Data center network security (DCNS) is a term used to describe devices that provide network security for the data center. There are two main devices in this category: The data center firewall (DCFW) and the data center intrusion prevention system (DCIPS). A third type of device combines the capabilities of the DCFW and DCIPS and is referred to as a data center security gateway (DCSG).

When considering a data center network security device, performance metrics become critical. The volume of traffic will be significantly higher than it would for a device that is intended to protect end users within the corporate network perimeter. Data center network security devices handle traffic for potentially hundreds of thousands of users who are accessing large applications in a server farm. Application traffic generates many connections and transactions per request, which places a high demand on a network security device’s ability to set-up many connections quickly, hold many connections open, and achieve high throughput rates.