CSM vs. IME

[Xavier Lloyd]

Hey all,

Quick question.

In terms of configuring the IPS, what's the difference in the experience using the CSM vs. the IME? I have a PC running IME here at office but I'm having issues installing the CSM so I haven't been able to try it out. I am, however, looking at CSM for centralised security management.

Is the interface on the IME much better than the CSM? If so, is it that much better that you'd say that the cost of the extra device (IME) of having both outweighs the benefits?

Thanks!

[rhermes]

The only benifit of using CSM for IPS sensors is you can push policies and updates to a larger number of sensors than you are allowed under IME.

CSM is built to manage more than just the IPS sensors, it can also manage Firewall and VPN policies. It has lots of controlling features for who is allowed to deploy or change what, etc.

- Bob

[Xavier Lloyd]

What about in terms of the interfaces?

Can the CSM do signature tuning? Is the IME user interface better than the CSM?

[rhermes]

Both CSM and IME can do signature tuning. CSM lets you create a shared policy with your signature settings to deploy to multiple sensors. That way if you need to tune a signature, you can make the changes on a policy level and have that cascaded down to all your sensors without having to touch the signature policies on each sensor.

- Bob