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DataPower X4 is Coming. Is Your Monitoring Ready?

The Edge just got sharper.

On March 26, 2026, IBM will officially release the DataPower Gateway X4 appliance and Firmware v11.0. This isn’t just a hardware refresh; it represents a fundamental shift in how enterprises secure the edge.

But here’s the thing:

Upgrading your engine doesn’t matter if you can’t see the dashboard. As you prepare to adopt this new beast of a machine, you need to ask yourself one question:

Is my current monitoring strategy capable of handling it?

What You Need to Know About DataPower X4

With great power comes… well, you know the quote.

The DataPower X4 is designed to handle massive transaction volumes. When you pipe that much traffic through a gateway, “standard” monitoring doesn’t cut it. A 5-minute delay in your logs isn’t a hiccup anymore; it’s a catastrophe.

If you are still relying on scripts or installing agents directly on the box, you are actively undermining the security you just paid for.

The Hidden Risk

IBM has engineered the X4 to bridge the gap between legacy stability and the “wild west” of modern architecture.

Speed: It’s packing 1.6 TB NVMe drives. That means faster throughput and reduced latency for your most critical transactions.
Security: We are talking quantum-safe cryptography. It’s built to withstand threats that don’t even exist yet.
Agility: Native support for Apache Kafka, gRPC, and GraphQL.

This sounds great on paper. But in production? It introduces new layers of complexity.

The Infrared360 Approach: Zero Footprint, Total Visibility

This is where Infrared360 changes the game. We don’t just report on DataPower; we optimize it.

Here is why Infrared360 is the only logical partner for your X4 deployment:

1. Keep Your Box Clean (Agentless)

The DataPower X4 is a security appliance. The last thing you should do is punch holes in it by installing foreign agents or maintaining complex scripts. Infrared360 provides 100% agentless monitoring. You get deep visibility without compromising the appliance’s integrity.

2. See It When It Happens (True Real-Time™)

With NVMe drives pushing data at lightning speeds, you can’t afford lag. Infrared360 tracks throughput, latency, and transaction volume in True Real-Time™. You aren’t analyzing history; you are watching the pulse of your business as it beats.

3. Control Who Sees What (Trusted Spaces™)

Modern architectures require collaboration. Developers need to see their API traffic, but you can’t give them the keys to the castle. With Trusted Spaces™, you grant granular visibility. Let your DevOps teams monitor their Kafka streams without exposing your core security policies.

4. Never Miss an Expiration

With the X4’s focus on quantum-safe crypto, certificate management is about to get even more critical. We automatically track SSL certificates and security policies, ensuring compliance and preventing the dreaded “expired cert” outage.