Mirantis and Palo Alto Networks Partner on OpenStack NFV Security Tool

Mirantis and Palo Alto Networks have partnered on a Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) solution that they say brings a new type of security assurance to OpenStack cloud infrastructure.

The partnership centers on the integration of a Palo Alto Networks security tool into Mirantis’s OpenStack distribution as a Virtual Network Function (VNF). The tool is designed to protect cloud applications from security threats.

The news is notable because it highlights how NFV — which until now has seen a lot of development but relatively little real-world deployment — is intersecting with the cloud to provide new approaches to security. Through solutions like this one, security can be easily abstracted from physical infrastructure just like other cloud services.

That approach not only makes security solutions more flexible by increasing their scalability and readiness to migrate, but also adds another layer of security to protect the physical servers that run OpenStack clouds.

“As enterprises transition to a cloud infrastructure model, they migrate from hardware-based network services to a software-based, virtualized approach,” said Mirantis Vice President of Product Marketing Kamesh Pemmaraju. “Integrating Mirantis OpenStack with Palo Alto Networks VM-Series next-generation firewall is a good example of helping accelerate and secure this transition.”

Palo Alto Networks has joined Mirantis’ Unlocked Technology Partner Program as part of the deal, which allows customers to deploy the security VNF tool through OpenStack’s Fuel orchestration component.