Network Admission Control (NAC)

Immunise Networks with Policy Enforcement

Network Admission Control is a set of technologies and solutions built on an industry initiative led by Cisco Systems. NAC has been designed specifically to help ensure that all wired and wireless endpoint devices (such as PCs, laptops, servers, and PDAs) accessing network resources are adequately protected from security threats. NAC allows organizations to analyse and control all devices coming into the network. By ensuring that every endpoint device complies with corporate security policy and is running the latest and most relevant security protections, organizations can significantly reduce or eliminate endpoint devices as a common source of infection or network compromise. NAC is part of the Cisco Self-Defending Network, a strategy to dramatically improve the network's ability to automatically identify, prevent, and adapt to security threats.

Cisco NAC Appliance (formerly Cisco Clean Access) is an easily deployed Network Admission Control (NAC) product that uses the network infrastructure to enforce security policy compliance on all devices seeking to access network computing resources. With NAC Appliance, network administrators can authenticate, authorise, evaluate, and remediate wired, wireless, and remote users and their machines prior to network access. It identifies whether networked devices such as laptops, IP phones, or game consoles are compliant with your network's security policies and repairs any vulnerabilities before permitting access to the network.

Networks with Cisco NAC Appliance can realise benefits such as:

• Minimised network outages
• Enforcement of security policies
• Significant cost savings with automated device repairs and updates

Cisco NAC Appliance extends NAC to all network access methods, including access through local area networks (LANs), remote-access gateways, and wireless access points. Cisco NAC Appliance also supports posture assessment for guest users.

When deployed, Cisco NAC Appliance provides the following benefits:

• Recognises users, their devices, and their roles in the network. This first step occurs at the point of authentication, before malicious code can cause damage.
• Evaluates whether machines are compliant with security policies. Security policies can include specific antivirus or antispyware software, OS updates, or patches. Cisco NAC Appliance supports policies that vary by user type, device type, or operating system.
• Enforces security policies by blocking, isolating, and repairing noncompliant machines.
• Non compliant machines are redirected into a quarantine area, where remediation occurs at the discretion of the administrator.

Cisco NAC Appliance offers immediate NAC functionality today and, to protect your investment, will be interoperable with the NAC Framework architecture.

Additional Resource

Cisco Brochures

Cisco Expands Its NAC Leadership with the Cisco NAC Network Module and Cisco NAC
Cisco NAC Guest Server Expand Cisco NAC Services
Cisco Security Network Admission Control Implementation Service
Top 10 Reasons Why Customers Choose Cisco NAC

White Papers

Cisco NAC and Microsoft NAP Interoperability Architecture
Cisco Network Admission Control: Help Customers Improve Security
Cisco Network Admission Control: Increase Organisational Security
Deploy an Interoperable and Standards-based NAC Solution