The Fidelis XPS (Extrusion Prevention System) is a network DLP suite of modules which act as sensors to help analyze outbound information (network, web, email, and more) for sensitive data. The XPS system contains several different sensors which can be pre-loaded onto Fidelis-supplied hardware or provided as virtual appliances. The virtual appliances run on VMware vSphere 4.0.
Fidelis shipped three appliances as part of this review. There are even more components that make up the XPS suite, but for purposes of this review, we were provided the main console (Command), a network sensor device (Direct), and an email-based sensor device (Mail). Two other devices, Proxy and Connect, are also available as part of XPS. Initial setup was fairly easy, but in order to take advantage of prevention capabilities, you will have to make use of a TAP or span port, typical in any DLP setup. However, with all of the devices, there will be quite a few ports and up-front capacity planning that has to go into the setup. You may find yourself minus quite a few cables and available ports after deploying this solution.
Overall, the number of sensors that you will need to deploy is going to raise the overall support costs and resources. However, that's also an important positive by means of very comprehensive coverage and performance. It will be worth the operational trade-off for organizations that demand coverage and performance. The center command console's interface is very intuitive and navigation around the various configuration options was seamless. The main dashboard presents all the current and past events in a radar format, which is definitely a new and interesting way to view the data.
We were very impressed with the flexibility, features and overall configuration options for the solution as a whole. Once all of the sensors are deployed and policies created, the ability to detect and act on sensitive information via email, web and other network traffic across all ports and protocols is very powerful. Enterprise options, such as reporting, access control and overall flexibility and guidance, are top notch.
The documentation available on the appliance interface is excellent. The help files contained a great combination of overview, best practice guidance and technical details.
Basic email, phone and web support is available for 20 percent of the purchase price, and premium 24/7 support is available for 25 percent. Consulting services are also available. The Fidelis website offers various customer support options as well.
