Executive Proposal
CMIT 321
Certified Ethical Hacking
Kowaine Baker
University of Maryland University College

Executive Proposal
The Solarwinds software was developed to assist in management and addressing of security exploits, real-time network health and change management among other areas of today’s ever changing Information Technology (IT) data environment. This software assists the security manager in safeguarding vital business data through the compilation of network device information and real-time awareness of network health, firewall configuration and patch management with deployment. The software is modular and can be configured to meet the needs of the organization in which it supports while minimizing service interruptions which lead to the loss of productivity. Solarwinds offers a multitude of modules that range from configuration management to help desk trend analysis and firewall management. This is a non-platform dependent software solution which can manage firewalls and devices for proper patch management. This solution can be configured by the most novice IT professional while not breaking the bank. Its scalability can support anywhere from 10 users to many hundred users.
The Solarwinds software solution can be a great addition to any network security solution. The benefits you will be getting from this software cover a large spectrum of security hardening techniques from the firewall configuration and management to end user patch management. Solarwinds modularity contributes to its capability to fulfill many security requirements. Solarwinds offers a scalable security information and events manager (SIEM) console module. The SIEM module will enhance the capability to maintain real-time situational awareness through alerts and active monitoring. It will allow the prioritization, management and response to security incidents in a manner that will reduce effects attacks on the business network. Also, the module will assist with monitoring user’s activities providing early detection and avoidance of insider attacks. This module will allow for USB activity and blockage to be controlled by the security and or systems manager. Our usage of this module of the software solution we found the configuration to be more simplistic than the Microsoft solution we were using. Another needed module is patch management to assist in minimizing system vulnerabilities through real-time awareness and network security policy compliance. Its ability to centralize the patching of not only physical but also virtual machines will allow for not only patching of servers and workstations but also third party apps. Patch compliance reports are readily available for auditing of network security compliance. Another needed module is the firewall management module. This is a multi-vendor Firewall manager which provides flexibility and scalability without the normal vendor dictated limitations. It allows firewall change management and reporting to take place across a multi-vendor firewall environment almost instantaneous.
This software solution will assist the security team in hardening the Advance Research network. There are many ways in which the company will specifically benefit from using the Solarwinds security software. It will assist in amplifying protection against insider attacks is the first thing that that comes to mind. Minimizing insider attacks could assist in the prevention of lost internal business secrets which can cripple your business. With the monitoring of USB use and restrictions applied it will add another layer to preventing business information theft. Theft will be more complicated than just copying files to USB and walking out the door. The Firewall module will reduce the chances of a successful intrusion using the default port vulnerabilities. The addition of the patch management module all systems will be updated in a timely manner to minimalize operating system vulnerabilities. This software is easily configured through the GUI. The software ease of use makes the initial configuration setup so simple that a novice can be made to seem as if they have been doing this their whole life.
There have been multiple reviews done on this software and for the most part all drew the same conclusion. “This product was interesting to use and review given all of the features it has, some work as expected and others are a bit quirky. Many of these things seem like they should have been in the box with WSUS, but I can see that there are probably reasons that Microsoft did not go that route. This does make Solarwinds Patch Manager a helpful addition to the arsenal of tools to patch systems on Wednesday mornings once every month” (Schauland, 2012). “Overall I was pleased with Patch Manager. Granted, I did have some problems getting Patch Manager to work with WSUS, but once I resolved that issue I didn’t have any more problems. What I especially liked about Patch Manager was that it is a big time saver. The software didn’t have a steep learning curve and it didn’t require third party patches to be manually packaged like some competing solutions do., I would give Solarwinds Patch Manager Gold Award with rating 4.7” (Posey, 2012).
When conducting my analysis of the software I was impressed with the depth of the reporting and ease of use. Configuring the different modules went so easily I feel as though something was being forgotten. It allowed me to pull data for the supervisors showing an accurate number of patch compliant systems better than WSUS and ACAS. The ease of access by itself is more than most other software programs. Patch management software data collection is so robust that many of the reports can be drilled down to retrieve whatever you are looking to retrieve. This was the first time we tested a software solution that could talk simultaneously to multi-vendor firewalls. Our firewall environment is multivendor and a nightmare to manage. Configuring and using this software would allow a more central management of firewall configurations.
The sticker shock you may experience with Solarwinds patch manager may be a little overwhelming. But the capabilities and enhancement to the network security more than make up for it. The pricing ranges from $1.67 a seat for 60,000 devices to $11.98 per seat for 250 devices. The more seats purchased the more savings are offered. The Solarwinds website has free training that you can access in addition to classroom training.
The impact from running this software is minimal on the production environment. There will be some system reboots required when using the software but they can be scheduled for off peak work hours to ensure productivity is not affected by routine maintenance. The software will be polling the network at set intervals to limit bandwidth usage across the network.

References
Schauland, Derek 2012. Review: Staying Patched with Solarwinds, Redmund Magazine. Retrieved August 30, 2015, from https://redmondmag.com/Articles/2012/12/01/SolarWinds.aspx?Page=2
Posey, Brian M. 2012, Product Review: Solarwinds Patch Manager, Windows networking .com Retrieved August 30, 2015, from http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles-tutorials/product-reviews/Product-Review-SolarWinds-Patch-Manager.html
Firewall Security Manager Multi-Vendor Firewall Security & Change Management Software. (n.d.). Retrieved October 4, 2015, from http://www.solarwinds.com/firewall-security-manager.aspx
Patch Manager. (n.d.). Retrieved October 4, 2015, from http://www.solarwinds.com/patch-manager.aspx?&CMP=KNC-TAD-GGL-NA_BRAND-X-DL&gclid=CM6rs8DuqcgCFQ8WHwodh08PdQ
Stephenson, P. (2013, June 3). SolarWinds Patch Manager and Firewall Security Manager. Retrieved October 4, 2015, from http://www.scmagazine.com/solarwinds-patch-manager-and-firewall-security-manager/review/3908/