* Nortel makes good on its commitment to support Microsoft's NAP
Nortel is delivering on its commitment to support Microsoft’s version of NAC, which is called network access protection (NAP).
Nortel has its own version of NAC that fits in its Secure Network Access (SNA) architecture, and the company has made it possible for Microsoft’s NAP to plug into that scheme.
For instance, Nortel’s SNA client, called Tunnel Guard, can gather system health data about the endpoint that is trying to connect to the network, or it can defer to the Windows system health agent to do it.
The health data that is collected can be sent back to the network either via Tunnel Guard or via the NAP client that is included in both the Windows Vista client and the Windows XP client that has Service Pack 3. The transport for that data can be HTTP, EAP or PEAP, depending on whether Nortel or Microsoft client components are used.
Either way, the statement of health from the endpoint is sent to the Nortel SNA server, which acts as the policy decision point to determine what access rights to grant the endpoint. It can also send instructions on how endpoints that fail the health check can come into compliance.
If a non-Nortel client assesses the endpoint system’s health, the SNA server can defer to Windows 2008 Server to verify the system health of the endpoint.
For endpoints that pass inspection, Nortel’s SNA server sends instructions to enforcement points to grant the appropriate level of network access. These enforcement points can be switches, routers, wireless controllers or other network devices located at key junctions.
Nortel’s bread and butter comes from these devices, and are what drives the company’s integration with Microsoft’s NAP. Businesses that are Nortel shops overlap with those that are Microsoft shops, so it makes sense to accommodate the Microsoft NAP infrastructure.
For Nortel shops, it makes sense to at least evaluate this scheme, keeping in mind that NAP in its entirety won’t be available until some time next year.
