* Netcordia adds its Policy Conmpliance Suite to its NetMRI appliances
Netcordia says its NetMRI appliances can scan a network and find many afflictions that cause poor performance and point network engineers toward a fix. Now the company is adding compliance templates to the tool to ensure performance levels and configuration changes measure up to internal and external regulations.
NetMRI installs on a switch port or router interface and identifies network devices and the ports, or interfaces, being used to route traffic across the net. Network managers input the blocks of IP addresses for the appliance to monitor, and the appliance begins collecting data such as CPU utilization, routing table information, VLAN activities, MAC addresses and port connections. The appliances are packaged with software, which in the latest release included templates to help network managers better identify potentially out-of-compliant devices.
Starting last week, Netcordia is now loading its NetMRI appliances – available in multiple flavors depending on the size of the network – with its Policy Compliance Suite. The software will equip the NetMRI appliances to audit routers, switches and firewall configurations in several key compliance area, says Netcordia Founder and CEO Terry Slattery.
“The configuration detection can be broken down into two areas: What changed in my network and do my configurations meet design guidelines,” he says. “NetMRI can detect operational issues as performance data errors such as duplex mismatches on switch ports.”
Specifically, the Policy Compliance Suite will help network managers enforce policies around securing DNS, Network Time Protocol (NTP), RADIUS servers and remote access. The Compliance Suite also implements standards from the National Security Agency’s (NSA) Cisco Router Security Configuration Guide.
Slattery says the NSA standards incorporate best practices for the configuration of Cisco routers and minimize security risks. And for implementation of Juniper configuration policy best practices, Netcordia is using the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) policy recommendations.
Available now, the compliance software will be loaded onto all NetMRI appliances. NetMRI comes in various models, starting with the NetMRI campus model for up to 200 routers and switches for about $25,000.
