Earlier this week, Netgate® and FidelisSecurity announced an integrated solution that combines Netgate TNSR™ with Fidelis Network® sensors to enable advanced visibility, threat detection, and data loss/theft detection for applications and data hosted within Amazon Web Services (AWS). We’d like to expand on the announcement just a bit.

First, it’s widely understood at this point that most organizations are moving more and more workflows to the cloud. From a security point of view, cloud-based workflows will need the same traffic inspection, analytics, and policies that IT teams have been applying on premises. The challenge there becomes one of traffic volume, ease of deployment, ease of maintenance, and of course cost. All of those factors are discussed in the press release, our solution brief, and an upcoming webinar. We invite to you explore those avenues to learn more.

But there is a second story here. Think about the role TNSR is playing here. It is not as Netgate’s traditional business of firewall, router, or VPNs. It is, rather, as a software-based secure networking platform with its packet processing muscle exercised for a different purpose - 3rd party security solution enablement. In this particular case, TNSR is operating as a high-speed network mirror port which directs packet traffic to a Fidelis Network sensor running in AWS. The sensor then provides deep visibility across all traffic, ports, and protocols; threat detection and response; and data loss prevention.

At an architectural level, let’s broaden the thought process. If TNSR has the ability to copy, redirect, or invoke policy enforcement decisions on behalf of a ‘tethered’ network or security solution - and at virtually any speed, impervious to traffic type - the application opportunities are endless.

All of sudden, ‘secure networking infrastructure’ takes on a different light. We are one step closer to a true utility-based function where applications of any kind can just plug into a TNSR software instance with jaw-dropping speed and a graph node processing engine that can invoke all kinds of analysis and decision making capabilities. And, since TNSR can do this for a fraction of the cost of vendor-proprietary alternatives and with turn-on-a-dime scale and flexibility, secure networking becomes a cloud software utility. Just like power or water.

TNSR is already an excellent market option for anyone needing high-performance, scalable, orchestration-managed cloud or premises-based firewalls, routers, or VPNs. But, increasingly it will be a great enabler for secure networking functions well beyond Netgate’s application intent. Stay tuned. Soon, we’ll tell you about a second secure networking infrastructure play where TNSR enables open-source security software to stick a pin in a $4B security market space.