Radware and Forum Systems today announced that the companies are engaged in joint development of an integrated application-smart networking solution aimed at ensuring the fast and secure delivery of XML-based Web services running on Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA). The joint solution integrates XML acceleration and security features from Forum Systems with Radware's AppXcel application accelerator appliance.

The new capabilities will be offered as optional add-on AppXcel services that will extend Radware's current APSolute application delivery and application security functionality. Radware's new XML optimization services will provide fast XML processing, policy-based XML message handling and protection against a host of message based exploits such as content, attachment and execution attacks carried inside XML messages.

Radware's approach to offering XML optimization as an add-on AppXcel service as part of its application delivery architecture is a cost-effective SOA solution that does not require organizations to deploy separate dedicated appliances for XML acceleration and security. Radware customers can easily add XML services to other AppXcel services such as web compression, SSL offloading and HTTP multiplexing. The integrated product offering combines functionality from Forum Systems' XWALL(TM) and Sentry(TM) products, integrating a Web Services Firewall that provides data authentication with XML intrusion prevention to actively protect against XML viruses, data corruption and denial of Web service attacks, together with XML acceleration.

Gartner reports, "If data center architects and managers are to solve the problem of data center performance and prepare for emerging application architectures, they must adopt a new approach to building data centers -- one that is based on tight integration with high performance networking technologies." (1). This includes the deployment of XML appliances.

According to Joe Skorupa, Research VP, Gartner, Inc., "By 2008, more than 40% of large businesses will deploy application delivery solutions for XML-based traffic."

"There is a great deal of synergy between today's application delivery solutions for web-enabled applications and the kinds of solutions that are needed to address the manageability, performance and security requirements associated with optimizing the delivery of XML web-services," said Amir Peles, chief technology officer at Radware. "Radware's approach to application-smart networking provides an extensible application delivery architecture that supports a migration path to service oriented architecture. Forum is the ideal partner for Radware, allowing us to integrate their best of breed XML solution and quickly bring to market new levels of security and application delivery for SOA."

The new services address SOA/XML application delivery policies, enforce Web services security and accelerate the processing and handling of XML traffic. Certification of outside users, which is crucial with provisions for confidentiality, authentication and authorization, is also performed. Enterprise risk is reduced by securing Web Services communications and XML data exchange, infusing the necessary XML intelligence into the network and lowering the cost of deployment by integrating security and application delivery.

The companies have already identified beta customers across several verticals for initial testing of the joint solution. "While XML provides organizations in industries such as retail and finance with ease of use and convenience, it is also a very challenging communication method due to its flexibility, and thus requires large processing resources on the application level," said Mamoon Yunus, chief technology officer at Forum Systems. "Partnering with Radware will help us ease the burden XML applications put on the network, and ensure that the applications remain highly available and resilient for our customers. Further providing business value, the joint solution will enhance enterprises' visibility and insight into traffic as it flows through the network."

Radware and Forum's integrated offering will also immediately provide the industry's first certified Web services security solution to meet standards requirements for managing the exchange of sensitive data as outlined in Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-12). HSPD-12 is a Federal Government-wide common and reliable identification verification system that will be interoperable among all government agencies and serves as the basis for reciprocity between those agencies by the compliance deadline of October 27, 2006.