Enforcing Switch Security

Network Access Security

Network Access Security

This section outlines provisions for protecting access through the switch to the network. For more detailed information on these features, refer to the indicated manuals.

Access Control Lists (ACLs)

ACLs enable the switch to permit or deny the following:

■any inbound IP traffic on a port

■specific types of TCP or UDP traffic

While ACLs do not provide user or device authentication, or protection from malicious manipulation of data in IP packet transmissions, ACLs can enhance network security by blocking selected IP traffic types. This functionality can be utilized to:

■permit or deny in-band management access by limiting or preventing the use of designated TCP or UDP protocols

■permit or deny unwanted IP traffic to or from specific hosts

Refer to the chapter titled “Access Control Lists (ACLs) for the Series 3400cl and Series 6400cl Switches” in the Advanced Traffic Management Guide for your switch model.

Web and MAC Authentication

These options are designed for application on the edge of a network to provide port-based security measures for protecting private networks and the switch itself from unauthorized access. Because neither method requires clients to run any special supplicant software, both are suitable for legacy systems and temporary access situations where introducing supplicant software is not an attractive option. Both methods rely on using a RADIUS server for authentication. This simplifies access security management by allowing you to control access from a master database in a single server. It also means the same credentials can be used for authentication, regardless of which switch or switch port is the current access point into the LAN. Web authentication uses a web page login to authenticate users for access to the network. MAC authentication grants access to a secure network by authenticating device MAC address for access to the network.

Refer to the chapter titled “Web and MAC Authentication” in the Access Security Guide for your switch model.

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