Ensuring network security is a must for every enterprise, but in the evolving landscape of distributed hybrid multicloud IT environments, security has gotten a great deal more complicated. Meanwhile, network security threats are on the rise and have become more sophisticated: Everything from data leaks to ransomware attacks to DDoS attacks and malware threaten the security of enterprise assets.
For the typical global company, infrastructure is spread across many locations, from core infrastructure to edge data centers around the world, as well as many domains, including multiple clouds and SaaS solutions. The potential attack surface for such companies is huge. In addition, the possibility of human error leading to a security issue in these complex environments is greater.
Every organization must determine the right strategic approach to managing network security in this landscape. There are countless tools available to help enterprises achieve the security they’re look for, and firewalls are one very important part of a broader network security strategy. Traditionally, firewalls served as perimeter defense for an enterprise network where all traffic flowed through a central point. Today, they manage the flow of traffic between the many different domains in hybrid multicloud environments—public clouds, applications, users, on-premises infrastructure, and edge locations.
Before you dive deep into virtual firewalls, it’s important to carefully consider your architectural approach to network security. Then, you can decide on the right type of firewall to control what traffic you want to allow or disallow in your network.
Rethinking network architecture for distributed environments
As cloud deployments increase and nearly all enterprises use multiple clouds, where you put your security controls matters. To protect data moving through a complex multicloud environment, you need to manage security at the key points where traffic is being exchanged.
Many organizations are currently struggling with network security management because they’re using an architectural approach that’s not well aligned to the nature of modern dispersed, heterogenous digital infrastructures:
- Some have held onto a centralized network security stack where all traffic has to be backhauled to a central location for policy enforcement. This can lead to latency, performance issues and additional, unnecessary data transport costs.
- Others have a patchwork of network security functions spread across different environments. Typically, these security functions were amassed in an ad-hoc manner and may include the native capabilities from existing clouds. This approach can lead to fragmentation, duplication of services and management complexity.
The best architecture for network security, in our view, involves deploying security functions at the edge, in key places where your clouds, network service providers, business partners and users meet. These are likely places where you’re already doing multicloud networking, so consolidating network security at these critical points reduces complexity and duplication of services while improving security, performance and cost effectiveness.
Virtual firewalls: A better fit for a multicloud world
Firewalls are just one part of an integrated security approach, but they serve a very important purpose in distributed infrastructures that include enterprise data and applications hosted in the cloud. As noted above, there are no longer clear boundaries around modern networks and the attack surface has become huge.
Trends like remote work, the rise of AI-driven malware and increased ransomware attacks have further increased the risks and vulnerabilities for enterprises. Firewalls are a necessary tool for filtering and monitoring traffic in a virtualized environment. They help organizations permit only what they want in their networks, while anticipating threats and acting quickly to mitigate them.
Firewalls have always played an important role in protecting the flow of data into an enterprise network, but with the growth of cloud computing and multicloud environments, they’ve now evolved for expanded functions and capabilities. While physical and virtual firewalls both manage traffic flows into and out of a network, virtual firewalls offer some advantages for multicloud environments, including:
- Faster deployment with on-demand provisioning
- Faster time to market
- Increased agility
- Ability to scale up and down as needed
- Cost efficiency
- Ability to standardize and replicate a deployment in new locations
With a physical network device, there’s a higher upfront investment cost, and once you receive the device, you still have to install and maintain it. That said, organizations that have a hybrid infrastructure may already have physical firewalls in some places but want to deploy virtual firewalls in others. There’s no reason you can’t use both. Virtual firewalls are just particularly well suited to the demands of today’s dynamic cloud environments.
Put your virtual firewall where everything else connects
For a virtual firewall to do its job optimally, it needs to be in the places where you have the greatest traffic exchange. Equinix data centers have always been a neutral place for traffic exchange between parties. We offer a network functions virtualization (NFV) platform that allows you to deploy firewalls in the locations that make sense for your business. It’s connected to a software-defined network (SDN) that provides low latency cloud connectivity.
Equinix Network Edge provides virtual network devices—not just firewalls, but SD-WAN devices, routers and load balancers—delivered on demand in minutes. This allows you to manage network traffic for a multicloud environment with the same cloudlike experience you’re used to. And with Equinix Network Edge, you can work with your preferred firewall vendors because all the industry leaders are available: Cisco, Fortinet, Juniper, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point. Even if you’re choosing a virtual firewall for the first time, there’s no retraining required because these virtual firewalls are the same industry standard devices you’re used to. A few additional benefits of Equinix Network Edge:
- Create a temporary environment to test new features before deploying.
- Scale up and down as needed.
- Replicate a configuration in a new place through our APIs and integration with automation tools.
- Manage network security centrally instead of having security functions all over the place.
Once you’ve chosen your network security devices, you need a way to connect them to the rest of your network. One of the biggest advantages of deploying a virtual firewall on Equinix Network Edge is the connectivity you can access thanks to its tight integration with our SDN service, Equinix Fabric®. It further enhances security by offering direct, private connections to clouds, network services, applications, internet breakouts and other key elements of your network.
A common implementation using Equinix Network Edge
We’ve designed our virtual networking solutions to meet the different needs of enterprise customers. That’s why flexibility is built into the platform.
As you evolve your network security strategy to support the requirements of a distributed multicloud architecture, think about the advantages of using virtual firewalls. As part of a broader network security strategy, virtual firewalls play an important role in creating a secure multicloud network that consolidates security at the edge while delivering centralized control and consistent policy management.
Learn more about how enterprises are benefiting from Equinix virtual networking solutions by reading our Multicloud networking customer success stories.
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