New advancements to Aruba ESP deliver edge-to-cloud security to enterprises

Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, announced an expansive set of cross-portfolio edge-to-cloud security integrations for Aruba ESP (Edge Services Platform).

The new advancements include the integration of the ClearPass Policy Manager secure network access control platform with the Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN edge platform, formerly Silver Peak, the integration of Aruba Threat Defense with the EdgeConnect platform, and the expansion of the Aruba ESP multivendor security partner ecosystem, providing enterprise customers with the freedom to deploy best-of-breed, cloud-delivered secure access service edge (SASE) security components of their choice. Today’s Aruba ESP advancements will enable enterprises to fast-track their digital transformation journey from edge-to-cloud.

Adoption of cloud-hosted services

As organisations contend with challenges resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and a new “work from anywhere” normal, the adoption of cloud-hosted services will continue to accelerate. This shift is intensifying the urgency to transform conventional data centre and MPLS-centric and VPN-based networks to a cloud-native SASE architecture that features more dynamic provisioning of secure network services while protecting data from end-to-end.

In parallel, digital transformation is causing a significant increase of IoT devices connecting to the network, presenting new challenges that are not addressed with cloud-delivered security alone. Since IoT devices are agentless, IT departments cannot install security clients or redirect device traffic to cloud security services; therefore, Zero Trust security must be applied at the WAN edge.

Identity-based security policy

Enterprise customers now have the ability to apply granular-level, identity-based security policy To realise the full potential of the cloud and digital transformation, organisations require a new WAN edge that combines on-premises and cloud-delivered security, delivering on the promise of SASE to protect users connecting to SaaS and public cloud platforms and to safeguard IoT devices that require Zero Trust identity-based security. Through the new Aruba ESP integrations being announced, enterprise customers now have the ability to apply granular-level, identity-based security policy from edge-to-cloud to safely connect and protect both users and devices.

A recent report from communications research firm 650 Group highlights the growing emphasis on SASE while explaining the need for enterprises to re-examine their security approach in light of the current technology evolution.

Customer feedback

Chris DePuy, founding technology analyst at 650 Group states, “As enterprises shift toward Zero Trust and SASE architectures, they are increasingly evaluating and deploying multi-vendor cloud-delivered security services, and it’s not necessary for all the SASE components to come from a single vendor.”

“Aruba’s approach strikes a balance between delivering on-premises security functionality at the WAN edge and providing customers with the freedom of choice to integrate leading cloud-delivered security services from partners like Zscaler, Netskope, and Check Point. This multi-vendor partnering strategy provides enterprises with the flexibility to continue working with existing vendors or shift toward ‘best-of-breed’ systems.”

ClearPass Policy Manager integration

The integration of ClearPass Policy Manager with the Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN edge platform augments application intelligence by adding identity knowledge of users, IoT devices, roles, and security posture to form the basis of a SASE WAN edge.

Combining role and security posture intelligence with advanced dynamic segmentation capabilities eliminates the complexity associated with implementing hundreds of VLANs for each class of user and device, dramatically simplifying network administration and management. Integrating ClearPass Policy Manager with EdgeConnect provides a consistent and automated definition of roles that can be enforced network-wide from the user’s device, through the LAN, and across the WAN.

Threat Defense integration

Aruba Threat Defense with the EdgeConnect SD-WAN edge platform extends advanced intrusion detection The integration of Aruba Threat Defense with the Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN edge platform extends advanced intrusion detection and prevention (IDS/IPS) capabilities to EdgeConnect physical and virtual appliances. This allows the EdgeConnect platform to leverage the Aruba threat infrastructure, sharing critical threat information between Aruba Central and EdgeConnect to deliver full visibility across the network.

These advanced unified threat management (UTM) capabilities enable enterprises to deliver east-west lateral security as well as secure local internet breakout from branch locations and can be deployed centrally on premises or in the cloud. By leveraging a common threat infrastructure and threat feeds across Aruba ESP, network and security managers can centrally apply and enforce threat management policies enterprise-wide.

Multivendor partner Ecosystem

As enterprises shift toward a Zero Trust and SASE architecture, they are increasingly evaluating and deploying multivendor cloud-delivered security services. A new Ponemon Institute security best practices survey affirms this, revealing that over 70 percent of respondents would opt for a best-of-breed, cloud-delivered security solution over an all-in-one approach, in order to architect a comprehensive Zero Trust and SASE infrastructure.

With a new Service Orchestration provisioning workflow, the Aruba Orchestrator management console, formerly Silver Peak Unity Orchestrator, now includes pre-configured default information regarding the cloud security partner’s proximity-based cloud security services. Network administrators can quickly and easily associate Aruba branch locations with the partner’s points of presence (POPs) and cloud-data centres. Foremost security vendors such as Check Point, Forcepoint, McAfee, Netskope, Palo Alto Networks, Symantec and Zscaler are currently a part of Aruba’s extensive technology alliance partner ecosystem.

Powerful combination

“The integration of ClearPass Policy Manager and Aruba Threat Defense with the EdgeConnect SD-WAN edge platform allows us to deliver a consistent identity-based policy framework across the Aruba secure edge portfolio,” said David Hughes, Founder of Silver Peak and Senior Vice President of the WAN business at Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company. The integration will enable customers to move from center-centric network architectures to cloud-centric WAN

“This powerful combination will enable customers to move at their own pace, from legacy data center-centric network architectures, with perimeter-based security, to a cloud-centric WAN with security based on the principles of Zero Trust and SASE. Enterprise customers can deploy our on-premises EdgeConnect WAN edge platform to enforce policy from the edge, and easily integrate with leading cloud-delivered security services from the vendor of their choice, all centrally controlled within Aruba Orchestrator.”

Comprehensive WAN Edge portfolio

The Aruba ESP platform offers customers the industry’s most comprehensive portfolio of secure wired, wireless and WAN edge solutions that enable customers to adapt to today’s new normal and tomorrow’s unknowns. The WAN Edge portfolio includes:

• Virtual Intranet Access Client (VIA) – maximum mobility for work-from-anywhere users whether connecting to private or public networks
• Remote Access Points (RAPs) – minimal footprint for mobile, remote and temporary workspaces, delivering secure connectivity to the corporate enterprise network
• SD-Branch – maximum integration and simple unified management across WLAN, LAN and SD-WAN with Zero Trust security
• EdgeConnect – optimal QoE (Quality of Experience) from edge-to-cloud with an advanced SD-WAN edge platform and unified SASE components