Enterasys Networks 9034385 Scenario 2 Implementation, Scenario 2 Intelligent Wireless Access Edge

Scenario 2: Intelligent Wireless Access Edge

Scenario 2 Implementation

In the intelligent wireless access edge use scenario, the five NAC functions are implemented in the following manner:

1.Detection ‐ The userʹs end‐system connects to the network. The wireless switch or thick AP sends a RADIUS authentication request (802.1X, web‐based, or MAC authentication) with the associated credentials to the NAC Gateway.

2.Authentication ‐ If the end‐system is authenticating to the network using 802.1X or web‐based authentication, the NAC Gateway proxies the RADIUS authentication request to a backend authentication (RADIUS) server to validate the identity of the end user/device. For end‐systems that are MAC authenticating to the network, the NAC Gateway may be configured to either proxy the MAC authentication requests to the RADIUS server, or locally authorize MAC authentication requests. If only MAC authentication is deployed on the network and the NAC Gateway is configured to locally authorize MAC authentication requests, a backend RADIUS server is not required with the Enterasys NAC solution.

3.Assessment ‐ After the identity of the end‐system or end user is validated via authentication, the NAC Gateway requests an assessment of the end‐system according to predefined security policy parameters. The assessment can be agent‐based or agent‐less, and is executed locally by the NAC Gatewayʹs assessment functionality and/or remotely by a pool of assessment servers.

4.Authorization ‐ Once authentication and assessment are complete, the NAC Gateway allocates the appropriate network resources to the end‐system based on authentication and/or assessment results. For Enterasys policy‐enabled wireless switches and access points, the NAC Gateway formats information in the RADIUS authentication messages that directs the edge switch to dynamically assign a particular policy to the wireless end‐system on the wireless switch or AP, depending on the type of wireless implementation. For RFC 3580‐capable wireless switches and APs, the NAC Gateway formats information in the RADIUS authentication messages (in the form of RFC 3580 VLAN Tunnel attributes) that directs the edge switch to dynamically assign a particular VLAN to the wireless end‐system. If authentication fails and/or the assessment results indicate a noncompliant end‐system, the NAC Gateway can either deny the end‐system access to the network by sending a RADIUS access reject message, or quarantine the end‐system by assigning a Quarantine policy or VLAN to the wireless end‐system.

5.Remediation ‐ When the quarantined end user opens a web browser to any web site, its traffic is dynamically redirected to a Remediation web page that describes the compliance violations and provides remediations steps for the user to execute in order to achieve compliance. After taking the appropriate remediation steps, the end user clicks on a button on the web page to reattempt network access, forcing the re‐assessment of the end‐system. At this point, the Enterasys NAC solution transitions the end‐system through the entire NAC cycle of detection, authentication, assessment, and authorization, re‐assessing the security posture of the end‐system to determine if the remediation techniques were successfully followed. If the end‐system is now compliant with network security policy, the NAC Gateway authorizes the end‐system with the appropriate access policy. If the end‐system is not compliant, the end‐system is restricted access to the network and the process starts again.

3-8 Use Scenarios