Blue Coat Systems

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Blue Coat Systems, Inc.
Image:bclogo.png
Type Public (NASDAQ BCSI)
Founded 1996
Headquarters Sunnyvale, California
Key people CEO: Brian NeSmith
Industry Technology
Products Networking, Proxy Servers, Web cache, WAFS, WAN Optimization, SSL VPN
Employees 500+ (April 2006)
Slogan Secure and Accelerate Your Business.
Website www.bluecoat.com

Blue Coat Systems NASDAQ: BCSI is a maker of proxy server appliances used for WAN optimization, content filtering, remote access and web cache. In 2006, IDC named Blue Coat the market share leader in the secure content and application delivery market[1].

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[edit] Products

The Blue Coat SG appliance family runs the purpose-built SGOS operating system as a proxy server for 15 protocols, including HTTP, FTP, SSL (forward and reverse), CIFS, MAPI, Telnet, SOCKS, P2P, Microsoft Media Services, RTSP, QuickTime, AOL IM, Yahoo IM, MSN Messenger, and TCP-Tunnel. SG appliances include a policy engine for control and security. Blue Coat SG appliances' MACH5 (Multi-Protocol Accelerated Caching Hierarchy) technology accelerates WAN traffic through bandwidth management, protocol optimization (e.g., CIFS proxy), object caching, byte caching (of file components), and data compression.

The Blue Coat AV appliance family integrates with SG appliances via an extended ICAP+ connection intended for enterprise gateway virus scanning with low average latency. Blue Coat AV stops spyware as well, and supports scanning engines from Kaspersky Lab, McAfee, Sophos, Ahn Lab, and Panda Software.

The Blue Coat RA appliance family provides encrypted, on-demand, agentless access to Web and non-Web applications.

Blue Coat WebFilter is a content filtering service that categorizes domain names, directories and IP addresses for policy enforcement and security. Blue Coat’s ‘Dynamic Real-Time Rating (DRTR)’, uses artificial intelligence to attempt to categorize new Web pages the first time a user requests access.

WinProxy is a desktop proxy server which allows users to share an internet connection, similar to Microsoft's Internet Connection Sharing.

K9 Web Protection is desktop-based content control software which uses Blue Coat WebFilter to provide homes with Internet filtering.

[edit] Software history

Blue Coat appliances use a purpose-built microkernel operating system called ‘SGOS’, which traces its lineage to the Thoth research OS created at the University of Waterloo, Canada in 1976. Thoth is generally considered the first of the real-time message passing operating systems, whose descendants include QNX and ‘V-Kernel’. Thoth evolved into the Port OS and language between 1982 and 1990, which produced Hayes LANstep in the early 1990’s. In 1996 CacheFlow (later renamed Blue Coat Systems) created the CacheOS to drive proxy server Web acceleration appliances. This microkernel architecture was chosen for its process efficiency. In 2002, a policy engine was added and the OS name changed to SGOS (for “secure gateway”). SGOS’ hardened architecture and kernel are in no way based on Microsoft Windows, Unix or Linux code. SGOS later passed certifications from NIAP Evaluation Assurance Level 2, FIPS 140-2, and ICSA.

[edit] Financial history

Blue Coat was founded in 1996 as CacheFlow, with Web acceleration from its Web cache as the primary offering. CacheFlow went public in November of 1999 at $26 per share and closed at $126 the first day. CacheFlow was among the top-ten price jumps in IPO history. In 2001 the telecom recession caused CacheFlow to downsize and redesign its products. In the summer of 2002 the company changed its name to ‘Blue Coat Systems, Inc.’, and added policy control and security capability to Blue Coat appliances.

[edit] Acquisitions

[edit] External links

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