In a time of relentless cyber threats, fortifying your IT infrastructure has become an imperative for safeguarding digital assets. FlexPod, the integrated computing, networking, and storage solution jointly developed by Cisco and NetApp, enables enterprises to accelerate delivery of an agile, scaleable, resilient infrastructure. To further bolster security, Cisco and NetApp have embraced the principles of Zero Trust Architecture, ensuring that no entity within or outside the network is trusted by default. Now, FlexPod is automating the previous zero trust reference architecture with Ansible scripting. process
Our approach of writing Ansible scripts that automate the FlexPod security with Zero Trust reference architecture is comprised of several elements:
- Streamlining initial FlexPod security deployment with Day 0: The journey to a secure and efficient infrastructure begins with initial deployment. Day 0 bring-up refers to the setup phase where the FlexPod stack is configured before it goes live.
- Cisco and NetApp have collaborated to provide Ansible playbooks that automate this initial deployment process, ensuring a consistent and error-free security, deployment. These playbooks are a testament to the commitment of both companies to deliver a robust infrastructure that adheres to security best practices right from the start. The FlexPod Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and FlexPod Zero Trust Framework CVDs are indispensable resources.
- Security Hardening of the FlexPod Infrastructure: Once the FlexPod infrastructure is up and running, the next critical step is security hardening. The FlexPod Hardening Guide is a comprehensive resource that outlines industry-vetted security measures and best practices across the FlexPod stack. These guidelines help organizations configure their FlexPod solutions to meet stringent security requirements, providing peace of mind in an era of heightened cyber risks.
- Achieving Secure Multi-Tenancy: FlexPod’s cybersecurity architecture now with Ansible automation is designed to allow multiple tenants to coexist on the same physical infrastructure without compromising security. This is achieved through:
- Secure isolation of tenant and applications within the FlexPod infrastructure.
- Reduction of the threat surface to mitigate ransomware and other lateral attacks.
- Implementation of firewall, intrusion prevention, and virtual routing and forwarding to protect and isolate network traffic.
This level of isolation is crucial for service providers hosting multiple customers, internal business units requiring dedicated resources, and organizations with stringent compliance requirements such as HIPAA, PCI, and SOC.
Additionally, hardening Ansible playbooks are made available to automate this process, which can be accessed in FlexPod GitHub.
Customer and Partner Security Automation Benefits
Security automation with FlexPod is not just a technical upgrade—it's a strategic advantage for a range of stakeholders:
- Large enterprises and federal organizations benefit from the enhanced security posture and reduced threat surfaces.
- Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and Service Providers (SPs) can offer their customers secure, isolated environments for their applications and data.
- Tenancy Use Cases include external customer hosting, internal business unit segregation, network security enhancements, and meeting compliance requirements.
With the FlexPod Zero Trust CVD (Cisco Validated Design) and its IaC automation, partners and customers enjoy a pre-tested and validated standardized deployment, hardening configurations via Ansible playbooks, and secure multi-tenancy capabilities. These playbooks serve as a tool to improve the security and efficiency of both new and existing FlexPod deployments, aligning with security best practices and providing added value to their customers.
Conclusion: By automating the deployment and hardening processes, FlexPod ensures that enterprises can establish a secure, reliable, and compliant infrastructure. We encourage IT leaders, new and existing FlexPod customers and practitioners to explore the FlexPod Hardening Guide and leverage the Ansible Playbooks to strengthen their security posture with their FlexPod deployments.
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Get full details about how FlexPod and its security reference architecture portfolio:
