Security as a network function, not such a good idea

A researcher says product tests indicate that adding security functions into your Cisco network can kill network performance. NSS Labs will publish its findings about firewalls, IPS and UTM early next year, but NSS Labs CEO Vik Phatak says there are clearly performance drawbacks to using the Cisco security functions in routers and switches.

"Using IPS in your router can turn a 60G router into a 5G one or even a 100M bit/sec device," says Phatak. "There are performance bottlenecks." He adds that sometimes security functions simply can't keep up when speeds are high.

It should be noted that Cisco's standalone security appliances fared quite well against its rivals' equipment in the NSS Labs environment, which included simulation of perimeter, internal network and e-commerce. "TippingPoint, McAfee, Juniper, Cisco and IBM are all 'Grade A,' " Phatak says.

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