Extreme Networks unveiled two security offerings designed to allow customers improved insight and control over their networks.
They include an upgrade to its Network Admission Control (NAC) portfolio and a new policy-management application aimed at enabling network administrators to better manage large networks.
Sentriant Access Guard (AG) 5.0 is NAC software for large networks and numerous end points with features that centralize management of multiserver deployments, Extreme says. Sentriant AG employs a single dedicated management server that controls multiple enforcement servers distributed across buildings or departments. For smaller NAC deployments, a single management server can be deployed that provides embedded enforcement capabilities on one platform, the company says.
For improved scalability and reliability, Sentriant AG now supports load balancing capabilities, where the endpoint testing load is distributed across all enforcement servers in a cluster. This adds redundancy, so should one server fail, the security policy remains functional, Extreme says.
An enhanced user interface is designed to provide enterprise-scale administration capabilities, where managers can access, view and control all servers and endpoint access information from a single management console. A new multiuser, role-based administration feature allows individuals in an organization to access, manage or view Sentriant AG information, the company says.
Early this year, Extreme updated its ExtremeXOS operating system with a feature that stops malicious users from configuring a PC or laptop with a static IP address to circumvent NAC security.
The new Extreme Policy Manager (EPM) tool is client-based software designed to create security policies and rules, and ease management of access-control lists (ACLs). EPM supports Extreme’s BlackDiamond and Summit switches.
EPM’s GUI presents security wizards that support searching, sorting, change control and rule import/export. For ACLs, it also performs a series of automated dependency, rule and validation checks designed to remove potential conflicts and ensure accuracy.