Networks, Inc., a leading provider of simple, secure and affordable network security appliances, today announced that it is previewing Proteus, its new enterprise class Internet protocol (IP) Address Management (IPAM) system at Networld+Interop in booth # 1124. Proteus, the first dedicated IPAM appliance of its kind, is a self-managed, turnkey design and management tool created to help enterprises design, deploy and manage their IP-based networks. Its unique design combines the features of an enterprise class IPAM software application with the security and manageability of a network appliance.

With Proteus, administrators can model their networks using a simple conceptual view, and then deploy and manage the modeled design across the organization. This enables the network designer to envision the entire design without the interference of implementation details.

Unlike other IPAM systems that are comprised of a dedicated IP management system with few domain name system (DNS) abilities, Proteus was designed to integrate DNS and IP in a unique "dual-cored" architecture. Proteus is intended to design and manage both the DNS name space and dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) allocation and monitoring, as well as manage the interactions which take place between these two services. This ensures the secure integration of these services while enabling them to be designed separately where required. This architecture allows for greater network security and stability by handling non-intuitive service integration details, yet offers full customization of configurations.

Proteus is an extension to the BlueCat Networks family of Adonis DNS/DHCP appliances. It resides at the highest level of this product line, providing the discovery, provisioning and change functionality required for the management of IP, DNS and DHCP services. Proteus is also a powerful design tool for these services, enabling network administrators to work concurrently to deploy it, while eliminating the need to understand the intricacies of DNS or DHCP.

"With Adonis, we brought security and simplicity to DNS/DHCP management. Now with Proteus, we are bringing this same philosophy to DNS/DHCP design and true enterprise network implementation and management," said Richard Hyatt, CTO of BlueCat Networks. "Proteus is a truly groundbreaking solution that cuts the cost, extensive setup and maintenance overhead required of typical IP management solutions."

With the addition of Proteus, BlueCat Networks Adonis product line now services networks, from the simplest DHCP requirements to designing and managing the largest IP network implementations. With increasingly prevalent exploits like DNS cache poisoning and denial-of-service attacks, the importance of a design and implementation that is secure and stable at all levels is paramount. BlueCat Networks sees this process through from end-to-end, throughout the various lifecycles involved. It uses intuitive interfaces to guide administrators through the most advanced data checking tools in the industry - without increasing their workload with additional server and software support.

Proteus is built from the ground up on BlueCat's highly secure Linux OS appliance design. It contains a network-style permissions structure with delegation, is accessible through several types of authentication, and ensures compatibility with most network security implementations. Audit trails and easy rollbacks enable administrative teams to work collaboratively. Email alerts and reporting provide powerful real-time management information. Proteus can be connected to existing enterprise systems and extended to integrate its functionality with other solutions using SQL, SOAP and Java APIs.

Proteus will be commercially available from BlueCat Networks in the fourth quarter of 2005.