Symantec updates security appliance

Symantec on Wednesday will start shipping its Gateway Security 5600 Series appliances, the update to the 5400 series products released in September 2003. The new products offer seven security features in one device: anti-spam, antivirus, firewall, intrusion detection, intrusion prevention, clientless SSL VPN and IPSec VPN. The clientless virtual private networking feature using Secure Sockets Layer technology is completely new; other parts have been updated.

The 5600 series includes new hardware for improved performance and reliability, according to Symantec. All the features are preloaded and can be enabled by entering a license key. Buyers can pick and choose features, a change from the earlier product, which required the purchase of firewall and VPN licenses. The 5600 comes in three versions--5620, 5640 and 5660--with more advanced hardware as the product number increases. Pricing depends on the licensed features, number of users and chosen hardware.