ProSecure™ STM Series

Sizing Guidelines

ProSecure™ STM appliances manage an organization's Internet usage and protects these organizations from Internet borne malware, spam, viruses, and inappropriate web surfing. With the ProSecure™ STM appliance sitting between the organization and the Internet, it is critical that the STM appliance is sized appropriately and matches the performance needs of the organization.

There are no industry-standard metrics for determining the model to select, as every organization is unique and displays different Internet usage characteristics. As such, NETGEAR® uses several specifications to evaluate the applicability of an STM appliance:

Throughput

A starting point is to estimate the throughput your organization requires between its internal network and the Internet. As the STM appliance sits between your internal network and the Internet, this throughput number is the total amount of traffic that can be passed with the STM in place.

Concurrent Clients

The number of concurrent clients represents the maximum number of currently active clients that can simultaneously access the Internet through the STM. NETGEAR® STM Appliances' Concurrent Client rating is a number that is measured assuming that each active client is currently engaging in an "average" web browsing session with multiple connections to multiple websites.

In general, your organization's concurrent client count should be less than the total number of users in your organization. For instance, if your organization has 1000 users, perhaps only 800 of those users have Internet access via a computer. Moreover, on the average, perhaps only 75% of those users are in the office at any point in time (75% x 800 = 600 users). Lastly, you may perhaps estimate that only 50% of those users (50% x 600 = 300 users) are actually on the Internet browsing web traffic at a given time.

Concurrently Scanned HTTP Connections

Users who are actively browsing the Internet can typically be estimated to have 5 active HTTP connections at any point in time with a 60% rate of concurrency (yielding 3 connections). This number accommodates averaged situations where some users are heavily browsing the web or using Internet bandwidth intensive applications. Note that the peak number of connections can exceed these estimates if there is extraordinarily heavy usage of Internet bandwidth or connection intensive applications such as Peer 2 Peer applications are being used.

Email Throughput

The rate at which users send and receive Emails varies widely in organizations, and is also dependent on the amount of spam an organization is receiving. For instance, if users, on the average, send and receive 30 legitimate emails per hour and 70% of Email traffic is SPAM, then each user will contribute 100 Emails per hour to the overall system load. A 200 user organization could then be expected to experience an Email load of 200,000 messages per hour.

STM Appliance Model Comparison

Sample Organizations

When sizing an STM for an organization, throughput, concurrent clients, concurrent connections, and Emails processing capability should all be assessed against the characteristics of the organization. In the examples below, we have outlined potential sample organizations and the recommended STM appliances for each organization.

Deployment Guidelines

The ProSecure™ STM gateway security appliance is an inline transparent bridge that can easily be deployed to any point on the network without requiring network reconfiguration or additional hardware.

The following are the most common deployment scenarios for the STM appliance. Depending on your network environment and the areas that you want to protect, you can choose one or a combination of these deployment scenarios.

• Gateway Deployment
• Server Group Deployment
• Segmented LAN Deployment

Gateway Deployment

In a typical gateway deployment scenario, a single STM appliance is installed at the gateway between the firewall and the LAN core switch to protect the network against all Web and Email threats entering and leaving the gateway. In this type of deployment, all STMs scan both Web and Email traffic.

Note: In a gateway deployment, it is recommended to install the STM behind the firewall to employ the firewall's functionality in stopping DoS attacks (which may often be non Web or Email traffic related).

Figure 1 Gateway Deployment

Server Group Deployment

In a server group deployment, one STM appliance is installed at the gateway and another in front of the server group. This type of deployment helps split the network load and provides the mail server with dedicated protection against email-borne malware and spam. In this type of deployment the STM installed at the gateway scans only Web traffic while the STM in front of the server group scans only Email traffic.

Figure 2 Server Group Deployment

Segmented LAN Deployment

In a segmented LAN deployment, one STM appliance is installed in front of each network segment. This type of deployment helps split the network load and protects network segments from Web and Email threats coming in through the gateway or originating from other segments. In this type of deployment, all STMs scan both Web and Email traffic.

