Xylan puts policies in switches

By Jeff Caruso
Network World Fusion, 05/03/99

Continuing the recent stream of products embracing policy-based networking, Xylan this week will embed policy software - including a policy server, an authentication service, IP address management software and directory services - into its switches.

The move is the latest in a series of policy-related products from Extreme Networks, IBM, Lucent and others. Policy-based networking is the ability to grant users varying levels of access to network resources, such as servers and network bandwidth.

Network administrators can use the policy server to give traffic associated with certain applications or servers various levels of priority and bandwidth through Xylan switches, according to the company.

The authentication service requires that users log on to the network. The software accesses security databases using either RADIUS or the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) to verify that the users are allowed access to network resources.

For directory services, Xylan switches use an LDAP client to access a directory server. Therefore, the switches will know what policies to assign to users listed in the directory.

For IP address management, Xylan uses the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol and Domain Name Service software from Lucent's Quadritek division. As users log on to the network, the IP Control software assigns them temporary IP addresses. This allows more flexibility for moving users around the network.

Xylan is also shipping a Java-based management application called QoS PolicyView, which helps network managers build policies and set them on Xylan switches.

IP Control costs $495. The LDAP client is free with Xylan switches. The policy server and the authentication service have the same pricing: $2,000 for Xylan's chassis-based switches and $1,000 for its stackable switches. QoS PolicyView is $19,995. All products are available now.