can now securely deliver.”
on,” says Curtiss. “From an economic development perspective, this is a huge
benefit. Without the Cisco solutions, it wouldn’t be possible. We wouldn’t be able to
contemplate the kinds of services we can now securely deliver.”
The Cisco ASA 5585-X platforms are also making a big difference for MERDI
engineers. Instead of having to correlate logs from multiple platforms, MERDI now
has a consolidated view of the threat environment in the data center at all times.
engineers. Instead of having to correlate logs from multiple platforms, MERDI now
has a consolidated view of the threat environment in the data center at all times.
“Having a single point of management and a global view with situational awareness
of the security situation across the data center has been huge for us,” says Curtiss.
“It’s made our lives a lot easier. We don’t necessarily have fewer security issues, but
we resolve them a lot quicker.”
of the security situation across the data center has been huge for us,” says Curtiss.
“It’s made our lives a lot easier. We don’t necessarily have fewer security issues, but
we resolve them a lot quicker.”
The smarter, more consolidated security infrastructure also allows MERDI engineers
to deploy and replicate new services much more quickly. In the past, for example,
it could take more than an hour to make routine changes such as network address
translation (NAT) configurations, as engineers consulted multiple spreadsheets
to determine which appliance was serving which customer. Today, it takes a few
minutes.
to deploy and replicate new services much more quickly. In the past, for example,
it could take more than an hour to make routine changes such as network address
translation (NAT) configurations, as engineers consulted multiple spreadsheets
to determine which appliance was serving which customer. Today, it takes a few
minutes.
Customer Case Study
3 © 2014 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information.