Modular IPS system offers performance and flexibility

Intrusion detection system designed to meet needs of service providers, large firms

3Com’s TippingPoint division last week announced details of its M60 intrusion prevention system (IPS) hardware aimed at large enterprises and service providers. The kit will compete with Cisco’s Catalyst 6500 switches.

The M60 has a chassis developed through a partnership between 3Com and Chinese vendor Huawei. Jeroen Roodnat, TippingPoint’s product manager for Europe, said, “Our speciality is building IPSs, we rely on the 3Com-Huawei partnership to deal with the chassis, which is good, especially when you consider the size of the Chinese market.”

Roodnat said the new IPS hardware is designed to meet the needs of service providers and other enterprises. “In Europe there’s a lot of interest from organisations who need to scale up for high-speed 10Gbit/s links, like service providers, but other companies are usually looking for high port density,” added Roodnat.

The M60 supports 10Gbit/s interfaces, and will be available in seven-, 10- or 14-slot versions that can hold three new IPS modules: the T5000, a 5Gbit/s IPS module; the T2000, a 2Gbit/s IPS module; and the T1000, a 1Gbit/s module. The new IPS modules have 12 Gigabit Ethernet ports, either copper or fibre, and a maximum of 12 can be used in the 14-slot M60 model. The modules can also work seamlessly with 3Com’s 8800 switches.

“Our customers are moving more IPS capability into their core networks and so speeds and performance are becoming more important,” said Roodnat. “We also discovered that customers would like a chassis-based system that would allow them to grow their IPS function if they need to.”