BOCA RATON, FLA. - Start-up 14 South Networks - an IBM spinoff - this week is scheduled to debut a blade that slides into PCI-based servers and provides firewall and VPN protection based on Check Point technology.

The IntraLock blade - the first of its kind - replaces a network interface card, creating a way to set up an inbound encrypted connection to a server, determine firewall rules and stop inbound worms using Check Point's SmartDefense technology, the company says. IntraLock can be managed through the Check Point Smartcenter console or with 14 South's management tool.

Electronics maker Panasonic is using the IntraLock - in conjunction with more traditional perimeter firewalls - to protect its Web portal, which runs on multiple servers. IntraLock lets Panasonic protect individual servers directly, says George Oneid, central systems architect for Panasonic. That's preferable to counting on one firewall/VPN device to support all the servers, he says.

The blades also save space and reduce noise compared with traditional rack-mounted systems.

CEO and President Sterling Wharton says IntraLock, which works with servers from Dell, HP, IBM and Sun, is available in four models that cost between $1,000 and $4,500.

IntraLock 1 has one 10/100M bit/sec Ethernet port, but doesn't support a VPN terminated at the server. IntraLock 10-1 supports 10 simultaneous VPN terminations. IntraLock 10-3 supports two 10/100M bit/sec ports and 10 VPN terminations. The IntraLock 30 can terminate 30 VPNs at the server and has two 10/100M bit/sec or Gigabit Ethernet ports.