Using NAC to protect your network

A recent study spells out some useful steps businesses should take when considering the use of NAC as a way to protect their networks.

These recommendations from the Aberdeen Group assume that a business has decided it will benefit from NAC. At the top of the list is figuring out whether NAC will require new hardware, or significantly alter network architecture.

The reasons are obvious; these two factors drive the cost and complexity of an NAC project. Hardware can range from add-on appliances that fit into any network architecture to replacing switches so they support NAC enforcement. And some schemes require reconfiguring existing switches and routers in order to accommodate NAC.

In addition to these setup costs, potential users should evaluate how much time and effort ongoing operations and management of NAC policies will take. This will have a potential impact on staffing and workload for the IT department, according to the study.

Aberdeen says businesses should test NAC from an end-user perspective to find out how much their accustomed experience will change. Significant changes can affect how efficiently and effectively employees work, so the goal is to minimize the changes NAC creates for them.

If the NAC deployment is meant to capture information required by regulators or to enforce data security regulations, users should map those requirements to the products being considered, Aberdeen says. There may be some NAC products that are a better fit for certain regulations.

Get broad-based support from management and those user groups most affected by any NAC deployment early in the process.