Network Admission Control

Network Admission Control (NAC) refers to Cisco's version of Network Access Control, which restricts access to the network based on identity or security posture. When a network device (switch, router, wireless access point, DHCP server, etc.) is configured for NAC, it can force user or machine authentication prior to granting access to the network. In addition, guest access can be granted to a quarantine area for remediation of any problems that may have caused authentication failure. This is enforced through an inline custom network device, changes to an existing switch or router, or a restricted DHCP class. A typical (non-free) WiFi connection is a form of NAC. The user must present some sort of credentials (or a credit card) before being granted access to the network.

In its initial phase, the Cisco Network Admission Control (NAC) functionality enables Cisco routers to enforce access privileges when an endpoint attempts to connect to a network. This access decision can be on the basis of information about the endpoint device, such as its current antivirus state. The antivirus state includes information such as version of antivirus software, virus definitions, and version of scan engine.

Network admission control systems allow noncompliant devices to be denied access, placed in a quarantined area, or given restricted access to computing resources, thus keeping insecure nodes from infecting the network.

The key component of the Cisco Network Admission Control program is the Cisco Trust Agent, which resides on an endpoint system and communicates with Cisco routers on the network. The Cisco Trust Agent collects security state information, such as what antivirus software is being used, and communicates this information to Cisco routers. The information is then relayed to a Cisco Secure Access Control Server (ACS) where access control decisions are made. The ACS directs the Cisco router to perform enforcement against the endpoint.

Posture assessment

Besides user authentication, authorization in NAC can be based upon compliance checking. This posture assessment is the evaluation of system security based on the applications and settings that a particular system is using. These might include Windows registry settings or the presence of security agents such as anti-virus or personal firewall. NAC products differ in their checking mechanisms:

• 802.1x Extensibile Authentication Protocol
• Microsoft Windows AD domain authentication - login credentials
• Cisco NAC Appliance L2 switch or L3 authentication
• Pre-installed security agent
• Web-based security agent
• Network packet signatures or anomalies
• External network vulnerability scanner
• External database of known systems

See also

• Access Control
• Network Access Protection
• Cisco NAC Appliance
• Network Access Control
• PacketFence - The leading Free and Open Source NAC solution

References

External links

• Network Admission Control - Cisco Systems

This computer networking article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Computer network stubs Computer network security Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат? Olga Samaroff Webshots Look at other dictionaries: Network Admission Control — (NAC) se réfère à la version de Cisco de Network Access Control, qui permet de restreindre l accès à un réseau informatique. Lorsqu un équipement réseau est configuré avec NAC, il peut forcer l utilisateur ou la machine à s authentifier afin d… …   Wikipédia en Français Network Admission Control — (NAC) ist eine Technologie, die die Abwehr von Viren und Würmern aus dem Netzwerk heraus unterstützt. Mit NAC werden Endgeräte während der Authentisierung auf Richtlinienkonformität geprüft. Ist z. B. der Virenscanner nicht aktuell oder… …   Deutsch Wikipedia Network Access Control — (NAC) is an approach to computer network security that attempts to unify endpoint security technology (such as antivirus, host intrusion prevention, and vulnerability assessment), user or system authentication and network security… …   Wikipedia Network Access Control — Network Admission Control (NAC) ist eine Technologie, die die Abwehr von Viren und Würmern aus dem Netzwerk heraus unterstützt. Mit NAC werden Endgeräte während der Authentisierung auf Richtlinienkonformität geprüft. Ist z. B. der Virenscanner… …   Deutsch Wikipedia Network Access Control — Pour les articles homonymes, voir NAC. Un Contrôleur d accès au réseau (Network Access Control ou NAC) est une méthode informatique permettant de soumettre l accès à un réseau d entreprise à un protocole d identification de l utilisateur et au… …   Wikipédia en Français Admission control — is a network Quality of Service (QoS) procedurecite book | author = Ferguson P., Huston G. | title = Quality of Service: Delivering QoS on the Internet and in Corporate Networks | publisher = John Wiley Sons, Inc. | date = 1998 | id = ISBN 0 471… …   Wikipedia Connection Admission Control — Admission control, in the most primitive sense, is the simple practice of discriminating which traffic is admitted into a network in the first place [#REF| [1] . Admission control in ATM networks is known as Connection Admission Control… …   Wikipedia Call Admission Control — prevents oversubscription of VoIP networks, CAC is a concept that applies only to real time media traffic and not to data traffic. CAC mechanisms complements the capabilities of QoS tools to protect voice traffic from the negative effects of… …   Wikipedia Network Access Protection — (NAP) is a Microsoft technology for controlling network access of a computer host based on the system health of the host, first introduced in Windows Server 2008. With Network Access Protection, system administrators of an organization s computer …   Wikipedia Network Access Protection — (NAP) est une technique de Microsoft en partenariat avec Cisco pour contrôler l accès au réseau d un ordinateur en se basant sur la santé de son système. Elle est utilisée sur les systèmes d exploitation Windows Vista et Windows Server 2008. Elle …   Wikipédia en Français 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”