Aspera High-Speed Transfer Server

General Information

Technologies must be operated and maintained in accordance with Federal and Department security and privacy policies and guidelines. More information on the proper use of the TRM can be found on the TRM Proper Use Tab/Section.

Website:	Go to site
Description:	Aspera High-Speed Transfer Server is a universal file transfer server that accommodates concurrent user upload of files using Aspera`s desktop or mobile clients, or custom applications that use Aspera`s embedded client. This technology is built on the patented Fast, Adaptive and Secure Protocol (FASP) and allows users to move large files, directories and data sets over wide area networks (WANs). The TRM decisions in this entry only apply to technologies and versions owned, operated, managed, patched, and version-controlled by VA. This includes technologies deployed as software installations on VMs within VA-controlled cloud environments (e.g. VA Enterprise Cloud (VAEC)). Cloud services provided by the VAEC, which are listed in the VAEC Service Catalog, and those controlled and managed by an external Cloud Service Provider (i.e. SaaS) are not in the purview of the TRM. For more information on the use of cloud services and cloud-based products within VA, including VA private clouds, please see the Enterprise Cloud Solutions Office (ECSO) Portal at: https://dvagov.sharepoint.com/sites/OITECSO
Technology/Standard Usage Requirements:	Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.
Section 508 Information:	This technology has not been assessed by the Section 508 Office. The Implementer of this technology has the responsibility to ensure the version deployed is 508-compliant. Section 508 compliance may be reviewed by the Section 508 Office and appropriate remedial action required if necessary. For additional information or assistance regarding Section 508, please contact the Section 508 Office at Section508@va.gov.
Decision:	View Decisions

Decision Source:	TRM Mgmt Group
Decision Process:	One-VA TRM v23.3
Decision Date:	03/21/2023 at 14:44:44 UTC
Aliases:	Aspera Enterprise Server, Aspera HSTS
Introduced By:	TRM Request
Vendor Name:	International Business Machines (IBM)

Vendor Release Information

The Vendor Release table provides the known releases for the TRM Technology, obtained from the vendor (or from the release source).

Version	Release Date	Vendor End of Life Date	Vendor Desupport Date
3.3.x	07/08/2013
3.4.x	03/14/2014
3.5.x	09/12/2014
3.6.x	02/22/2016
3.7.x	09/30/2016
3.8.x	07/03/2018
3.9.x (Linux)	10/03/2018
4.0.x	11/17/2020
4.1.x	04/26/2021
4.2.x	07/27/2021
4.3.x	11/10/2021
4.4.x	04/11/2022

Current Decision Matrix (03/17/2023)

Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.

The VA Decision Matrix displays the current and future VA IT position regarding different releases of a TRM entry. These decisions are based upon the best information available as of the most current date. The consumer of this information has the responsibility to consult the organizations responsible for the desktop, testing, and/or production environments to ensure that the target version of the technology will be supported. Any major.minor version that is not listed in the VA Decision Matrix is considered unapproved for use.

Legend:

White	Approved: The technology/standard has been approved for use.
Yellow	Approved w/Constraints: The technology/standard can be used within the specified constraints located below the decision matrix in the footnote[1] and on the General tab.
Gray	Unapproved: This technology or standard can be used only if a POA&M review is conducted and signed by the Authorizing Official Designated Representative (AODR) as designated by the Authorizing Official (AO) or designee and based upon a recommendation from the POA&M Compliance Enforcement, has been granted to the project team or organization that wishes to use the technology.
Orange	Divest: VA has decided to divest itself on the use of the technology/standard. As a result, all projects currently utilizing the technology/standard must plan to eliminate their use of the technology/standard. Additional information on when the entry is projected to become unapproved may be found on the Decision tab for the specific entry.
Black	Prohibited: The technology/standard is not (currently) permitted to be used under any circumstances.
Blue	Planning/Evaluation Constraint:The period of time this technology is currently being evaluated, reviewed, and tested in controlled environments. Use of this technology is strictly controlled and not available for use within the general population. If a customer would like to use this technology, please work with your local or Regional OI&T office and contact the appropriate evaluation office displayed in the notes below the decision matrix. The Local or Regional OI&T office should submit an inquiry to the TRM if they require further assistance or if the evaluating office is not listed in the notes below.

Release/Version Information:

VA decisions for specific versions may include a ‘.x’ wildcard, which denotes a decision that pertains to a range of multiple versions.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 7.x would cover any version of 7.(Anything) - 7.(Anything). However, a 7.4.x decision would cover any version of 7.4.(Anything), but would not cover any version of 7.5.x or 7.6.x on the TRM.

VA decisions for specific versions may include ‘+’ symbols; which denotes that the decision for the version specified also includes versions greater than what is specified but is not to exceed or affect previous decimal places.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 12.6.4+ would cover any version that is greater than 12.6.4, but would not exceed the .6 decimal ie: 12.6.401 is ok, 12.6.5 is ok, 12.6.9 is ok, however 12.7.0 or 13.0 is not.

