Qualys Scanner Appliance
Qualys Scanner Appliance scans internal and internet-facing network assets for vulnerabilities and compliance issues.
What Qualys Scanner Appliance is
Qualys Scanner Appliance scans internal and internet-facing network assets for vulnerabilities and compliance issues. It extends an existing Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Platform subscription into on-premises environments and assesses systems, devices, and IoT equipment across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid networks. Supported scans include VM, PC, WAS, network mapping, and PCI compliance, with credentialed and agent-based scanning, compliance checks, and network discovery. IP-based coverage includes IPv6 and vault or HSM integration. Deployment options include physical, virtual, cloud, containerized, offline, and Qualys-managed perimeter scanners. Virtual distributions are listed for platforms such as VMware, Hyper-V, OpenStack, KVM, Proxmox, and multiple cloud providers, subject to qualified platform and version support. Appliances connect to the Qualys Cloud Platform for centralized management, reporting, and result analysis, and receive automatic updates. Offline appliances can scan in disconnected or air-gapped environments, then upload results afterward. Customer data is stored on an encrypted filesystem and scan data is cleaned up after processing.
Good
- Covers on-premises, cloud, and hybrid IP assets
- Supports vulnerability and compliance scan types
- Physical, virtual, container, and offline options
- Centralized Qualys Cloud management and reporting
- Automatic vulnerability signature and security updates
Watch out
- Requires an existing Enterprise TruRisk subscription
- Virtual license allows one active appliance
- Does not support ARM-based infrastructure
- Outbound HTTPS on port 443 is required
Who it suits
It is intended for organizations with large network infrastructure or regulatory requirements for internal scanning. It supports Windows and Linux/Unix environments and self-hosted deployments.
Verdict
Qualys Scanner Appliance provides broad network vulnerability and compliance scanning with multiple deployment models and centralized cloud management. Check platform qualification, subscription requirements, and ARM limitations before deployment.
The facts
Each one read from Qualys Scanner Appliance's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Asset coverage
- It supports IP-based assets across on-premises, cloud, and data-center environments, including databases, IP phones, and IoT devices.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Data protection
- The appliance stores customer data on an encrypted filesystem, and scan data is cleaned up after completion and sent to the cloud platform for processing.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- Scanner options include physical, virtual, containerized, offline, and Qualys-managed perimeter scanners.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Deployment options
- Qualys offers physical, virtual, cloud, and container scanner appliance environments.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Environments
- It extends the Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Platform into on-premises environments and assesses systems and devices on the network, including IoT devices.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The scanner overview lists support for vaults including Secret Server, CyberArk, and Azure Key Vault, and for Thales HSM, HashiCorp, and BeyondTrust PBPS.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Management integration
- Scanner appliances integrate with the Qualys Cloud Platform for centralized management, reporting, and scan-result analysis.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Network requirement
- Physical and virtual appliances need outbound HTTPS on port 443 to communicate with their managing Qualys Cloud Platform.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Offline scanning
- Offline appliances support vulnerability management, policy compliance, and network mapping scans in disconnected or air-gapped mode; results upload after a scan finishes.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- The appliance scans assets on internal or internet-facing networks for vulnerabilities and compliance issues.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Scan types
- Supported scan types include vulnerability management, policy compliance, web application scanning, network mapping, and PCI compliance.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Security
- The scanner initiates outbound HTTPS communication to Qualys platform endpoints and has no listening TCP ports or inbound internet connection requirement.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Subscription requirement
- The virtual scanner is an extension of an existing Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Platform subscription and is not a standalone solution; each license allows one active virtual scanner appliance.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Support
- The documentation directs users to Qualys Support for information about perimeter scanner subscription details.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Supported virtualization
- Virtual scanner distributions are listed for platforms including VMware, Hyper-V, OpenStack, AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, Nutanix, KVM, Proxmox, and OpenShift.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Updates
- The product page says scanner appliances receive automatic updates to vulnerability signatures, security checks, and patches.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Who it is for
- Qualys describes the solution as suitable for organizations with large network infrastructure or regulatory requirements for internal scanning.checked 2 Oct 2026
The company
- Founded
- 1999checked 28 Sep 2026
- Headquarters
- Foster City, California, USAchecked 28 Sep 2026
Where it runs
- Platform limitation
- Scanner Appliance does not support ARM-based infrastructure, including Apple products with M1 and M2 chipsets.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Platform support
- Virtual scanner distributions are available for platforms including VMware, Hyper-V, OpenStack, KVM, Proxmox, and cloud providers; full support is limited to qualified platforms and versions.checked 3 Oct 2026
- Virtual appliance licensing
- Each purchased virtual scanner license allows one active appliance, and the appliance extends an existing Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Platform subscription rather than operating as a standalone solution.checked 2 Oct 2026
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