Kerio WinRoute Firewall no longer requires Windows

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 05 November 2009 09:21

Business IT - Security

The latest version of Kerio WinRoute Firewall maintains the traditional freedom from hardware lock-in, but - despite the name - no longer runs under Windows.

Long established software firewall Kerio WinRoute Firewall 6.7.1 now ships as a appliance incorporating a hardened Linux operating system.

Two versions are available: a ISO image for use on dedicated hardware, and an OVF file for virtualised environments using VMware or other platforms.

"We have seen the powerful impact virtualisation has made on our own business and based on the success we have enjoyed with the virtualised version of our messaging product, it was a simple decision to offer virtual appliance versions of Kerio WinRoute Firewall," said Dusan Vitek, vice president of worldwide marketing.

The benefits, vice president of business development James Gudeli told iTWire, are that customers are free to choose the hardware that best suits their needs and commercial relationships, and that they can easily upgrade the hardware when required.

He explained that unnecessary services have been removed from the operating system to reduce vulnerabilities and to minimise the footprint. This approach also means there is no risk of incompatible applications being added to the system.

A firewall running in a virtualised environment makes it possible to run multiple appliances on one piece of hardware, or to quickly move the firewall from one box to another. It also allows deployment without affecting any existing infrastructure, Gudeli claimed.

What's the Australian experience with the product? See page 2.