Press Release
Stonesoft establishes new data structure patent, enabling customers to optimise firewall clustering hardware
HELSINKI, Finland – June 18th, 2007 – Stonesoft, an innovative provider of integrated network
security and business continuity solutions, has developed and patented a new technique which allows
for the maintenance of a separate data structure for synchronised information during clustering of
security gateways (firewalls).
This innovation will make life easier and more cost-effective for IT professionals deploying
the next generation of firewall and VPN technology.
Stonesoft’s latest patent is called ‘Handling State Information in a Network Element Cluster’
and was officially granted US patent number: US 7,146,421 on 5th December 2006.
Clustering of security gateways is a mature technology that improves both reliability and
performance. In a cluster, each gateway handles an appropriate share of connections. The normal
operation of a cluster must account for nodes coming online and going offline. This churn requires
intelligent mechanisms capable of moving connections from one node to another. In certain
situations it is also possible that packets belonging to one connection or several connections
related to each other are handled by different nodes of the cluster.
In order to get this handling right, connection information must be synchronised across the
nodes. Generally, this information is replicated from each node to other nodes periodically. Each
node then appends the synchronised information to its own, active state information.
Stonesoft’s new patented invention improves on this method by maintaining a separate data
structure in which the synchronised information from other nodes is stored.
The synchronised information is only appended to the active state table information when
needed. For example, this might happen when one or more nodes in the cluster go to offline state,
the operation of some nodes is suddenly disrupted or there is communication that concerns more than
one node.
“This invention will allow our customers to minimise the size of active state tables, which
in turn allows for a more efficient usage of hardware resources,” said Ilkka Hiidenheimo, chief
executive officer of Stonesoft. “Synchronisation can be performed more reliably and security
gateway performance is improved by decreasing the amount of time-critical operations with the
active state information while preserving the benefits of clustering. With this patent, Stonesoft
has once again established its position at the forefront of security innovation.”
Stonesoft´s StoneGate solution has already received a number of patents to date, both in the
US and in Europe.
About Stonesoft Corporation
Stonesoft Corporation (HEX: SFT1V) is an innovative provider of integrated network security
and business continuity. Stonesoft is a global company focused on enterprise level customers
requiring advanced network security and always-on business connectivity with low TCO, best
price-to-performance ratio, and highest ROI. StoneGate Security Platform unifies firewall, VPN and
IPS, blending network security, end-to-end availability and award-winning load balancing into a
unified and centrally managed system for distributed enterprises. Founded in 1990, Stonesoft
Corporation has corporate headquarters in Helsinki, Finland; Americas headquarters in Atlanta,
Georgia; and Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore.
www.stonesoft.com
For more details, please contact:
Stonesoft Corporation
Ilkka Hiidenheimo
CEO
Tel. +358 9 476 711
E-mail: ilkka.hiidenheimo@stonesoft.com
Monday, June 18, 2007