Varonis unveils new, flexible architecture designed to boost efficiency, reduce overheads and simplify management
London: Varonis Systems Inc. has released version 5.8 of Varonis DatAdvantage, offering even more flexible, easier to manage and cost effective data governance for unstructured and semi-structured data while reducing system and network overhead. The latest enhancements are the result of continued improvements to the software to help organizations even more effectively audit and manage data access control, identify and classify data owners, and oversee entitlement and authorization processes for their sensitive data.
Version 5.8 of DatAdvantage brings some significant improvements to the architecture, most notably the introduction of internally developed collectors that can run in addition to or instead of Varonis probes running Microsoft SQL. The new collectors are able to compile the information without an SQL server, reducing the financial and operational overheads associated with a database, improving performance, and making them easier to implement.
Performance is also enhanced through the introduction of an incremental file walk. Rather than walking the entire file structure daily, this new feature allows organizations to only scan those files for permission changes that have been accessed, increasing overall efficiency while reducing bandwidth.
Users of the latest version will also benefit from a new management console, scheduler and command line interface, designed to allow for all tasks to be managed from a single point - including the addition and removal of probes, file servers, and domains.
“These latest enhancements reflect a leap forward in our technology. Our battle-tested solution continues to mature, offering a more flexible and adaptable architecture,” said Yaki Faitelson, CEO, president and co-founder of Varonis. “We have changed the architecture of the product so that the people who already rely heavily on DatAdvantage to improve management and security for their unstructured data platforms can integrate it into their workflow even more seamlessly, while those new to the technology will benefit from the experience and input from those who have come before them.”
Key features in Version 5.8 include:
• Collectors: New component introduced for metadata collection that no longer requires Microsoft SQL, resulting in better performance, easier deployment, and a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
• Management Console and Scheduler: Single point to manage and control the entire Varonis infrastructure, simplifying installation and monitoring.
• Incremental File Walk: Ability to incrementally scan the file system for permissions changes rather than scanning entire system, reducing system and network overhead and boosting overall efficiency.
• Database Separation: SQL will no longer be required to be installed on the same hosts as Varonis components, increasing architecture flexibility and reducing total cost of ownership
• Auditing Actions: full audit of activities within DatAdvantage increases organizational security posture by providing immediate accountability for administrators.
• User and Group Creation: Users and groups can be created and edited from the DatAdvantage interface, increasing administrative functionality and flexibility.
ABOUT THE VARONIS® METADATA FRAMEWORK™
Four types of metadata are critical for data governance:
• User and Group Information – from Active Directory, LDAP, NIS, SharePoint, etc.
• Permissions and File System Information – knowing who can access what data in which containers
• Access Activity – knowing which users do access what data, when and what they've done
• Sensitive Content Indicators – knowing which files contain items of sensitivity and importance, and where they reside
The Varonis Metadata Framework™ non-intrusively collects this critical metadata, generates metadata where existing metadata is lacking (e.g. its file system filters and content inspection technologies), pre-processes it, normalizes it, analyzes it, stores it, and presents it to IT administrators in an interactive, dynamic interface.