Working in collaboration with VMware, Fortinet developed the FortiGate VMX to fully leverage the capabilities of the VMware NSX network virtualization platform, enabling customers to automate the insertion, deployment and orchestration of FortiGate VMX for threat protection inside their data center environments.
Recent high-profile security breaches have highlighted the need for security solutions that expand beyond the traditional edge defense strategies and segment networks internally, avoiding the rapid spread of threats once inside the data center. VMware brings an SDDC approach to network security with micro-segmentation, isolating communications across unrelated networks, controlling the communications within a network and integrating with advanced security services like Fortinet’s Internal Segmentation Firewalls (ISFW).
The native security capabilities of VMware NSX, including micro-segmentation, distributed firewalling and security operations automation, enable policy-based segmentation of network traffic and threat protection at the workload level controls for East-West traffic. The NSX distributed service framework enables dynamic insertion of Fortinet’s ISFW/NGFW technologies using Fortinet’s Network Security Function Virtualization (NSFV) feature.
Based on Virtual Domain (VDOM) technologies, a multi-tenant system can be defined with different security policies enabled. This granular approach enables service providers and larger enterprises to set up per-customer or per-business unit security policies. Fortinet also provides high-speed, north-south network security appliances, providing a holistic data center solution under a single policy model.
“Fortinet has been working closely with VMware to arm customers with the same level of cybersecurity inside the data center as they do at the perimeter. FortiGate VMX demonstrates our commitment to the VMware partnership and ecosystem,” said John Maddison, vice president of products and solutions at Fortinet.
