* Test of 30 products shows benefits, limitations of existing Cisco- and standards-based NAC schemes
This morning we posted the results of the industry’s most in-depth, public examination of available network access control (NAC) products.
In this test, we tested over 30 products from close to two dozen vendors. Each of the products plays a roll in setting up and enforcing NACs according to the tenets of either the Cisco-controlled NAC architecture and/or the more industry standards-based NAC plan offered up by the Trusted Network Connect (TNC) working group of the Trusted Computing Group (TCG).
Over the course of two months of testing, Network World Lab Alliance member Joel Snyder found that for very simple NAC tricks, either architecture will do. In both cases, however, once you step out of the world of Windows-only clients and VLAN quarantines, IT personnel will be pushing the bleeding edge of security technology, and need to be prepared for a longer-than-normal testing and deployment schedule.
This package of 10 articles will walk you through the processes and pitfalls of setting up a NAC deployment and give you a solid idea of what you can and can’t expect as an end result.
If you need more detailed product information about the NAC products included in this test – as well as the all-in-one NAC products that operate outside the scope of the CNAC and TCG/TNC schemes, please refer to another Network World resource, the NAC Buyer’s Guide.
