release a motherboard controller that makes it possible to build a
hardware firewall within a PC itself.
The catch is that the new PCI-based chip set will only work with AMD
Athlon 64, 64 FX, and Sempron processors. Consequently, the company
expects that NForce 4 will be aimed at higher-end applications such as
gaming in its initial roll-out. It is not clear whether the chip set
will be made to work in Intel systems at a later date.
Although software firewalls are effective on PCs, the NForce 4
"ActiveArmor" protection engine claims to carry out its security
routines without hindering the performance of the PC, acting as an
"accelerated" co-processor. This should improve system performance by
unburdening the main CPU from having to process network traffic.
ActiveArmor's firewall functions look fairly standard, and include
packet inspection, port filtering, and other anti-hacking features as
well as remote administration which is a must for IT departments.
More interesting to businesses in the light of recent history will be
the application filtering features of what Nvidia has dubbed
"Intelligent Application Manager" (IAM). This, it is claimed, will stop
Trojans hijacking the PC to use it as a server and will perform
sophisticated monitoring of outbound as well as inbound application
traffic.
The chip set has been released in three versions. The mid-level
"Ultra", which is likely to be the most popular, comes with an
integrated firewall, and support for 3GB serial RAID (including
advanced failover detection), and will add approximately $100-$150 to
the price of a motherboard, the company indicated.
The $200 high-end NForce 4 SLI is identical but includes a technology
called Scalable Link Interface (SLI), a means of running two graphics
cards in one system to boost graphics performance. The entry-level $55
NForce relies on cut-down software-based firewall features and lacked
the SLI, but will come with a lower performance version of the RAID
support.
increased in the coming months.
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