Deploying Avanta is a smarter way to operate a security environment;
businesses reap many benefits. Click on a benefit for more information.
Save Money
Avanta offers end users the opportunity to have state-of-the-art security
technology at a fraction of the cost of custom solutions.
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Avanta lowers IT costs: |
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IT staff are relieved of the burden of loading Avanta on a user's computer |
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Save on costly and time-consuming software upgrades |
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ASP solutions can reduce IT costs up to 65% according to the ASP Consortium (Comdex 2000) |
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No need to purchase proprietary computers or security equipment to run Avanta |
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No database license fees (when Vigilos hosts Avanta) |
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Existing network security systems need few or no alterations |
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Consolidate security operations |
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Reduce officer hours or refine an overburdened task load |
Leave behind all those post-installation punch lines. Avanta delivers solid bottom-line savings and lets you focus on safety and security, not maintaining
and installing software.
Integrating Systems
Industry consultant Sandra Jones noted during the Securing New Ground Conference (November 2000)
that systems integration is the fastest growing sector of the security industry. Security directors are writing
about the need to integrate their systems so that:
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They have standardized products that provide the features and power of a custom solution |
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Existing hardware can be used and retrofit costs can be spread over time |
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More choices are available--organizations can standardize on a range of equipment (rather than one panel that may deliver more
functionality but have a higher cost) |
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They can select the right equipment based on import tariffs and local support |
Leveraging Your Investments
Avanta'sarchitecture can work with the hardware best suited to business needs, and it is
usually not necessary to replace existing equipment--unless you decide to. Your dealer knows your site and systems best; we
work with the dealers to ensure accurate system specification and installation.
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Network hardware and the appliances are off-the-shelf equipment, available from an end
user's dealer or computer supplier |
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No costly and disruptive 'rip and replace' scenarios without a long-term vision |
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Installation is performed by the end user's dealer and an installation professional with support from Vigilos |
Stable Architecture
Designed to leverage technological advances such as object-oriented programming, distributed design
and browser-based access; Avanta creates a revolutionaryess and stability in non-standard environments.
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Availability of operating systems solutions--Competition among a large number of UNIX vendors
produces low-cost and wide-ranging solutions |
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Avanta uses stable UNIX-based operating systems that do not share dynamically linked libraries
from different manufacturers |
System Stability
The system incorporates an uninterruptible power supply (UPS)--installed by the dealer--into Avanta,
protecting the system if power fails.
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If Avanta hardware is unavailable, security systems, such as intrusion and access control,
continue to operate |
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Self-monitoring, Avanta can notify internal or external assigned users if system health or
security problems arise |
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Avanta requires little maintenance from IT staff, being built on
fault-tolerant systems |
Scalable Growth
One of Avanta's primary strengths is its architecture, which allows almost unlimited security system
scalability. As your business evolves or as acquisitions occur, you can focus resources on changes and internal matters,
because your new system will be easily integrated into your current security environment.
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The N-tier architecture supports an unlimited number of locations |
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Changes, using off-the-shelf hardware, can be made at low incremental costs |
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Network Bandwidth
The corporate network is a significant resource for any organization, large or small. Avanta minimizes
the impact of security data on the corporate network: high-bandwidth data, such as video, stays on the front-end appliance,
in the location that it was first collected.
Because Avanta primarily works on its own private subnet with a fixed bandwidth allocation, outbound
Internet or internal traffic is spared slow-downs. External requests for security information consume a known amount of
outbound bandwidth.
In locations where T-1 lines are unavailable, a synchronous digital subscriber line
(SDSL) will provide sufficient broadband connectivity (in most installations) and provides the benefit of running on an existing telephone or fax line.
System Security
Vigilos has taken great care to ensure protection against viruses, worms, packet floods,
data interception and unauthorized system access. You and Avanta control who uses and configures the system--At any given moment, security measures occur at various points within the system.
First, we recommend that the front-end and device appliances be placed in a safe (and clean) location. Because keyboards and monitors
are not needed, the chance of on-site hacking is greatly reduced.
Second, user connections with the system are protected at the network level through 128-bit
secure sockets layer (SSL).
A third security measure is user authentication that employs user ID and password for access to Avanta functionality. Users see only
areas their authorization permits.
Unauthorized access is prevented and other risks are managed as shown in the following table that lists how Avanta aggressively stops
potential security issues.
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Security risk |
Prevention |
| Interception of data |
All data transmissions are encrypted using SSL for browser access,
and secure shell (SSH), version two for secure file copy |
| Unauthorized user access |
Combination of UNIX
security (log on and password), Tripwire SSH and firewalls |
| Viruses, worms and similar attacks |
Blocked by using SSH to encrypt and authenticate the sender. Proprietary processes
authenticate the content |
Denial of service
(packet flood) |
The Vigilos Vault uses packet flood intrusion detection and block mechanisms. Front-end appliance
operating system (Red Hat Linux) comes equipped with ipchains firewall software |
Maintenance
The Avanta system needs very little maintenance and it automatically
performs many self-maintenance funtions. Security departments do not need to hire IT staff to support Avanta; it self-maintains by:
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Backs up data automatically to the Vigilos Vault throughout the day |
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Downloads software upgrades without disruption; no rebooting |
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Monitors disk usage |
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Monitors video information to resolve dead video signals |
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Purges types of old information the end user deemed as unimportant |
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Monitors system health and security attributes, notifying an assigned user of: |
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| Random access memory (RAM) availability |
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| Swap memory availability |
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| Free disk space |
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| Load level calculations |
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| The number of timed-out processes |
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| Unrecognized users |
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| Unrecognized system processes |
What Avanta cannot perform is hardware maintenance; nor can it correct problems that are out of the scope
or experience of the automated maintenance processes. For instance, it cannot:
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Identify malfunctioning hardware components |
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Add, remove or replace security hardware |
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Configure software to recognize new security hardware configurations |
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Identify and resolve network or other extra-system problems |
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Extend the physical appliance architecture |
End users can work with their dealers for more complex changes to Avanta.
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