Versa URM is Versa Networks’ in-house cloud lookup platform, consolidating URL category and reputation data from multiple sources to serve real-time cloud URL lookup requests. It’s used by VOS devices running Release 22.1.3 or later with SPack 2177 or later, reachable at urm.versanow.net, replacing the third-party lookup provider used by earlier releases.
Key takeaways
- Versa’s own in-house cloud lookup platform, not a third-party service.
- Consolidates URL category and reputation data from multiple sources.
- Serves lookups for VOS 22.1.3+ with SPack 2177 or later.
- Reachable at
urm.versanow.net, replacingservice.brightcloud.com. - Backs real-time cloud URL lookup for NGFW URL-filtering policy.
On this page: Why it mattersHow it worksHow Versa URM lookups workVersa URM & VersaFAQ
Why is Versa URM important?
A VOS device’s local URL database can hold up to 20 million categorized URLs, but the web is bigger than any local cache. When a device needs to classify a URL that isn’t in its local database, it has to ask somewhere else – and until recently, that somewhere else was a third-party provider, service.brightcloud.com. Versa URM changes that dependency: it’s Versa’s own cloud lookup platform, built in-house and reachable at urm.versanow.net, consolidating URL category and reputation data from multiple sources rather than relying on a single external vendor’s database.
That matters directly for security policy enforcement. URL categories and reputations returned by a cloud lookup feed straight into NGFW URL-filtering decisions – what gets blocked, what triggers a captive portal redirect, what’s allowed through. A lookup platform Versa controls end-to-end gives more direct accountability for data freshness and accuracy on a path that real-time security decisions depend on.
What is Versa URM?
Versa URM is the cloud lookup platform Versa Networks operates to serve URL category and reputation information that a VOS device’s local database doesn’t already have cached. When URL filtering is configured and a VOS device encounters a URL it can’t classify locally, it sends a real-time cloud lookup request – over HTTPS – to the cloud-based database, which holds more than 2 billion categorized URLs, far beyond what the device stores locally.
URM specifically serves this role for VOS Release 22.1.3 and later, running SPack version 2177 or later. Devices on earlier releases or SPack versions send the same kind of lookup request, but to service.brightcloud.com, the third-party provider URM supersedes on newer software.
How Versa URM lookups work
Reaching URM requires a small chain of configuration on the VOS device: a SNAT pool that supplies the source address for outbound lookup traffic, a cloud profile (of type URLF Cloud Profile) bound to that SNAT pool that defines the connection pool size and timeout for talking to the cloud server, and working DNS resolution so the device can resolve urm.versanow.net in the first place – configured via DNS proxy for single-WAN-link deployments, or a DNS forwarder for redundant dual-WAN-link deployments. Organizations with strict security access policy also need explicit rules permitting HTTP and HTTPS traffic to urm.versanow.net, typically defined as a custom URL category with a “trustworthy” reputation so the lookup traffic itself isn’t blocked by the same NGFW it’s informing. The redundant-WAN-link case adds CGNAT rules so the SNAT pool can be associated with the LAN virtual router rather than a single WAN transport.
Versa URM & Versa
Versa URM operates behind the URL category mechanism that VOS devices use for NGFW policy: predefined and custom URL categories check the local database first, then fall back to a URM cloud lookup when local data is missing. The Source NAT pool a device uses to reach URM is the same SNAT mechanism VOS devices apply to other outbound requests, such as proxied DNS sessions. Cloud profiles, SNAT pools, and DNS settings for reaching URM are configured through device or organization templates, the standard way Versa administrators push URL-filtering configuration across a fleet of appliances.
Frequently asked questions
What problem does Versa URM solve?
It gives VOS devices a way to classify URLs their local database doesn’t already have cached, by querying a cloud database of more than 2 billion categorized URLs in real time. This feeds URL category and reputation data straight into NGFW URL-filtering policy decisions.
Which VOS releases use Versa URM?
VOS Release 22.1.3 and later, running SPack version 2177 or later, send cloud URL lookup requests to URM at urm.versanow.net. Earlier releases and SPack versions use a different, third-party cloud lookup provider instead.
What did Versa use before URM?
Devices on VOS releases and SPack versions earlier than 22.1.3/SPack 2177 send cloud URL lookup requests to service.brightcloud.com, a third-party provider. URM is Versa’s in-house replacement for that dependency on newer software.
What do I need to configure before a device can reach URM?
A SNAT pool for lookup traffic, a cloud profile bound to that pool, and working DNS resolution for urm.versanow.net. Organizations with strict security policy also need explicit access rules permitting HTTP/HTTPS traffic to the URM hostname.
Does URM replace the local URL database on VOS devices?
No. VOS devices still keep a local database of up to 20 million categorized URLs and check it first. URM is only queried in real time when a URL isn’t already classified locally, supplementing rather than replacing the on-device database.
More on Versa
If you want to learn more, these are sources we trust.
| Versa Networks: products | Versa Networks: secure SD-WAN | Versa Academy |
|---|---|---|
| The vendor’s product pages covering NGFW and URL-filtering capabilities that rely on URM lookups. | How URL filtering and cloud lookup fit into Versa’s integrated security stack. | Training and labs covering URL-filtering and NGFW policy configuration. |
Related terms
If you’re reading about Versa URM, these are worth looking at next.
| URL Category | Source NAT | Versa Operating System |
|---|---|---|
| The classification object that falls back to a Versa URM cloud lookup when local data is missing. | The address-translation method a device uses to source its outbound Versa URM lookup requests. | The software running on the appliance that performs URL filtering and issues cloud lookups to URM. |