In Paul Venezia’s June 4, 2004 InfoWorld review, nCircle’s IP360 connected distributed network scanning to a central console and tickets assigned to network owners. It examined services and host details beyond open ports, but it did not apply approved patches. The article is a historical product review, not guidance for buying or deploying a current product.
What “closing the loop” meant for IP360
IP360 linked three parts of vulnerability management: scanning networks, recording findings centrally, and assigning those findings to people responsible for the affected networks. The review’s “loop” ended with tracking and ticket closure after an issue was addressed—not automated patching or a detect-remediate-verify cycle.
How its distributed scanning worked
Central VnE and local Device Profilers
A typical installation used a Vulnerabilities and Exposures (VnE) engine plus one or more Device Profilers (DPs). The VnE hosted the browser-based management console and scan database. DPs scanned networks near their own locations, then forwarded results to the VnE. This allowed scans at remote sites without sending the scanning traffic across WAN links. The review describes encrypted interactions between VnE and DPs.
Scheduled or continuous scans
Administrators could schedule scan profiles or configure them to run continuously. A later Common Criteria Security Target for IP360 v6.3.4 describes the Device Profiler’s role as continuous scanning of targeted infrastructure and characterizes IP360 as monitoring a network and assessing it in real time. That document concerns version 6.3.4; it does not establish present-day support or availability. Common Criteria Security Target for IP360 v6.3.4.
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What the scans looked for
Venezia called IP360’s method “deep reflex scanning.” It began with port scanning, then examined hosts more deeply, including Windows registry data and application-level service identification. This could reveal a known service running on an unusual port, rather than relying only on the usual port-to-service association. The system used that information to identify hosts, services, and known vulnerabilities.
That deeper inspection did not make identification infallible. In a separate service-identification test, the reviewer found that IP360 detected applications scattered across a Fedora Core 1 system, including services on unusual ports, but labeled its operating system as Irix. Venezia also observed that probing could fill server logs with warning messages. These are observations from one 2004 review, not results that establish how a current scanner behaves.
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How findings reached system owners
During network configuration, administrators could assign network owners. Findings then appeared as tickets referring to vulnerable hosts, giving owners a way to track issues and close tickets after they had been addressed. This connected scan results to responsibility and follow-up, but the review does not describe IP360 applying the fixes itself.
What the 2004 test did—and did not—show
Venezia tested a single Class C subnet with 32 active hosts, including Windows, Linux and FreeBSD systems, network switches, and an Xbox. The full scan took more than two hours, and the reviewer reported that 95 percent of hosts were correctly identified. A Dell switch was labeled as a Unix derivative, while the Xbox was not identified. Those numbers and outcomes belong to that particular test and are not general capacity or accuracy guarantees.
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The major limitation: no approved patch application
The missing step was remediation through patch deployment. Venezia wrote: “The feature I missed most in the IP360 is remediation — resolving found problems by applying approved patches.” He noted that patching was generally deployed only for Windows systems and could save time on enterprise desktops. In other words, IP360 helped find and route problems; teams still had to handle the fixes outside the system.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Historical capacity and product context
The 2004 review described a single-CPU VnE configuration supporting 20 Device Profilers and a dual-CPU VnE supporting as many as 100. Those are the configurations reported in that review, not current hardware guidance. The review also says licensing was per IP address and that pricing was difficult to determine, but gives no actual price.
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A July 15, 2010 Forrester excerpt later described nCircle’s IP360 and configuration-compliance products as having separate scanners, consoles, and databases, with sparse integration across the suite. That portfolio-level observation does not negate the 2004 review’s specific account of IP360 findings feeding a ticketing workflow. Forrester, The Forrester Wave: Vulnerability Management, Q3 2010.
Neither the 2004 review nor the version-specific Common Criteria document establishes whether IP360 is currently sold, supported, or compatible with available accessories. The review is useful for understanding the product’s historical approach, not as current purchasing advice. Paul Venezia’s InfoWorld review, June 4, 2004.
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