Introducing the HP Atalla Ax150 Network Security Processor (NSP)

HP Atalla Security Products introduces the new HP Atalla Ax150 NSP product line, the most advanced NSP products we’ve ever built, and successor to the Atalla Ax100 NSP products.  Both the Atalla Ax100 and the Ax150 NSP products optimize Triple DES implementations, standards, secure key management, and vendor interoperability.  The new Atalla Ax150 NSP products now provide the best value, productivity, performance, and total cost of ownership, bar none. 

When the Atalla Ax100 NSP product line was introduced in 2002 it quickly became the industry standard for safeguarding PINs, keys, and account information.  However, today the Hazardous Substance Directive (RoHs, pronounced ‘Ross’) from the European Union mandates that computer products must be free from various dangerous metals and materials.  The RoHs compliance mandate is in force in Europe today and China, California, and elsewhere plan to follow soon with similar mandates. 

Faced with modifying the Atalla Ax100 NSP product family to meet environmental compliance requirements worldwide, HP Atalla decided to make the new Atalla Ax150 NSP even more secure with even more performance.  Given that a more secure, compatible HP Atalla product with more performance will be made available, HP Atalla plans to place the current Ax100 series of products on Controlled Availability status to coincide with general availability of the Ax150 series at the end of September 2006.  Both products will continue to be supported by HP.  

The chart below contrasts the differences between the Atalla Ax100 and Ax150 NSP products:

The security engine in the new Atalla Ax150 NSP products, the Atalla Cryptographic Subsystem (ACS), has been evaluated and is awaiting final validation from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 Level 4.  FIPS 140-2 Level 4 is the highest US and Canadian government certification possible for security modules in terms of both physical security and key management.  The security engine in the previous Ax100 NSP products, the Atalla Cryptographic Engine (ACE) was validated on the FIPS 140-2 standard at Level 3.

The new high-end Atalla A10150 NSP performs 950 PIN translates per second using the industry standard Atalla Key Block, the only product which meets the recent ANSI X9.24 Part 1 (2004) standard for key management.   The previous high-end, the Atalla A10100 NSP, performed 540 PIN translates per second using the AKB.

The new Atalla Ax150 NSP is truly an evolution to the Ax100 NSP products; its command set is compatible with the previous Ax100 products; the Atalla Secure Configuration Assistant (SCA) configures and manages both product lines; and the many ease-of-use features such as the software upgrades via CDROM remain.  HP Atalla’s goal with the introduction of these new products is to minimize any disruption as we enhance the security and performance of Atalla products while meeting emerging environmental mandates around the world.    

To learn more about the HP Atalla Ax150 NSP products join Larry Hines, Ax150 Product Manager, for the Atalla Ax150 NSP Webcast on Wednesday, October 4 at 11:00 am Eastern (8:00 am Pacific).  Simply register with an e-mail to Atalla.

You can also see the new Atalla Ax150 NSP and meet with HP Atalla representatives within the HP booth at the upcoming ITUG Summit (www.itug.org/events/summit/2006/ ) in San Jose, CA on October 16-18. 

To assist in further understanding and using these Atalla products, we will provide two seats in an upcoming Atalla Product Training Class free to those customers who purchase one or more Atalla Ax150 NSP products (see chart below).  Each seat is valued at $995 and the next product training session begins on October 19.  Contact Atalla Technical Support to register and for more information.   

As always, for more information on Atalla products and services go to www.atalla.com  or call the HP Atalla Security Products help desk at 1-800-523-9981 or 408-517-7007.

Sincerely yours,
Steve Scott
Product Marketing Manager
HP Atalla Security Products

Ps. The chart below displays the Atalla Ax100 NSP models and their corresponding Atalla Ax150 NSP models in terms of performance and key management technology: