Five tips to improve the security of virtual servers

Analysts believe that the security management of virtual servers is similar to that of physical servers. Therefore, the security principles and practices of physical servers can also be applied to virtual servers. However, as an IT manager, you also need to consider multiple aspects based on the characteristics of the virtual server.

Using virtual servers can accelerate software deployment for enterprises, but this also requires the IT department to implement necessary control and management and shorten the time frame accordingly. A careful review of the system's actual configuration is essential for deploying virtual servers. Only in this way can IT ensure that the software is deployed in line with the enterprise's control requirements.

Before reviewing and improving the security of the virtual environment, IT may obtain guidance on protecting the security of the virtual server environment from virtual server vendors and relevant organizations, and then strengthen protection policies based on the environment."

In addition, various virtual security tools on the market can also help IT, but analysts recommend that you purchase new products that are specially designed for virtual servers before, we should first consider exploring the potential of products in use. The following are some suggestions to help IT managers better review the security of the virtual server environment:

1. conduct a comprehensive risk assessment to grasp the allocation and integration of resources

Analysts suggested that IT should make full use of the original risk management and configuration knowledge, and evaluate and review the virtual environment just like evaluating other environments based on the configurations of virtual machines, the review process of the virtual environment is essentially different.

2. Verify the process of creating, deploying, managing, and changing virtual machines.

Nowadays, Rack Space Layout and testing are no longer the most important tasks for installation and debugging of hardware and operating systems. A virtual machine is not just a department. From the security perspective, two-way communication with system administrators and network groups is required to understand the changes in the virtual environment, which is of great help to ensure the security of virtual servers.

3. Security Configuration of the Virtual Layer to Ensure patch updates

IT can develop its own benchmarks based on the security guidance of vendors and relevant organizations, and then review the standards to ensure the security of the Virtual Layer. The tools provided by virtualization vendors can effectively assist IT in configuration.

4. Security of vswitches in virtual servers

IT should assess whether additional control needs to be added, such as virtual firewalls or virtual intrusion protection systems. IT can use Virtual Switching devices on physical servers to closely monitor how users use virtual machines, such as the configuration and traffic of switches, as well as the accessibility between virtual machines themselves, between virtual machines and external devices.

5. Strictly control access to the service console and management tools

IT should strictly control access to the service console and management tools, and use management tools to support an independent network. This ensures that the VM does not interfere with the console's control over other servers. Most security problems in a virtual environment come from improper management or some familiar errors. This is because the tools used in the physical environment are much more complex than those used in the virtual environment.