Cisco Systems and Microsoft have released details to
customers about how the Cisco Network Admission Control (Nac) and
new Microsoft Network Access Protection (Nap) systems will
interoperate.
The two companies are demonstrating the new interoperable
architecture at the Security Standard Conference in Boston this
week.
A technical white paper describes how Cisco Nac and Microsoft
Nap interoperate for security policy enforcement and health
assessment.
The white paper describes the architecture and provides details
on how to integrate the embedded security capabilities of Cisco's
network infrastructure with those of the forthcoming Microsoft
Windows Vista and the future version of Windows Server, codenamed
Longhorn.
In addition, the two companies have revealed a general road map
for bringing Cisco Nac and Microsoft Nap interoperability to
market, including a limited beta program set to start later this
calendar year.
Customers will be able to start deploying the Cisco Nac and
Microsoft Nap interoperable solution once Windows Server Longhorn
is available in the second half of 2007.
Cisco and Microsoft have cross-licensed the Cisco Nac and
Microsoft Nap protocols to help ensure interoperability and to
enable both companies to respond to future market and customer
requirements.
"This is exactly what is needed in the market as businesses
attempt to understand how to implement a network access control
infrastructure in order to increase security amid an increasingly
mobile work force and increasingly aggressive threat environment,"
said Zeus Kerravala, an analyst at Yankee Group.
"Microsoft and Cisco must work together on this, and I'm pleased
to see these two companies make the investment and the engineering
commitment for interoperability," said Kerravala.
Although both companies will continue delivering their
individual solutions, customers now have a choice between Cisco
Nac, Microsoft Nap, or the interoperable solution from both
companies.
The joint architecture allows communication and policy
enforcement across Cisco Nac and Microsoft Nap, enabling an
end-to-end solution to be built around the Cisco and Microsoft
interoperability.
Technology partners of both companies can also refer to the
joint architecture for building or marketing solutions that work
within the joint framework.
The white paper can be downloaded at
http://www.cisco.com/go/nac
and
http://www.microsoft.com/nap
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