<![CDATA[Novalys]]> <![CDATA[Which OS and Data Bases are supported?]]> Which OS (operating system) and data bases does Visual Guard support?

• Windows XP to Windows 7 (32 and 64 bits)
• Windows Azure
• Visual Studio Framework 2 and above
• Windows Server 2003 until Windows Server 2008 R2
• Oracle 9i and above
• SQL Server 2005 and above

Visual Guard - Version 5.0 

]]> <![CDATA[Does VG use a specific port?]]> Does VG use a specific port?

No, VG uses a default port that can be changed if needed.

Visual Guard - Version 3.1.912.08 - TBR

]]> <![CDATA[Can Visual Guard manage web services applications installed on "v...]]> Can Visual Guard manage web services applications installed on "virtual machines"? In each of our servers we have installed several virtual machines, and in each of them, there is a web service.
Would this work?

Yes definitely. Visual Guard can secure a web service on a virtual machine.

]]> <![CDATA[Deploy a Web service, Web form, and Win form simultaneously?]]> Can we deploy using both a Web service, Web form, and Win form architecture simultaneously (these are the products we are “centering”)?

Yes you can.
Visual Guard allows you to secure as many application as you want in the same repository, whatever the technology: .Net (Win form, Web form, web service, Silverlight, WCF, WPF) or other technologies as long as they are capable of HTTP requests (C++, Java, Php, Delphi, Ruby...)
(This would require to use the VG Server).

]]> <![CDATA[Does Visual Guard support projects with several assemblies?]]> Does Visual Guard support projects with several assemblies?

Yes it does.
]]> <![CDATA[Can I use VG with some C++ code?]]> I have an application with several projects, among them a native one is in C++. The rest of the application is in C#.
Can I use VG?

We have several customers using VG in applications having some C++ projects and some C# projects.
It works fine.
We can show you how to do it in your application with a web session if you want.

]]> <![CDATA[Visual Guard .Net and firewalls]]> Can Visual Guard .Net go across several firewalls?

If your firewalls are already configured so that your application can go through, Visual Guard .Net will not be blocked.Also, Visual Guard .Net relies on IIS and ASP.Net to supports https and ssl protocols.

]]> <![CDATA[Is Visual Guard .Net written in only VB.net?]]> Is Visual Guard .Net written in only VB.net?

No, Visual Guard .Net is written in C# but supports applications written in VB.Net and C#. For instance, the WinForm sample installed with Visual Guard .Net is written in VB.Net and the WebForm sample is written in C#.


Visual Guard .NET - Version 2.7.805.27

]]> <![CDATA[What is the size of VG runtime and repository?]]> How is Visual Guard .Net supposed to impact my application? Is the runtime integrated to each copy of my application? could this make it bigger? Do I need a more powerful server if I secure a Webform application?

To install Visual Guard .Net on the developer machine, you need about 50 MB.
In the database you need a few Mo when you install VG. The size of the repository will grow depending on the number of end users, of applications, Permissions and Roles you will declare.
It also depends on your auditing strategy (the more events you log, the larger the repository).
For example, you can expect the repository size to increase by 10 to 20 MB if you create 5000 user accounts.
Each application will include a few MBs in deployment for the runtime of Visual Guard, in charge of communicating with the repository.
You do not need a more powerful server for a web application secured with Visual Guard.

]]> <![CDATA[How large is the Repository size supposed to increase?]]> I need to plan capacity for Novalys SQL Server Repositories.
If I have 5,000 users for a large application, how large should I expect the Repository size to increase?

The number of users is not the only criteria to determine the size of the repository.
This size also depends on the number of applications, Permissions and Roles you will declare.
It also depends on your auditing strategy (the more events you log, the larger the repository).
As for user accounts only, you can expect the repository size to increase by 10 to 20 MB if you create 5000 user accounts.

Does your 10 to 20 MB number include the auditing information?

yes it does. You can expect ~5MB of log for 5000 users created

]]> <![CDATA[How is encrypted the data in the repository?]]> Which method do you use to encrypt the data stored in the repository?

We use algorythm SHA256.

Visual Guard .NET - Version 2.7.802.29

]]> <![CDATA[What DB language do you use in the repository?]]> What DB language do you use in the repository?

We do not use a language in the Database, the data are defined in the Visual Guard .Net console or by the Visual Guard Runtime.

]]> <![CDATA[What ports do you use to connect to the repository?]]> What ports are used by Visual Guard .Net to connect to the repository and to the application?

The port used in not defined by Visual Guard .Net but by the protocol of the Database.

]]> <![CDATA[migration to other technologies or other versions of .Net]]> What could be the possible problems if I change of technology or if I change version of .Net or Oracle?

.Net
If you migrate your applications from version x to version x+1 of .Net: Visual Guard supports .Net technologies.

If you migrate your application from .Net to an other development platform and language:

Starting version 3.1, Visual Guard is able to secure any type of application as long as they are able to call web services.
Note:If you secure a non .Net application with this version, dynamic technical action will not be available.

You would keep the whole structure of your security (end users, roles, permission sets, permissions) and would have to write the technical actions in the code of your new/migrated application.

Oracle:

If you migrate your applications from version x to version x+1 of Oracle: Visual Guard supports Oracle 9i and up.
If you want to migrate your database form Oracle to something else:
Visual Guard also supports ms sql server. A free version is available on Ms website.



Visual Guard - Version 3.1.911.5

]]> <![CDATA[Asp.net membership]]> Our authentication is currently done using asp.net membership, how does Visual Guard works with it?

VG API is based on asp.net membership provider interface and provides additional features.
Methods name remain unchanged. No need to change existing calls to asp.net membership API methods in your applications. You just need to reference VG membership provider instead of asp.net membership provider.

