FORE presents policy software for its net hardware

WARRENDALE, PA. - In an effort to help users more easily control access to network resources, FORE Systems this week will become one of the first equipment vendors to ship policy software for its net hardware.

At ComNet/DC '99 in Washington, D.C., FORE will show Extensible Directory Service Agent software that runs on the company's routing switches and exchanges policy information with a central directory service.

The company also will release, as part of its ForeView management platform, network management software that will let users set policies in directories.

Policy-based networking allows network managers in a central location to set business policies for an entire enterprise net. For example, policies could specify which users have access to particular resources and which applications take precedence over others. The policies would then be sent out to network devices, which would enforce them.

"I was pretty impressed that FORE has actual products, as opposed to all the 'policyware' I've been seeing," says Mike McConnell, director of enterprise management and LAN programs at Infonetics Research in San Jose. He notes that other network gear makers, such as Cisco, Nortel Networks' Bay Networks and 3Com, are promising policy management products late this year.

Because a directory would have all the information about the users and equipment on the network, vendors say it makes sense for a policy management system to work with a directory.

FORE's software works with Novell Directory Services (NDS), Netscape's directory service, the beta version of Microsoft's Active Directory, and any directory that uses Version 2 or Version 3 of the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol.

Whether many companies will adopt policy-based networking is still up for debate. Many network managers say they are really just "firefighting," trying to keep the network from breaking. Policy management is still seen as an "extra," McConnell says.

Others see policies as a way to stop firefighting.

"If you do [policy-based management], you don't have to fight the fires," says Mark Amey, director of technical services at Health First, which runs three hospitals, an HMO, and a physicians group in Brevard County, Fla.

Health First already uses NDS for security and other functions, and Amey says he sees networking as another logical place to apply directory technology.

FORE will run its agent on Windows NT embedded in its ESX series of routing switches, which FORE acquired from Berkeley Networks last year. Other major vendors, such as 3Com, have latched onto the idea of embedding NT in switches to add functions, and are planning to put Windows NT on their switches, as well.

Network managers can set policies using a Java-based console now shipping with FORE's ForeView network management software. Policies are stored on a central directory server as objects that the agent on the switch can retrieve.

The ESX switches also can automatically tell ATM switches how to handle traffic in accordance with the policies, says Steve Vogelsang, director of technology at FORE. In the future, FORE will put policy information directly into the ATM switches, he says.

Extensible Directory Service Agent ships free with ESX switches. ForeView ranges in price from $3,495 to $9,995, depending on the number of devices managed. It runs on HP-UX, Sun Solaris and NT.

FORE: (888) 404-0444