It’s that time of year again, the Symantec Enterprise Security BU is now accepting applications to participate in the Symantec Brightmail Gateway 9.0 Beta program.
Last year, the 8.0 beta program was a huge success.
We got some great feedback an…
I’m delighted to announce that we have shipped the latest update to Symantec Brightmail Gateway.
The v8.0.3 release is a really important one as we get closer and closer to releasing version 9.0 next year.
This update includes support for VMWare …
As well as meeting up with as many customers as possible, the Gateway Security PM Team (which comprises Brightmail gateway and the new-ish Symantec Web Gateway) like to hold Customer Advisory Boards.
We hold these every six months or so and …
Over the last couple of years, as a Product team working on Brightmail, we have really increased our efforts to gather as much information from customers as possible.
Talking to customers about what they need do today and how they do it, how they envisage doing it in the future, as well as how they deal with different security threats whether it’s around inbound email malware or Data Loss Prevention.
Last week I met with the top IT guys for one of our Enterprise Security customers, to talk about future projects they are running and how Symantec Enterprise Security products fit into their internal roadmap. I first visited them last summer on a whirlwind tour of customers in Europe.
Besides being a great week long roadtrip and building relationships with the guys in the field that I don’t often get to meet face to face, we had some really interesting discussions with customers about their requirements and futures.
Now, one of the thing I like to do when meeting customers, is to talk a little bit about what improvements our Engineering team have put into the product over the last release. It’s a pretty good way to break the ice, if it’s the first time i’ve met them.
It’s even better when I get to go back to a customer and outline improvements based on the feedback we took away from our last meeting with them. Of course, it doesn’t always go that way and some times it’s a little painful explaining why we haven’t put someone’s “must have” feature into the product yet. 🙂
Symantec have always been interested in customer feedback and i’m really pleased to see us adding more transparency to our product planning.
The Ideas section on Symantec Connect (https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/ideas) was launched last month. It’s based on the idea of community voting and gives our customers a way to voice their opinions on and request new functionality requests. You can find the Brightmail Gateway Ideas section under the Security heading.
One of the most difficult things to do around enhancements is to really understand just how popular a new feature would be across our entire customer base.
Sure, we can talk to as many customers as possible and ask for their opinions but using the Ideas portal to reach a wider audience is going to be invaluable.
It’s still in the infancy right now but as we start moving forwards through project release cycles, you’ll see others on my team and engineering folk joining in the conversations to make sure we are looking at the right solutions.
(Note: I try to steer clear from annoying corporate terms as much as possible so it pains me to type the next sentence.)
My “Call To Action” (grrr) for Brightmail Gateway customers is to get involved in the Ideas portal.
Have a look through the suggestions that have been put forward already.
Vote for the ones that interest you and add your own Ideas in.
You disagree with something that someone suggests? Add a comment to their suggestion explaining why you disagree.
I’m always happy to talk to customers so if you have a question about anything mail or web security related, leave a comment below or feel free to email me at ian_mcshane@symantec.com.
//Ian
Here’s some information you should be aware of before upgrading to the forthcoming Symantec Brightmail Gateway 8.0.2 release.
//Ian
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Notification type: New version will be available – Important information to read prior to updating on VMware environments
Product: Symantec Brightmail Gateway
Version: 8.0.1
Patch: 8.0.2
Other Hardware/Software/Environment: VMware ESX Server 3.0.2 or prior with virtual LSI SCSI controller
Overview:
Action required for customers using Virtual Edition of Symantec Brightmail Gateway and VMware ESX Server 3.0.2 or prior with virtual LSI SCSI controller. Prior to updating to 8.0.2., Symantec is strongly recommending that customers assure themselves that they are current with VMware 3.5 or later prior to upgrading to Brightmail Gateway 8.0.2 to prevent loss of functionality. An alternative workaround is provided if VMware 3.5 is not available.
Recommendation:
Symantec encourages all customers to update Brightmail Gateway to 8.0.2. The update is available via the Control Center or through the Command Line Interface (SSH).
For more information about all changes in this update, please copy and paste the URL below in a browser:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/ent-gate.nsf/…
If you have deployed Brightmail Gateway as a virtual appliance and are using a VMware ESX Server environment with a release prior to 3.5update4, you must upgrade the virtual environment to 3.5update 4 or later prior to performing the software update. Failure to do so will result in complete loss of functionality for your Brightmail installation.
This notice is applicable to the following customer configuration;
– VMware Server Version 3.0.2 or prior
AND
– Using the virtual LSI SCSI controller
If you have the above combination and do not take one of the actions specified below, Symantec Brightmail Gateway will not function after updating to version 8.0.2. A kernel panic will occur after rebooting the virtual appliance after the update. The following options are available to prevent this issue:
* The Primary recommended method is to upgrade to VMware ESX Server Version 3.5.
Upgrading typically requires down time and a reboot for the virtual machine in which Symantec Brightmail Gateway runs. These steps may also be necessary for other virtual machines on the same physical computer. Before upgrading, perform the following tasks on Symantec Brightmail Gateway Virtual Edition:
1. Back up your existing data.
2. Check for a running LDAP synchronization cycle.
3. Check for a running Scanner replication cycle.
4. Halt incoming messages to drain all message queues.
These steps are similar to preparing for a software update. See “Running software update” in this document for more information about these steps.
For more information about upgrading, copy and paste the URL below into a Web browser:
https://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_35/esx_3/r35/vi3_35_25_upgrade_guide.pdf
* If you are unable to upgrade to the latest version of VMware ESX Server, you can alternately change your virtual machine to use the BusLogic SCSI controller. For more information about changing the SCSI controller configuration, copy and paste the URL below into a Web browser:
http://www.vmware.com/support/vc14/doc/c14chgscsicontrol11.html
* For the most current information about this issue, copy and paste the URL below into a Web browser:
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/ent-gate.nsf/docid/2009051416195754
I’m delighted to announce the release of our first update to the Brightmail Gateway 8.0 release.
Version 8.0.1-7 should be available for direct upgrade via your Brightmail Gateway UI or CLI right away and customers can upgrade from any previous production build directly to this release.
Note: If you participated in any of our previous beta programs, you CANNOT upgrade from a beta release of Brightmail Gateway.
What does this release include?
Any questions? Let me know!
//ian
If you point your web browser to http://www.brightmail.com/IQServices you’ll see our new online portal providing email security data to Brightmail administrators, email administrators and the general public.
The Global Intelligence Network is a co…