Figure 3 Segmented LAN Deployment

News & Events

• Press Release: October 26, 2009
  ProSecure™ STM by NETGEAR Stops Up to 50 Percent More Threats Than Competing Spam and Firewall Products
• Press Release: April 17, 2009
  NETGEAR® Delivers Unparalleled Security and High Performance with New Line of UTM Security Appliances for Small Businesses
• 
  In the News: April 20, 2009
  25 Hot Security Products You'll See At RSA
  Source: CRN
• 
  Recognition & Awards: March, 2009
  NETGEAR ProSecure STM150 Review
  "This SMB security appliance has plenty of potential, and delivers excellent anti-spam and web-filtering performance."
  – Dave Mitchell, PC Pro
  Read full article
• 
  Events: April 28 – 30, 2009
  Infosecurity Europe
  London, England
  http://www.infosec.co.uk

More News & Events

Whitepapers

• NETGEAR® In-The-Cloud Distributed Spam Analysis Technology: Network Based Protection Against Email-Borne Threats
  Over the past few years, Email has emerged as the primary vector for an array of computer threats such as spam, viruses, Trojans, and phishing attacks.
• How Internet Usage Puts Your Business at Risk
  Small and mid-size businesses have come to rely heavily on the Internet as an essential part of their day-to-day operations. It offers speedy access to information and enables 24x7 communications with the outside world.
• The Role of the Internet in the Propagation of Malware
  Businesses of all sizes rely on the Internet as an essential component of their daily operations. The company's Web site is a primary entry point to its current and prospective customers, as well as other key stakeholders; employees conduct the majority of their business operations via the Web; and Email has had a profound effect on the speed and efficiency of internal and external communications.
• Comprehensive Internet Security – Employing A Layered Defense
  Aircraft carriers employ a comprehensive layered defense strategy, beginning with proactive detection. Radar is utilized as the first line of defense, to detect any approaching attackers.
• An In-depth Analysis of SMB vs. Enterprise Security
  One of the most commonly used acronyms in business today is "SMB". Yet, most vendors who service both Small and Mid-sized Businesses and Enterprises differentiate the two based either on the company's annual revenue or by its number of employees. However, when it comes to IT security, neither of these measurements is very appropriate.
• NETGEAR® Stream Scanning Technology
  The proliferation of Web 2.0 technologies has dramatically increased the Internet's importance to small and mid-size businesses. However, it has also fueled a variety of new attack strategies, as attackers take advantage of the vast connectivity it provides, coupled with the confidence it elicits among users.

Data Sheets

• STM Series: ProSecure™ Web and Email Threat Management Appliance
  The ProSecure STM series of Web and email security appliances combine best-of-breed security technologies and patent-pending Stream Scanning Technology to protect businesses against today's Web and email threats. Viruses and spyware hosted on Web pages, email phishing attacks, spam, malware infected emails, and other threats are now all part of a regular repertoire of sophisticated blended attacks that businesses now face.
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Case Studies

• 
  Net Tango
  Net Tango Solves Spam and Malware Problems with NETGEAR® ProSecure™ STM
  Read Case Study ›
• 
  Unity Electronics
  NETGEAR® STM Stream Scanning Technology Provides Unity Electronics with Peace of Mind
  Read Case Study ›
• 
  Oregon DEQ
  Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Cleans Up Hazardous Malware with NETGEAR® STM Stream Scanning Technology
  Read Case Study ›
• 
  Advanced Reimbursement Management, LLC
  Advanced Reimbursement Management Reclaims their Network with NETGEAR® STM Stream Scanning Technology
  Read Case Study ›

Product Documentation

• STM Reference Manual
  The NETGEAR ProSecure Web/Email Security Threat Management Applicance STM Reference Manual describes how to configure and troubleshoot a ProSecure Web/Email Security Threat Management Applicance STM 150, STM300 or STM600. The information in this manual is intended for readers with intermediate computer and networking skills.
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