Addendum to the ProCurve Access Control Security Design Guide

Microsoft NAP

If the values are the same, the NPS declares the endpoint compliant and grants it access to the network. If the values are different, the NPS orders the NAP enforcement point to either confine the endpoint to the restricted network or to give the endpoint limited access until it is compliant. The NPS also issues the NAP client instructions on how the endpoint can become compliant.

In addition to making compliance-based access control decisions, the NPS can act as a traditional RADIUS server and authenticate and authorize users.

Health Requirement Servers

Health requirement servers maintain the current requirements for patches, updates, settings, and so forth. Each SHV on the NPS is associated with a health requirement server and obtains the current requirements from it (much as a RADIUS server can look up usernames and passwords in a directory).

Network Access Methods

This section provides step-by-step overviews for how an endpoint connects to a network that uses NAP. NAP currently supports four access methods:

 

IPsec

 

802.1X

 

DHCP

 

VPN

 

 

N o t e

In the sections below, an endpoint is described as achieving unrestricted or

 

restricted access. However, other security methods (such as an access control

 

list [ACL]) can limit the rights of an endpoint with unrestricted access.

 

 

 

IPsec

IPsec is a Windows-specific method for network access. With this method, endpoints must have health certificates to communicate with other healthy endpoints. The certificates not only prevent non-compliant endpoints from communicating with healthy endpoints; they also secure communications.

NAP divides the network into three logical networks, shown in Figure A-5.

A-17