Celestix Networks chose Microsoft products and technologies to attain higher profit margins and access to enterprise markets. The company’s remote authentication device, Celestix RADIUS (RDS) appliance, runs on Windows® Server 2003 R2 for Embedded Systems. Compared to Linux, Celestix determined that Windows Embedded delivers lower costs, faster development, IT infrastructure interoperability, and a stable platform with long-term product and support commitments. Celestix executives are confident Windows Embedded Server is the best OS choice for reaching its business objectives.
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.
Document published November 2009
Situation
According to Infonetics Research[i] , the global network security market is $5.5 billion and growing rapidly. Celestix Networks, Inc., a leading manufacturer of fully integrated network security appliances, is one of the companies driving this growth with innovative products that solve real-world problems for enterprises.
Celestix started as a developer of security appliances for Checkpoint software, but the company quickly switched gears with the acquisition of a security product line based on Windows® technology.
“That’s when business really took off,” recalls Neil Matz, Vice President, Product Management, Celestix Networks, Inc. “Our company tripled in size over the last three years and evolved into a higher-margin business by focusing our efforts on Microsoft® technologies.”
Today, Celestix has 3000 customers, 500 channel partners, and over 20,000 units shipped. Customers include small, medium,
and large enterprises, as well as major OEMs.
Today, Celestix uses Windows Embedded Server operating systems to run network security applications on purpose-built hardware that attaches to infrastructure services and servers, such as Microsoft Active Directory®, Exchange, IIS, and SharePoint®.
“In the early stages of the company, we used Linux for Checkpoint appliances and other products,” says Matz. “But we regularly ran into problems with immature development tools and APIs. There were no rapid prototyping capabilities or rich development platforms. All the different versions of Linux also made it difficult to manage OS patches and updates.”
Matz continues: “Our customers require long lifecycles, but most Linux vendors won’t make long-term commitments to product availability and support. Finally, many large organizations standardize on Windows and deploying proprietary Linux is prohibited.”
Solution
Celestix found the OS it needed with Windows® Server 2003 R2 for Embedded Systems. Windows Embedded Server is a fully functional version of Microsoft’s server operating system for purpose-built devices. It features built-in security, reliability, and availability features intended for use in an embedded solution, and is backed up by a 15-year product availability and 10-year support commitment from Microsoft.
Windows Embedded Server is highly interoperable with existing Windows infrastructure. In addition, many of the native core components essential to security appliances are already part of Windows Server 2003 for Embedded Systems (e.g., AD interfaces, RADIUS/IAS, NAP, IIS, SNMP, Terminal Services, RPC over HTTPS, PKI/CAPI, and IPSec).
“We leverage the Windows Embedded Server OS and Microsoft toolset, so we don’t have to build or license the underlying services and technologies,” explains Matz. “This approach lets us concentrate on our expertise—creating innovations in network security software.”
Benefits
Celestix RADIUS—the latest network security appliance to use Windows Embedded Server—performs centralized connection authentication, authorization, and accounting for many types of network access, including wireless, switch, and Virtual Private Network.
“The biggest benefit of using Windows Embedded Server is infrastructure interoperability,” states Matz. “An appliance based on Windows will function more seamlessly with homogenous network infrastructures, and in our experiences nearly 75 percent of all enterprises use just Active Directory, IIS, Exchange, SharePoint, and other Microsoft products and technologies.”
Another benefit of Windows Embedded Server is simple management. A web-based GUI is delivered directly from the appliance itself, and can be accessed from any Microsoft Windows® client running Internet Explorer®. Controlled Wizard-
based deployment takes less than 15 minutes.
“Little to no training is required for most customers because channel partners and enterprise IT personnel are very comfortable and familiar with Microsoft technologies,” says Matz.
The advantages of using Windows Embedded Server instead of Linux are readily apparent to Matz. “The one-time royalty paid to Microsoft for a perpetual Windows Embedded Server license is far less expensive than Linux when you take account of the total engineering effort, including version revisions and ongoing patching, plus third party licensing fees,” he says.
Matz continued: “In terms of alerting and reporting, the API to the event log and performance monitoring are superior to their Linux counterparts. After extensive testing, we’ve also discovered that Windows Embedded Server provides better performance on multi-core CPUs than does Linux.”
From a customer perspective, Windows Embedded Server is a proven platform. Celestix has shipped thousands of Windows Embedded Server appliances into the marketplace.
Looking forward, Windows Embedded Server helps Celestix bring new products to market fast. “We can prototype a new product for an OEM in just two weeks,” claims Matz. “We will continue to expand our Windows Server®-based appliance portfolio. We’re already evaluating Windows Server 2008 for Embedded Systems, and getting excited about Hyper-V technology and other new features.”
Matz concludes: “Microsoft’s highly reliable Windows Embedded platform is a major reason for our success.” Windows Embedded Server delivers:
n Long-term product and support commitments
n Lower cost, faster development
n Interoperability with existing enterprise network infrastructure
Keyword: Server
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.Document published November 2009
[i]I ComputerWeekly.com, Network security market up 8% to $5.5bn in 2008, Anthony Savvas, 03/09