Fortinet has announced it has opened its first network security test and demonstration lab, IT FortiLab, in Poland. The company has joined forces with a Polish IT distie Veracomp and a software antivirus and UTM hardware solutions provider Nbit, with the latter being appointed to host the lab at its premises in the south of Poland, in Chorzow.
FortiLab will provide an opportunity for the large enterprises to test their Fortinet solutions prior to the purchase, it says.
The new lab is equipped with the devices and server hardware which can simulate the work of an enterprise of any size and its network architecture. This facilitates a demonstration of a whole range of available options for clients how to protect the network against rapidly evolving threats, it says.
Additionally, the lab has a strong visual side. This means there are the eight pillars which are being separately backlit to help visualise the path that each data packet needs to take in order to travel from one device to another.
FortiLab is also equipped with the network security platforms Fortinet FortiGate, and a platform that records and reports the security events FortAnalyzer, which has been hooked to the network, as well as a device system which protects the email FortiMail.
The founders of the lab plan to gradually expand it with more units to come.
“Thanks to a 48U server rack we can deliver any hardware architecture at the customer’s request. Additionally, there are eight glass pillars that host cabling installation linked to a patchpanel that allows a connection between each of the pillars and a rack as well as between all the remaining pillars. This allows us to set up a simulation for an extensive telecommunication infrastructure. This is the first and the largest such investment in a test and demonstration lab in the country”, says Sebastian Holwek, Commercial Director at Nbit.
“As a Fortinet solutions distributor for Poland we have welcomed and supported the Nbit innovative idea. Together we can offer to the largest corporations in Poland an opportunity to test their Fortinet solutions prior to a purchase. We are glad that we could contribute to this project and together with Nbit set up this lab,” says Wojciach Komnata, Director of Sales at Veracomp.