<Past

CY2015

CY2016

CY2017

Future>

Release

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

3.4.x

Approved w/Constraints
[1, 2]

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 4, 5]

Divest
[3, 4, 5]

Unapproved

3.5.x

Approved w/Constraints
[1, 2]

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 4, 5]

Divest
[3, 4, 5]

Divest
[3, 4, 6]

3.6.x

Unapproved

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 4, 5]

Approved w/Constraints
[3, 4, 6]

3.7.x

Unapproved

3.8.x

Unapproved

3.9.x (Linux)

Unapproved

4.0.x

Unapproved

4.1.x

Unapproved

4.2.x

Unapproved

4.3.x

Unapproved

4.4.x

Unapproved

Decision Constraints


[1]	Per VA Handbook 6500, Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 certified encryption must be used to encrypt data in transit and at rest if Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI) or VA sensitive information is involved or additional mitigating controls must be documented in an approved System Security Plan (SSP). Additionally, the technology must be implemented within the VA production network (not in a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) unless those specific uses and instances of this technology are approved by the Enterprise Security Change Control Board (ESCCB) along with a Memorandum of Understanding and Interconnection Security Agreements (MOU/ISA), which detail the security requirements for those users and systems that share information and resources outside of the VA production network. Per VA Handbook 6500 (Appendix F) all systems with a Moderate or High risk assessment are required to use a FIPS 140-2 compliant DBMS solution to protect information at rest or have mitigating controls documented in an approved System Security Plan (SSP) for the system. It is the responsibility of the system owner to ensure that an appropriate DBMS technology is selected or that mitigating controls are in place and documented in the SSP. Finally, new installations or major expansions of this technology must complete a Systems Engineering Design Review (SEDR) prior to implementation.

[2]	As of April 23, 2015, per the Deputy CIO of Architecture, Strategy and Design (ASD), all technologies in use by the VA require an assessment by the VA Section 508 office. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 is a federal law that sets the guidelines for technology accessibility. A VA Section 508 assessment of this technology has not been completed at the time of publication. Therefore, as of April 23, 2015 only users of this technology who have deployed the technology to the production environment, or have project design and implementation plans approved, may continue to operate this technology. In the case of a project that has implemented, or been approved for a specific site or number of users, and that project needs to expand operations to other sites or to an increased user base, it may do so as long as the project stays on the existing version of the technology that was approved or implemented as of April 22, 2015. Use of this technology in all other cases is prohibited.

[3]	Due to potential information security risks, cloud based versions of this product are not permitted without a waiver signed by the Deputy CIO of ASD based upon a recommendation from the Architecture and Engineering Review Board (AERB). In addition, cloud based features of this software may not be used without an Enterprise Security Change Control Board (ESCCB) approval to ensure that confidential organization and/or PII/PHI data are not compromised (ref: VA Directive 6004, VA Directive 6517 and VA Directive 6513). Use of public cloud storage requires documented Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) compliance and a Memorandum of Understanding / Interconnection Security Agreement (MOU/ISA) between the vendor and VA prior to ESCCB review.

[4]	In cases where the technology is used for external connections, a full Enterprise Security Change Control Board (ESCCB) review is required in accordance VA Directive 6004 , VA Directive 6517, and VA Directive 6513. The local ISO can advise on the ESCCB review process.

[5]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[6]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

Note:

At the time of writing, version 4.4.1.1 is the most current version, released 01/10/2023.

References

The following reference(s) are associated with this entry:
Type	Name	Source	Description
Vendor Provided*	Documentation	Publicly Available	This page links to documentation for the different versions of the technology.
*NOTE: Vendor provided information is subject to the accuracy of the manufacturer.

Technology Components

Note: This list may not be complete. No component, listed or unlisted, may be used outside of the technology in which it is released. The usage decision for a component is found in the Decision and Decision Constraints.
Name	Description
Aspera License Entitlement Engine (ALEE) Service	ALEE manages entitlement licenses. If users have consumption-based entitlement (also known as a metered license) and not a perpetual license, they must install the Aspera license entitlement engine (ALEE Service).
Aspera Sync	Aspera Sync is a software application that provides high-speed, highly-scalable, multi-directional, file-based replication and synchronization.
Trap Service	Trap Service manages transfers with object storage. If users are installing HSTS on a virtual machine in object storage, they must also enable the ALEE Service to use this feature.

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Domain Area	Category	Customer Guidance	Category Locked By ELT Date
Information Management Technologies Data Integration	Database Replication and Clustering
Network and Telecommunications Transport	Wide Area Network (WAN)

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

CentOS Linux - Unapproved
macOS - Approved w/Constraints
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) - Approved w/Constraints
Windows Client - Approved w/Constraints
Windows Server - Approved w/Constraints

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Runtime Dependencies:

Comparable Technologies:

Companion Technologies/Supported Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

This technology is Federal Information Processing (FIPS) 140-2 compliant.
This technology may improve productivity for specific staff whose responsibilities include securely move large files and data volumes at high speed over global distances.
This is a well-documented technology.

Adoption Risks

There are other approved solutions that provide similar functionality available on the TRM. The use of several similar solutions may increase organization requirements for support and maintenance.
There are known Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) associated with this technology. Please see https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/search/ for more details.
Due to the rapid release schedule of this technology, the VA may be unable to update to the most recent patch and may require a deployment model requiring the use of specific versions.
Microsoft Internet Explorer, a dependency of this technology, is in End of Life status and must no longer be used.
This technology can potentially use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), an unapproved protocol.
The potential exists to store Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI) and/or VA Sensitive data and proper security standards must be followed in these cases.
This technology may transmit data over the VA Wide Area Network (WAN).
This technology can potentially use File Transfer Protocol (FTP), an unapproved protocol.

Architectural Benefits

This technology is portable as it runs on multiple TRM-approved operating systems.
This technology supports AES Encryption.
This technology is compatible with virtual machines, therefore consistent with the enterprise Server Virtualize First Policy (VAIQ 7266972 08-27-2012).

Architectural Risks

This technology includes cloud-based functionality which has potential information security risks.

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VA Technical Reference Model v 24.7

General Information

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Current Decision Matrix (03/17/2023)

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Technology Components

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Runtime Dependencies:

Comparable Technologies:

Companion Technologies/Supported Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

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Architectural Benefits

Architectural Risks

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