Deployment Methods | Vulnerability Management

There are many ways to deploy a system, and what is needed for the operating environment will possibly affect the solution chosen. In some ways, this is related to architecture, as discussed earlier in this chapter. But, there are other considerations to be made related to how you will deploy a system. In this section, we will discuss the major issues affecting deployment.

The goal in the approach to deployment is to achieve maximum effectiveness in the shortest period of time with the least investment. Following is the basic deployment strategy to achieve this:

1. Establish a foothold with maximum access to target systems.
2. Test processes on a small scale and refine.
3. Expand deployment by adding targets until the foothold is 75 percent deployed.
4. Simultaneous to item 3, create and refine management reports at all levels.
5. Take additional steps in other locations.

We will review each of these steps for active physical scanners, active virtual scanners, passive analyzers, and agents.