Vendors crowd to support NAP

By Dave Nixon

Security vendors are lined up to publicize their products’ compatibility with Microsoft’s network access protection. Foundry Networks, McAfee, Symantec, Avenda Systems and a start-up named Napera Networks have all affirmed that their security platforms can plug into NAP, a key security feature of Windows Server 2008.

In the case of Foundry, this interoperability signifies that its switches can operate as enforcement points for NAP admission policies. NAP clients on Windows computers send health checks; the Microsoft Network Policy Server in Server 2008 appraises those health checks and, based on the results, instructs the Foundry switches to enforce access restrictions.

McAfee has strategy to support NAP starting in March, when it releases a new version of its Network Access Control software. That platform executes health checks on endpoints trying to join networks. Integrated with NAP, the Microsoft NAP agent on the same endpoints taps the health-check results and reports them to the policy server for appraisal.

Symantec has announced comparable compatibility between its system-health agent that supplies a detailed assessment of endpoint security and the NAP agent that will be available in April. It supports an array of enforcement options, from client to DHCP, to 802.11X.

Avenda is introducing a NAP client for Linux endpoints that is compatible with Windows Server 2008 NAP features. Consequently, a business that moves to the new Microsoft server can have its Linux endpoints checked within a NAP framework. The vendor is additionally introducing its Universal System Health Agent, software that grabs relevant endpoint-posture data and passes it off to a NAP client, providing a more complete view into the endpoint.

Napera’s entrant is an appliance it calls “switch-like” that provides a NAP policy server and enforcement controls that extend the Microsoft NAP client in Windows XP and Vista desktop software, said Todd Hooper, CEO of the new firm.

The company’s objective is to draw small businesses that use Vista and Windows XP clients that support NAP. Napera believes these customers are concerned with access control, but may not buy into Windows Server 2008 NAP because it is too complex, said Hooper. The Napera appliance, to be announced in April, will handle policy assessment and enforcement.