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Sourcefire^® Network Access Control

Today’s networks are dynamic. IT not only has to be concerned with “managed” endpoints that connect to the network, such as company-owned desktops and laptops, but also with “unmanaged” endpoints, such as employee home computers and laptops used by contractors and other visitors. These un-managed devices can be particularly troublesome because IT has no assurance they are free from viruses and malware that can bring an organization’s network to a halt.

Network Access Control (NAC) is one of the fastest-growing segments of IT today. There are two facets to NAC—“pre-connect NAC”, which evaluates endpoints before they connect to the network, and “post-connect NAC”, which monitors endpoints after they connect to the network.

Most of the “hype” around NAC today is generated around Cisco’s and Microsoft’s NAC offerings, which primarily address the needs around pre-connect NAC. The Cisco Network Admission Control (CNAC) framework provides integrated pre-connect NAC capabilities through many of Cisco’s routers and switches. Cisco’s solution consists of a NAC appliance, a required NAC Appliance Manager and optional endpoint agents. Microsoft’s Network Access Protection (NAP), on the other hand, is a policy enforcement platform built right into Microsoft Vista and Microsoft’s next Windows server product, codenamed “Longhorn”. Microsoft NAP allows administrators to create custom health policies to validate computer health before it is granted access to the network.

Although there are dozens of smaller vendors that have announced pre-connect NAC capabilities today, Sourcefire and leading industry analysts believe that pre-connect NAC will be dominated by Cisco and Microsoft— especially since both vendors have publicly announced future compatibility with each other’s NAC solutions. But on the post-connect NAC side, Sourcefire offers a compelling solution—today—called Sourcefire Network Usage Control (NUC).

With Sourcefire Network Usage Control, customers are afforded with advanced post-connect NAC capabilities, including:

• Customize network usage compliance policies around operating systems, services, protocols and select applications
• “Always on” compliance monitoring of both “managed” and “un-managed” endpoints without the need for endpoint agents
• Quarantine non-compliant endpoints until network policy compliance achieved
• Integrates with same operational console as used by Sourcefire IPS, NBA and Vulnerability Assessment solutions