Who uses Reflex solutions within an organization? Is the entry point usually through the VM side of the house or networking?

Reflex primarily targets the virtualization administrators or those that directly manage the virtualization infrastructure, although the “who” can vary from company to company. Due to the unifying nature of virtualization, networking, security and server teams are being brought together in ways that were not necessary in the past with physical infrastructure. As organizations expand their use of virtualization, the models for how IT structures and uses virtualization solutions will have to adapt, as will the role of the IT professional managing them. To address such evolution, Reflex’s integrated virtualization systems management approach provides multiple “views” into the virtual environment that are tailored to the needs of various IT teams. For example, while VMC provides a holistic view the overall infrastructure for virtualization administrators, it also offers network-specific data and security-focused data in the context of virtualization for networking and security teams.

Why does someone need VMC along with Cisco Nexus 1000V and how has the adoption been of VMC with the Nexus 1000V?

Quite a few Reflex customers use both Cisco Nexus 1000V as well as Reflex Virtualization Management Center (VMC) as they are complementary technologies that shed light on the virtual infrastructure in different ways. The Cisco Nexus 1000V is a virtual switch used by many of our current customers for QOS, manual access controls, and other network management functions that are similar in functionality to their physical switches. Reflex VMC is used in conjunction with the Nexus 1000V to provide an additional layer of comprehensive virtualization management offering more detailed monitoring, audit trails of all configuration changes, automated policy for access controls and correlation with other events within the virtualization infrastructure. The VMC provides a broader management framework that interacts with all virtual objects to track changes, provide security, and centrally manage various virtual devices, including the Nexus 1000V, in context of the overall virtual infrastructure.

Are customers looking at Reflex even if security is not a concern? Do you have customers that purchase VMC for either vWatch or vProfile?

Absolutely, Reflex VMC provides end-to-end virtualization management for server and virtual desktop infrastructure by integrating three critical management components of virtual data center: vWatch Monitoring and Audit, vTrust Security and Segmentation, and vProfile Configuration Management. Reflex believes that security is an important feature to the overall administration of the virtual infrastructure and should be integrated into broader set of management capabilities. The majority of our customers utilize at least two, if not all three, of the management modules we offer today. Many of our customers are drawn to Reflex solutions because of the breadth and integration of the management functionality verses a single point solution approach. It can be very difficult and time consuming for virtualization administrators to manage anywhere from 3 – 6 various point solutions that do not integrate and correlate to help determine how events affect the entire infrastructure. The Reflex approach offers flexibility in a consolidated management solution that can be tailored to meet the needs of a particular enterprise.

It seems that security is an area that has been lagging behind as far as adoption in virtual environments? Do you think this is so and is it any different than what the dynamics are in a non-virtual environment?

There are several reasons we believe stand-alone virtual security adoption is lagging and broader virtualization management solutions with integrated security functionality are gaining more traction in the market.

1.  Historically, security has been more of an afterthought when building out a new infrastructure, whether in a physical data center or the virtual data center. This is still true today but we see that organizations are looking at, and defining, security in the virtual enterprise in a different way. In the virtualization context, the security focus is less threat-based than it is typically defined in the physical infrastructure (firewall, IPS, etc.) and more centered on compliance, audit, segmentation, and policy enforcement. Security has become part of a larger virtualization management challenge rather than a stand-alone traditional “security” issue. Enterprises certainly need to address the same elements of security in the virtual environment as they do in the physical environment but the way to approach it and go about implementing it is very different. Just virtualizing existing physical security devices does not accomplish the security needs in the virtual infrastructure. Organizations must look for broader solutions that integrate security and management and are purpose-built, virtualization-aware and tailored to the nuances of the dynamic virtualized environment – where changes happen much more frequently and on a much larger scale.
2. Another challenge for virtualization security adoption is the intrinsic way most enterprise IT departments are comprised – in silos. As mentioned above, networking teams, server teams, storage teams, security teams, etc. each have specific roles and responsibilities in managing the physical data center that don’t necessarily intersect or involve the other teams. Each department has a budget to support its specific function and doesn’t span into other areas of IT. For example, the security team may not necessarily have administrative access to or decision-making ability over “virtualization tools” – even those that provide security functionality – for the virtual infrastructure. And the virtualization team may not have budgeted for security related products. This minor detail can surely cause somewhat of a stall in purchasing decisions and deployment. Though virtualization is becoming a unifying technology across the enterprise, bringing these teams together, many organizations have not yet adapted their processes to support this type of cross-functional management and until they do, there may continue to be a slower adoption for virtual security point solutions.

Can you give us an example of how Reflex has helped customers manage and secure their VM environments?

Medquist is a leading provider of medical transcription software and services, and technology-enabled clinical documentation workflow, based in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. The company wanted to leverage its virtualization investment while facilitating resource sharing and providing the security and segmentation needed to meet compliance and auditing criteria. They came to Reflex to provide granular visibility, segmentation and to meet government-mandated compliance and auditing criteria. By utilizing Reflex VMC and all three modules – vWatch, vTrust and vProfile – Medquist has been able to save IT management time and preserve the benefits of the virtualization investment. Medquist’s Director of Virtualization said, “No other solution has the holistic, broad-based approach, deep integration and level of granularity that Reflex provides. To say it is a time saver is a massive understatement.”

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