|
||
 |
||
| A Quarterly Newsletter for Unisys ClearPath Forward Clients | October 2017 | ||
Extending the Experience
By Andrew W. Beale, Distinguished Engineer, System Software Development, Unisys In practical terms, what this means is that while every new system we roll out is sure to include the latest technological innovations alongside any number of updates, enhancements, and tweaks, we take great care to test and manage these in a way that is completely transparent to our clients. They’ll benefit from the value these changes hold, while remaining insulated from the changes themselves. It wasn’t until only recently, though – after we completed our transition to an all Intel® foundation and introduced the first software-only deliverables – that our clients started wondering what happened to the intellectual property that was historically embedded in the hardware. They want to know that their investments are just as protected now – at a time when the ClearPath Forward program is actively reshaping itself – as they were then. The answer, unequivocally, is yes. Firmware Protects and Provides the EnvironmentThe IP that has long defined the ClearPath Forward experience is still very much in place. It’s just moved from the systems’ hardware into the continually enhanced, always evolving firmware. The ClearPath Forward architecture forms the core of the environment. This was true when the environment ran on top of Unisys designed CMOS processors, and it’s just as true today, when the environment runs on top of Unisys firmware. So by fully implementing the ClearPath Forward architecture in the firmware – instead of silicon – all of the protection mechanisms once found the architecture are now encapsulated by the firmware. But the firmware is capable of leveraging the latest technological innovations in ways that allow the architecture to improve faster than was ever possible in a hardware implementation. No matter what shape the ClearPath Forward environment takes, the firmware enables the architecture to quickly evolve and incorporate greater capacity, functionality, and performance. And it continues to play a significant role in protecting clients’ investments, keeping their applications running at peak performance, and safeguarding the data that’s so critical to their businesses. Extending Security to a Software-Driven WorldOne way to see the ongoing, critical role firmware plays in the evolving ClearPath Forward environment is to consider the impact it has on a concern that’s top of mind for most everyone today: security.Proven, multi-layered security is a cornerstone and defining characteristic of the ClearPath Forward environment. So, even as we’ve changed the underlying hardware platform and facilitated the transition toward a software-based model, security demands a continued emphasis. In fact, as we made it possible to run the ClearPath® MCP and OS 2200 operating environments on Microsoft® Windows® platforms and other open systems, it’s become more important than ever. And that’s where the firmware comes into play. With the help of the firmware, clients aren’t simply getting a ClearPath Forward environment running on top of a commodity platform. They’re getting a platform that implements the ClearPath Forward architecture on state-of-the-art Intel® processors. To that end, the firmware helps to protect against many common open-system exploits – just as it used to in earlier ClearPath Forward systems – such as preventing data from being written beyond the allocated memory space and distinguishing executed code from data. But it goes a step further. By following a “deny all” approach, the firmware essentially turns off many of the services and built-in functions a commodity environment offers, stripping the system down to just those elements required to run the ClearPath Forward environment. This reduced attack surface helps to protect the integrity of clients’ applications and data, and even hardens the underlying operating system, too. So if there’s an attack, there’s little risk of corruption, data loss, penetration, or loss of control. The worst thing that can happen is the system stops operating. Plus, the processor cycles that would have been used on unneeded services can now be applied to clients’ ClearPath Forward workloads, redirecting more capacity to where it’s needed most. The More Things Change…The ClearPath Forward program has been defined by change in recent years. The trends are different, the challenges are different, and the way we’ve chosen to address them are certainly different. But as we move from hardware, to software, and eventually the cloud, we have not wavered on the commitment we made to our clients on day one.Though the systems continue to evolve, the underlying philosophy has not. It’s as evident in the firmware today as it was in the hardware many years ago. And it is with these guiding principles that we’ll continue to maximize reliability and availability. We’ll continue to deliver predictably high levels of performance. We’ll continue to make security a cornerstone. And we’ll continue to preserve our clients’ compiled code and data formats from release to release. This is what we mean when we talk about “extending the experience” that differentiates the ClearPath Forward program. No matter what changes under the surface, you’ll know your environment will continue to deliver the qualities you’ve come to expect – and more – year after year after year. |
||
|
||
| Subscribe | Unisys.com | Comment | Newsletter Archive | ||
|
