NAC on wireless networks

Wireless networks are often seen as a special case when it comes to NAC, with vendors specifying that their gear works over particular wireless networks.

The difference between wireless access and wired access that matters is that end users can roam from access point to access point on a wireless network, essentially changing the switch port through which their connection is made to the network.

Wireless vendors have figured out how to hand off an authenticated and authorized user from access point to access point without dropping sessions and keeping track of where the end device is.

With NAC involved, particularly post-admission NAC, it is not necessarily a given that the wireless gear that tracks roaming users can talk to the NAC gear that is trying to keep track of what each device on the network is up to.

Wireless vendors are aware of this and are making efforts to certify that their gear works with particular NAC gear. When the wireless device roams, the NAC gear can still identify it, regardless that it is connected through a different access point.

Check whose NAC gear is proven compatible with the wireless gear already installed in the network. That will make it a much more cost-efficient purchase because the existing wireless gear can stay. The list of NAC gear that works with the installed wireless network is a list that any business with a wireless network should seek when it is considering adding NAC to its network.