2011年4月28日星期四

Canvas Systems Expands Networking Support for Cisco IOS

Canvas Systems is pleased to announce a new support option for Cisco IOS. Leveraging its channel partnerships, Canvas can now offer third party support for Cisco IOS, including software bug fixes. Canvas' third party support program, CanvasGuard, consists of both hardware and software support for Cisco switch, routers, firewalls and other networking devices. Flexible options include service levels ranging from next business day support to onsite hardware spares.

"With this addition to the CanvasGuard program, we are able to provide a fully certified and cost-effective solution for all of our network customers," says Paul Smith, VP of Sales Operations for Canvas. "Customers with genuine Cisco routers equipment and valid licenses now have a clear alternative to Smartnet."

CanvasGuard maintenance programs offer support across all OEM platforms including Dell, IBM, HP, Sun and Cisco. Support is provided by OEM certified technicians; currently maintaining over 850 customers and 23,000 servers. CanvasGuard also provides both lifetime and advanced warranty programs, depending on product. Designed to enhance the total life cycle of your data center, CanvasGuard also provides a Real-Time Spares Management program to ensure the parts you need are on hand when you need them.

About Canvas Systems:
Founded in 1998, Canvas Systems is the leading global and independent supplier of IT Hardware and Support - providing the largest channel alternative for data center and hardware services. Based in Norcross, Georgia, Canvas also has regional headquarters in the United Kingdom and Netherlands. Canvas specializes in providing clients with faster and affordable green IT products and services including: Data Center Hardware, Third-Party Maintenance, Financing and Rentals, Infrastructure Services and Remarket and Recycle programs.

Canvas has an extensive $100 million inventory, offers same day shipment to over 70 countries and saves significant money for clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses. Canvas Systems is part of the Platinum Equity Portfolio. For more information, call 1-877-CANVAS-9 or visit

2011年4月18日星期一

Cisco sends NSS Labs another firewall

Cisco has sought to defend the security of its firewall products in the wake of a potentially damaging report by NSS Labs this week.

NSS Labs had claimed that five out of six enterprise network firewalls it tested in January "leaked traffic using the default settings that the vendor ships to customers".

The labs offered affected customers a free "remediation brief" – although reading the full report cost US$3,500.

Cisco's security research and operations director Russ Smoak claimed the NSS report "incorrectly lists the Cisco ASA as vulnerable to [a] TCP Split Handshake attack".

"Following an investigation over the course of several months, involving well over a dozen Cisco engineers from various teams and working in conjunction with NSS Labs, no vulnerability of this nature has been observed on Cisco products," Smoak said.

Smoak alleged that although NSS had provided Cisco with test scripts in January, they "did not collect or provide Cisco any configuration information or packet captures to demonstrate the behaviour they observed".

"Once we set to work trying to reproduce the issue on the ASA, we began freely exchanging our lab configuration and testing results with NSS and asking for any additional guidance they could provide," Smoak said.

"To date, Cisco has tested using numerous configuration, software and platform combinations, and all of the aforementioned products have blocked the TCP split handshake negotiation correctly.

"Fast-forward to April, and we're still unable to reproduce the TCP split handshake issue. Last week we sent NSS Labs a  used Cisco ASA in the hopes that they can gather some evidence of their claims and we are awaiting their test results."

Smoak noted several initiatives he said would increase "transparency" on any potential issues with the company's firewall systems.

NSS chief Rick Moy accused vendors in an earlier blog post of ignorance or prioritisation of "performance over security" when it came to their network firewalls.

He confirmed that vendors had been notified of NSS' results "immediately in January and February".

"At considerable expense to us, [we] worked with them for two months to explain the issues and solicit workarounds and fixes," Moy said.

"Half the vendors could have protected customers, but did not, having shipped their firewalls with the protection off by default— leaving enterprise networks vulnerable out of the box.

"There are reasons, but no good ones in our opinion. An analogy is that of a car having the airbag disabled by default (but no warning). This is Job #1 for a firewall."