The SAINT Security Suite is a robust software package that quickly and easily gives a heads-up view of vulnerabilities on the network. The SAINT Security Suite can be purchased as a standalone software package or it can be bought as a preconfigured hardware appliance. Regardless of how it is purchased, the offering can be deployed as a scanner, a manager or both. Because of this design, one SAINT Manager can control many scanners. This allows organizations to leverage multiple installations to scan large, complex networks quickly.This, combined with the intuitive SAINT user interface, lets administrators easily audit to ensure compliance organization-wide from one place.
The SAINTbox appliance we received was easy to set up. After we removed it from the box, we installed it in our rack and connected a keyboard, mouse and monitor to the device. We powered it on and were greeted with a simple, text-based startup wizard that brought us through the initial device configuration. We configured the management interface and other basic organization information before heading over to a client computer to log into the web interface. The web interface is simple and streamlined, which made it a pleasure to work with. After we installed the license using the web interface, we were done with setup and ready to use the product in our test environment.
SAINT Security Suite is a breeze to use. After we finished the initial setup, we immediately set up a scan so we could see it in action on our test network. We were pleased with how easy the SAINT is to use. In just a few minutes we had the device completely integrated with our network. This was easy to do because all of the features are controlled by step-by-step, point-and-click wizards. The interface is fast and responsive and the scans we deployed only took a few minutes to complete. The tool strikes a good balance of thoroughness and straightforwardness, which makes the reports it generates useful and informative. The reports were also good looking, with plenty of graphs, charts and other visual aids. One feature we really liked about the SAINT Security Suite was its support for the new NIST SCAP v1.2 standard. Federal customers should pay particular attention to SAINT because it can output vulnerability assessment data into easy-to-manipulate formats to simplify monthly reporting.
Our evaluation system came with a paper quick-start guide as well as a brief README. These covered basic hardware setup, initial software configuration and outlined where additional documentation was available. The rest of the documentation, including a full user manual, was included electronically on a USB drive enclosed with our evaluation kit. All of the documentation we received was well-written, clear and free of any errors. The documentation included plenty of screen shots and was helpful during the configuration of the device.
As part of the licensing cost of the SAINT Security Suite, customer support is included free of charge. Hardware maintenance is also included for customers who purchase the SAINT Security Suite as a preconfigured appliance. Basic assistance includes eight-hours-a-day/five-days-a-week telephone help, an online help desk, a FAQ, knowledge base and video content. Basic support comes with a four-hour response time. Advanced aid is also available and is priced on a customer-by-customer basis according to size and specific requirements. Advanced support can include anything from dedicated contacts, 24/7 contacts and onsite assistance.
Owing to its ease of use, we find this product to be an excellent value for the price. The basic preconfigured hardware appliance starts at $12,000 and comes with a great user interface and a lot of functionality. The ease of setup and use set this device apart from the rest.
