A general guide for testing NAC products

Product Test and Buyer's Guide This newsletter is sponsored by Gateway Virtual Server Management: Weigh the options Learn about an array of exciting new time-saving tools that make it possible to manage virtual servers in a similar way as physical servers by watching the latest Network World Editorial Perspectives Webcast. Click here to watch! Product Test and Buyer's Guide, 08/21/07 By Christine Burns Lab Alliance member Joel Snyder has written a step-by-step guide for testing network access-control products in the four critical areas of authentication, endpoint assessment, enforcement and management. For a full rundown of the network environment we used for this test, click here. NAC products typically employ 802.1X authentication at the edge; Web-based authentication via a captive portal, proprietary client or protocol authentication; passive authentication; using 802.1X-, RADIUS- or other protocol-sniffing; or static, media-access-control-based or port-based authentication. The key to evaluating a NAC product's authentication capabilities is determining whether its mechanisms are broad enough to work in your environment. Larger NAC deployments depend on tight integration with corporate authentication databases, such as Active Directory or some other Lightweight Directory Access Protocol server. These links must be tested for authentication purposes and their ability to retrieve authorization information from the authentication database. Network World's Network Applications Buyer's Guide Find the right network applications for your enterprise - fast. Our extensive database of detailed product information will help you quickly pinpoint what you need. With the side-by-side comparison tool you can evaluate product features and make the best decision for your enterprise. Click here to go to the Buyer's Guide now. In evaluating a NAC product's endpoint-assessment features, it's important to concentrate on the information that each assessment can provide. Each NAC offering must be tested for: * Whether it can evaluate the compliance level of a user's system. * Whether it considers the security status of the user's system. * How well it handles multiple user communities (managed, unmanaged, guests) and how it accommodates varied user platforms. * How detailed the results of the endpoint-security assessment can be. * How well the endpoint-security assessment integrates with possible remediation strategies. For more on testing NAC products, please click here.

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Contact the author: Christine Burns is the Executive Editor of Testing. She can be reached at cburns@nww.com This newsletter is sponsored by Gateway Virtual Server Management: Weigh the options Learn about an array of exciting new time-saving tools that make it possible to manage virtual servers in a similar way as physical servers by watching the latest Network World Editorial Perspectives Webcast. Click here to watch! BONUS FEATURE IT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details. PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered to your inbox each day. Extend your knowledge with a print subscription to the Network World newsweekly, Apply here today. International subscribers, click here. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World newsletter, change your e-mail address or contact us, click here. This message was sent to: security.world@gmail.com. Please use this address when modifying your subscription. Advertising information: Write to Associate Publisher Online Susan Cardoza Network World, Inc., 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772 Copyright Network World, Inc., 2007