ServGate has introduced software that can be used to control up to 100 of its security appliances, making it no longer necessary to manage the devices one by one.

In its initial release, ServGate Global Manager (SGM) configures ServGate hardware and security policies for its firewalls and VPNs. The company says later releases will support policies for anti-virus and anti-spam software supplied through McAfee and Web filtering software from SurfControl that also runs on ServGate hardware.

Competing vendors such as Juniper and WatchGuard Technologies have management platforms for their gear. Fortinet, which makes firewall/VPN gear with additional multifunction security applications, has a separate management appliance that sets policies on any security application that its devices support, including firewalls and VPNs.

Medical Management Services in San Luis Obispo, Calif., is using SGM to manage its nine ServGate boxes and is adding three more, says Mark Trejo, network administrator for the medical billing company.

Without the management platform, he logged on to each machine via a Web interface if he needed to troubleshoot. With a simpler way to manage the devices, he is migrating from frame relay links that range in price from $150 to $800 per month in favor of a VPN with DSL links that cost less than $100 per month, he says. Overall, data network savings for Medical Management Services will be $100,000 per year because of the shift, he says.

SGM can create VPN connections site-to-site with three mouse clicks via a graphical interface, ServGate says. Users click on icons representing the two machines they want to link, then click a button to create the VPN. SGM also distributes software updates. The management platform supports Windows 2000, 2003 and XP. Monitoring tools within SGM include syslog and SNMP servers.

ServGate also is promoting SGM as a way for managed service providers to provision and monitor EdgeForce gear at customer sites.

A software license costs $10,000 for 100 devices and $5,000 for 10 boxes.