]]> <![CDATA[support for Microsoft Enterprise Library]]> Does Visual Guard support Microsoft Enterprise Library?

Yes, Visual Guard does support this library.

]]> <![CDATA[Can Visual Guard secure Oracle forms?]]> We are looking for a single sign-on solution for a legacy Oracle app. Can Visual Guard secure Oracle forms?
Thanks

Hello,
yes Visual Guard can secure Oracle forms using the VG server. You would write code in your code to call the VG server to know if a user is authenticated yes/no, if he is in a role, or has a permission.

]]> <![CDATA[Anti-Piracy SHK Sentinel]]> Hello, we use Anti-Piracy SHK Sentinel with our application. Can VG secure an application using Anti-Piracy SHK Sentinel ?

We are not familiar with Anti-Piracy SHK Sentinel, so the best is to perform an integration test with on af our consultants.
It seems Anti-Piracy SHK Sentinel is not an obfuscator tough, and it only encrypts the executable.
If Visual Guard can access the non encrypted version of the application, everything should work smoothly. Visual Guard .Net needs to access the code to be able to create security actions during the development.

]]> <![CDATA[SQL-membership and sqlroleproviders vs VG response time]]> We would like to authenticate and authorize users in a WPF application and in our WCF layer.
The WCF layer is hosted on IIS and can have direct access to the sql-server.
What is the performance of Visual Guard who uses reflection compared to using the built in SQL-membership and sqlroleproviders in .Net.

It's hard to compare, since these 2 solutions operate on 2 completely parts of an application:

SQL-membership and sqlroleproviders manage roles and permissions on DataBase objects, whereas Visual Guard manages permissions and roles on the front-end and the business logic (WPF and WCF).
The only answer we have to this question is that when the application comes to production, you should not notice any significant response-time due to Visual Guard.
In case of mission-critical application for which response-time is a very sensitive matter, we do recommend to build a prototype to validate this point in your own environment.


Visual Guard .NET - Version 2.8.812.19
]]> <![CDATA[do we need 2 consoles to support different versions of .Net?]]> If we buy the current version of Visual Guard do we need different consoles to support different versions of .Net. (Your web site says it supports 2, 3, and 3.5). Just wanted to be sure that I can use security with my 2.0 .net application and a newly developed .net application using 3.5 will also be supported. Do we all use the same assemblies or do you incorporate different version of assemblies in your .net application?
The same copy of Visual Guard (based on the current version) will support your 2.0 / 3.0 and 3.5 applications.
You will just need one Visual Guard console to secure all your applications.
You will incorporate the same version of VG run-time assemblies in all your applications, except WCF services that use a specific assembly.
]]> <![CDATA[Does Visual Guard .Net work with application built using Microsof...]]> Does Visual Guard .Net work with application built using Microsoft's SCSF?

Yes we do support applications build with SCSF.
The way we secure them depend on the type of application you are developing.
If you have any questions (how to manage dynamic assemblies, how to integrate with the SCSF or CAB Framework,...) feel free to contact us.

Visual Guard .NET - Version 2.7.806.18
]]> <![CDATA[ssl and https pages]]> Does Visual Guard .Net support ssl and https pages?
Visual Guard .Net is neutral for the use of SSL and HTTPS. It is based on the standard mechanisms of ASP.NET.

By default, all the items of the dotnet application and their content are listed in Visual Guard .Net Security action creation wizard (ex form employeelist contantnboutons cdmadd).

Visual Guard .NET - Version 2.7.802.29
]]> <![CDATA[Visual Studio - versions supported]]> Which versions of Visual Studio does Visual Guard .Net support?
Visual Guard .Net supports Visual Studio 2005 and higher.
]]> <![CDATA[Reflection mechanism]]> How is the discovery of various options to disable/enable handled. Is this done by reflection, attributes, or some other means?

It is done by reflection.

]]> <![CDATA[Is Visual Guard .Net written in only VB.net?]]> Is Visual Guard .Net written in only VB.net?

No, Visual Guard .Net is written in C# but supports applications written in VB.Net and C#. For instance, the WinForm sample installed with Visual Guard .Net is written in VB.Net and the WebForm sample is written in C#.

]]> <![CDATA[multiple applications in Visual Guard .Net]]> Is it possible to secure application with multiple technologies in Visual Guard .Net ? Most of our applications are webforms but we also have some winforms.

You can secure any type of applications in the same repository : winform, webform, webservices, WCF WPF...

]]> <![CDATA[Does VG impact the performance?]]> Does VG impact the performance?

No it doesn’t, even if you have a big app and forms with several controls to secure.
Visual Guard .NET - Version 2.8.812.19
]]> <![CDATA[Scalability is important. How well does the VISUAL GUARD scale?]]> How well does the VISUAL GUARD scale?

Visual Guard has been designed to support a large volume of registered and concurrent users.

•     In the case of an MVC application, you basically don't have to change your infrastructure to run Visual Guard, whatever the number of users. If your application can handle it, so does Visual Guard.

•     VG will add a set of tables to your DB, and a few .NET assemblies to your application.

•     To support large volumes of users, you would typically configure a DB cluster that VG will leverage to manage the security information.

•     Your application may also require a farm of application servers with a load balancer, that VG will support without any problem.

•     VG manages several levels of cache, to minimize the accesses to the Security DB.

For instance, when a user logs in to the application, his security profile is retrieved once and saved in memory by Visual Guard for future use.

•     VG also caches shared information whenever needed. For example, if several users are granted the same role, the description of this role is retrieved only once and applied to all related users.

]]>