Clear Choice Test: NAC point products

Product Symantec Network Access Control V5.1 ForeScout CounterACT CT100 Lockdown Networks Enforcer 4.5.2 Unified Access Control 2.0 Vendor Symantec ForeScout Technologies Lockdown Networks Juniper Networks Price $18,000 for 1,000 users. Starts at $14,000. $25,000 per appliance, which supports up to 2,000 users. $30,000 for 1,000 users. Pros Unique and powerful location-based policies; supports user- and device-based policies; intuitive; easy-to-navigate interface; very wide breadth of endpoint assessment capabilities. Endpoint assessment timing can be configured on a check-by-check basis; wide variety of enforcement options; unique network portal is useful for data analysis; one of the stronger reporting engines tested. Great administrative interface; strong reporting tools; very capable vulnerability scanning tool included. Strong basic NAC components; integrates well into existing Juniper environment; easy to use. Cons Reporting engine could be improved to provide more options and functionality. Workarounds to maintain agentless architecture may not sit well with some organizations. Complex policy management. Minimal reporting capabilities. Score 4.48 4.38 4.35 4.18 Product ConSentry LANShield switch and InSight Manager 3.1.1 StillSecure Safe Access Check Point Integrity NGX Vernier EdgeWall 8800 Vendor ConSentry Networks StillSecure Check Point Vernier Networks Price $14,000 for LANShield switch; $3,000 for 100 agents; $8,000 for Insight Manager. Pricing starts at $20 per IP address. $37,000 for 1,000-user license. $45,000 for chassis, support for 1,000 users and one Control Server management appliance. Pros Security functions reside directly in the switch; strong reporting features. Minimal endpoint impact noted during integrity assessment; intuitive, easyto-use management GUI. Easy to deploy and manage; offers flexibility and detail in policy definition. Provides flexible, detailed security for groups of users; has built-in intrusion-detection engine. Cons InSight Manager console not intuitive; endpoint assessment not well integrated. Minimal reporting; powerful, Python-based custom checks require a skill set many organizations may not have in-house. No preconfigured Windows patch support for posture checking; minimal custom checks functionality. Not easy to use; offers no reporting functionality beyond log review. Score 3.93 3.83 3.7 3.55 Product Trend Micro Network VirusWall Enforcer 2500 Bradford Networks NAC Director InfoExpress Dynamic NAC for Windows Cisco NAC Appliance 4.1 McAfee NAC 2.5 Vendor TrendMicro Bradford Networks InfoExpress Cisco McAfee Price $25,000. $32,200 for 1,000 users. $40 per user. Pricing starts at $18,000 for Clean Access Server and Clean Access Manager. $20,400 for 1,000 users. Pros Quick to deploy and easy to administer. Provides easy integration into existing environments by directly controlling network switch flows; supports all access environments; taps into multiple authentication servers; user roles are well integrated with Active Directory. No network infrastructure changes required for NAC. Allows for flexible policy creation, because physical endpoint checks are separate from endpoint software requirements; strong authentication and authorization features. Easy-to-use wizard process for rule creation; overall management through ePolicy Orchestrator is very mature. Cons No custom check functionality; no ability to assess status of client firewall programs. Network switch control can be a controversial approach to NAC; management features are not easy to use. Disparate management tools required; policy management interface needs to be streamlined. Noticeable performance impact on endpoint during posture assessment; minimal reporting capabilities; Cisco API required to analyze assessment results; overall confusing management interface; checks run only at initial connection time. Minimal to out-of-box reporting with no custom report capability; no custom check development functionality; canÕt authenticate using external repositories; no support for guest users. Score 3.53 3.55 3.15 3.03 3.03

Category Weight Symantec Forescout Lockdown Juniper ConSentry StillSecure Authentication/authorization 20% 5 4 4.5 5 5 4.5 Endpoint assessment/ environment information 30% 4.5 4 4 3.5 3.5 3.5 Enforcement 25% 4.5 5 4.5 4.5 4 4 Management 25% 4 4.5 4.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 Total score   4.48 4.38 4.35 4.18 3.93 3.83 Category Weight Check Point Vernier Bradford Trend Micro Info Express Cisco McAfee Authentication/authorization 20% 4 5 5 4.5 3.5 4.5 2.5 Endpoint assessment/ environment information 30% 3 3.5 3.5 2.5 4 2.5 3 Enforcement 25% 3.5 3.5 3.5 3 3.5 3 3 Management 25% 4.5 2.5 2.5 4.5 1.5 2.5 3.5 Total score   3.7 3.55 3.55 3.53 3.15 3.03 3.03 Scoring key: 5: Exceptional; 4: Very good; 3: Average; 2: Below average; 1: Subpar or not available.

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