Catbird is a security company for the virtualized nature of the data center that has raised $10 million from Medina Capital, bringing its total to $12 million from the venture capital firm.

The data center is becoming a new kind of computer. It’s a virtual one that is entirely programmable. Catbird’s virtualized approach manages the hypervisor, using software to define security parameters. It works primarily on VMware’s virtualization platform. It’s complex stuff but it comes down to this: The data center is not nearly as mechanical as it used to be. In the old world of physical servers and appliances, companies used security that protected the perimeter of the network. It protected the end-device with all of its mechanical pieces. Now software is increasingly defining how machines run. With software comes a fine-grain control.

Catbird uses its software-based approach to bake in the security so it is part of the provisioning and managing of the infrastructure. Traditional network security sits on the perimeter but without the capability to manage the virtualized assets that a company has.

Competitors are Cisco Systems and other more traditional networking providers such as Checkpoint and Tipping Point.

Is the software defined data center really emerging? It appears that way. There are more software-focused approaches to managing data center environments. But the topic is still quite abstract, posing a challenge for young companies like Catbird.