What is our primary use case?
We are a solution provider and the EfficientIP DNS Guardian is one of the products that we offer to our clients.
This product protects against DDoS and DNS flooding.
We recently ran PoC exercises with this product for some of our customers but we are still waiting for their decision on whether they want to implement it. Our client knows that they need it, but don't know how to propose it to management.
What is most valuable?
You can run a DNS server directly from EfficientIP to help mitigate all DNS attacks from various sources. This is a very good feature.
This product is able to detect bots that have been planted into your network by a hacker. This is an important feature because of the way that some attacks happen these days. For example, a hacker might email an HR person a PDF containing a fictitious CV. Once it is opened, it drops a malicious bot that hibernates. Then at some point, when the hacker wants to freeze your DNS, they activate the bot, and it beings to do damage and steal data.
In standard practice, IT people run a DNS Firewall from a Linux box. This is the most common and it runs using an application called BIND. Microsoft also has a DNS. There are different types of DNS applications being used and one of them is a recursive DNS, whereas the other is non-recursive. The recursive one is more commonly used, and it operates under BIND.
When a hacker attacks the recursive DNS, what EfficientIP does is autorun the non-recursive DNS for the duration of the attack. It can do what is referred to as a master and slave DNS server, where the slave can be attacked but the master still runs. It can even be put into stealth mode. This is a very nice feature.
The point-and-click GUI is very easy to use.
What needs improvement?
The vendor needs to do more to promote this product in certain regions, helping it to gain market share in territories where it is not widely adopted.
The problem with this vendor is that they are too focused on revenue and sales numbers. If a partner is not able to generate the revenue that they're expecting, they put them on hold until they can generate interest and traction in their region for the products. It comes down to the management's mindset. They have a good product but they don't have much patience for a territory that is slow to adopt.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with EfficientIP DNS Guardian for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This product is very stable. The entire Amazon Web Service, AWS, is powered by EfficientIP. The reason that you don't see AWS going down is because of them.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is very good. For example, you can set up a DHCP for two million users. If you tried this with a normal DHCP, it would kill the server and kill the router.
What the EfficientIP DHCP feature does is create a large pool of reasonable IP addresses in a very short amount of time, which is amazing.
It's good for SMEs, medium businesses, and large organizations. This is really something that everybody needs. In our part of the world, they don't see the need yet but one of these days, they will.
How are customer service and support?
It is very easy to reach the technical support and they are very good.
They've got a good pre-sales team and they also good a very good post-sales team. Tech support-wise, the team is very friendly. They are very efficient and they know what they are doing.
How was the initial setup?
EfficientIP products are very straightforward to set up, as long as you understand how the DNS and DHCP functions work.
What was our ROI?
In terms of the potential revenue loss from an attack, such as the DNS going down, it's priceless. More accurately, it is very difficult to measure and you get what you pay for.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of this product is very reasonable, especially considering that a company's reputation is priceless. If your network goes down because of a DNS failure, it says a lot about your company.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
There are competitors but overall, EfficientIP is doing pretty well.
What other advice do I have?
We are their partner in Cambodia and we are promoting the use of their products here. I can see the need for them, which is what I've been thinking for the past three years. Hopefully, this year it takes off. I think that if the product is marketed properly, it can easily overtake the market in this region.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
*Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
