* Recommendations for those considering NAC
There’s a lot to talk about with NAC, but it’s difficult right now to find a lot of customers that have actually deployed some form of NAC and who are willing to talk about it.
This week in Network World, several customers trying out different versions of NAC step up to share their experiences. Some are very interested in the technology and haven’t actually deployed yet, but their research is still valuable.
Some of the recommendations they have for those who are considering NAC include:
* Only deploy NAC if you have very specific problems that NAC uniquely addresses. All those interviewed say they feel NAC has some growing up to do before it can be deployed widely and painlessly.
* Test whatever NAC product you are considering. Some of those trying NAC discovered products didn’t live up to their hype, either because of exaggeration by the vendors or because particular products didn’t work in particular customers’ network configurations.
* Remember end users. If the NAC deployment you are considering significantly alters the user experience, you may want to rethink it. Confusion, training and resultant loss of productivity may outweigh benefits.
* Leverage current network investments. The strongest suggestion in this area is linking NAC to current directory systems. Other suggestions include linking it to current switching infrastructure and operating systems.
The package of articles in Network World also include two case studies from network executives that have put a lot of time and effort into planning their network access defenses.
