Supported Cloud Providers
McAfee Cloud Workload Security (CWS) integrates directly with the three leading public cloud platforms: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Native agents and APIs enable automatic discovery of workloads, policy enforcement, and real‑time threat detection across EC2 instances, Azure Virtual Machines, and Compute Engine VMs.
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Operating System Compatibility
The solution offers agents for the most common server operating systems. Supported Linux distributions include Amazon Linux, CentOS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. For Windows, CWS works with Windows Server 2012 R2 and later, covering both Server Core and full installations. Compatibility is verified for the latest long‑term support (LTS) releases; older or end‑of‑life OS versions may lack full feature coverage.
Container and Orchestration Support
Modern workloads often run in containers. McAfee CWS provides protection for Docker containers and integrates with Kubernetes clusters managed by Amazon EKS, Azure AKS, Google GKE, and on‑premises Kubernetes installations. The platform can enforce runtime security policies, scan images for vulnerabilities, and monitor container network traffic.
Virtualization and Hybrid Environments
Beyond public clouds, CWS extends to private‑cloud hypervisors such as VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper‑V. Agents can be deployed on virtual machines within these environments, allowing consistent security posture across hybrid deployments. The solution also supports OpenStack‑based clouds, though feature parity may vary based on OpenStack version.
Key Platform Comparison
| Platform Type | Supported Environments | Key Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| Public Cloud | AWS, Azure, GCP | Auto‑discovery, API‑driven policy, serverless scanning |
| Linux OS | Amazon Linux, RHEL, CentOS, Ubuntu, SLES | File integrity monitoring, log collection, kernel‑level threat prevention |
| Windows OS | Server 2012 R2‑2022 | Behavioral analytics, ransomware protection, audit logging |
| Containers | Docker, Kubernetes (EKS, AKS, GKE, on‑prem) | Image scanning, runtime enforcement, network micro‑segmentation |
| Virtualization | VMware vSphere, Hyper‑V, OpenStack | VM introspection, unified policy across hypervisors |
Choosing the Right Deployment
When planning a McAfee CWS rollout, align the supported platform list with your existing infrastructure. For organizations fully in AWS, leveraging the native integration reduces configuration overhead. Mixed‑cloud environments benefit from the unified console that normalizes alerts across providers. If containers dominate your architecture, prioritize the Kubernetes modules and ensure that the cluster version is within the supported range. Legacy workloads on older operating systems may require supplemental agents or a phased upgrade to maintain full protection.
Limitations and Considerations
While coverage is broad, certain niche platforms—such as IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service or Alibaba Cloud—are not listed as officially supported, and custom integrations may be needed. Additionally, feature sets can differ: serverless functions (AWS Lambda, Azure Functions) receive scanning but lack the full runtime enforcement available on VMs. Always verify the latest compatibility matrix on McAfee's documentation portal before deployment.