Business Technology Workshops

Network Access Control takes "defense in depth" all the way to the desktop. With NAC on your network, every connection can be authenticated and controlled, helping to reduce the risk of malware or malicious people taking hold on the network. Because NAC is the hot buzzword right now, the products can be confusing and the vendors contentious. However, NAC represents the most significant change in the way that networks are secured since the invention of the firewall. Network managers are now being given the tools to create a strong link between users, end systems, desktop workstations, laptops, and access to network resources.

With components of end-point security, authentication and access control, these emerging NAC architectures and products offer almost endless options. Your job is to select the right components and pieces to match your own requirements.

This full-day seminar will cover the concepts behind NAC, giving you the tools to understand both single-vendor solutions and multi-vendor NAC architectures from Cisco, Microsoft and the Trusted Computing Group. We'll discuss specific issues in deploying NAC in enterprise networks, and cover key strategies you can use to ensure successful NAC planning and deployment. During the day, a panel of leading NAC experts will the debate issues and take your questions.

Course Agenda

NAC Architecture and End Point Security
* NAC basics, including an overview of problems NAC is supposed to solve -- compared to the problems it actually solves
* In-depth information on NAC's key components of authentication, end-point security, access control, and management

Design and Deployment of NAC Solutions
* What it takes to put NAC into a production network
* Five main steps of a NAC deployment

NAC Product Architectures
* An overview of industry-leading NAC solutions, presented in a vendor-neutral way
* How Microsoft, Cisco, and other NAC vendors are working together -- and how they are working against each other

NAC Panel
* Audience-led Q&A of NAC technical experts on NAC deployment, architecture, and real-world lessons learned. This is not a marketing pitch. This is your chance to ask NAC veterans about how NAC works in the real world.

NAC Enforcement Strategies
* Where should NAC enforcement go in your network, and what are the pros and cons of each NAC enforcement strategy?

Nine Hard Questions about Network Access Control
* Hard questions you should be able to answer about your chosen NAC solution, or hard questions you may want to ask your potential NAC vendors

Who Should Attend

* Network managers interested in learning about how NAC will affect network architectures, and in building higher security into networks
* Security architects interested in pushing security from the perimeter deep into the network with full access control and authentication of end users
* Desktop managers looking to enforce security policy compliance and get on top of regulatory issues with tighter controls

You Will Learn

* What NAC is, and the underlying technologies that make it happen
* NAC enforcement options, and when to use various options
* NAC architecture and solution choice strategies
* Implementation issues
* Solid strategies for adding NAC, and pitfalls to avoid