Enterasys Networks Releases NetSight 3.0

By Patrick Barnard

TMCnet Assignment Editor

 

Network security solutions provider Enterasys (News - Alert) Networks Inc. has introduced the latest version of its NetSight management software suite for centralized visibility and control of heterogeneous enterprise networks.

According to the company, NetSight 3.0 significantly enhances the client/server architecture, adds multiple ease-of-use features, and scales to match the needs of the smallest to the largest enterprise networks.

Think of it as software that ties together all of your network security applications and management platforms into a simplified dashboard view. Offering centralized visibility and control for security-enabled network infrastructure components, advanced security appliances, and Secure Networks policy solutions, NetSight lets organizations manage their network as a cohesive whole, rather than as a disparate set of individual devices. In this sense, the software fills the functionality gap between simple element manager applications and complex enterprise management platforms. The new version supports Microsoft (News - Alert) Windows XP SP2, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Windows Vista (32-bit versions), RedHat Linux WS and ES (versions 3 and 4), and Novell SuSe Linux versions 9 and 10.



New to version 3.0 is its new Policy Control Console, an easy-to-use network policy tool which enables authorized non-technical individuals to enable/disable network usage policies to address on-demand needs in conference rooms, classrooms and other shared use locations. This Web-based interface gives authorized managers direct control over who is accessing which network applications and resources within a defined area for a specified time period. These policies, once defined, can be enforced through a simple mouse click. This can be particularly useful when, for example, a college professor needs to restrict certain network resources in order to deliver a lesson plan or teach a class.

According to Enterasys, Bentley College in Waltham, Mass., is already benefiting from the new Policy Control Console tool. Todd Marsh, principal network engineer for Bentley College, said the school “needed a solution to give professors the ability to control the communications environment in their classrooms, without compromising campus-wide security or burdening the IT team with additional tasks.” He said the Enterasys NetSight Policy Control Console “is a great fit for us because it provides a simple interface that enables authorized teaching staff to dynamically block Internet, instant messaging (IM) and peer-to-peer traffic, without compromising IT control of the network."

Also new to version 3.0 is the new Network Access Control Manager, which adds several important Network Access Control enhancements, including the ability for organizations is to know which network workstations are associated with particular users. Using advanced IP-to-ID mapping features, NetSight NAC Manager 3.0 gives organizations that don’t have an existing directory of users for authentication purposes (or you want guests/visitors to register prior to being granted connectivity) the ability to do so through support for Media Access Control (MAC) address registration. This means that any new end-system connecting on the network must provide the user's identity in a web page form before being allowed access. That means access can be granted without requiring the intervention of network operations personnel: In other words, end-users and/or guests are automatically provisioned for network access on-demand without time-consuming and costly network infrastructure reconfigurations. Furthermore, IT operations gains visibility into the end-systems and their associated users (e.g. guests, students, contractors, and employees) on the network without requiring the deployment of back-end authentication and directory services to manage these users. This binding between user identity and machine is crucial for auditing, compliance, accounting, and forensics purposes.

NetSight NAC Manager 3.0 also offers assisted remediation enabling users to perform a self-serve, do-it-yourself quick-fix if their computer isn’t running the latest anti-virus signatures, operating system patches, application updates, or is otherwise violating security policy. This assisted remediation informs end-users when their systems have been quarantined due to a network security policy violation; and allows them to safely remediate their non-compliant end-systems without intervention from IT operations.

NetSight version 3.0 also offers simplified updates to aid application installation, streamline the upgrade process and refine the client user experience. With its automated JAVA webstart client upgrade capabilities, network operations can ensure geographically distributed administrators and operators have the latest version of each licensed NetSight application. NetSight server installation and administration has also been streamlined. The new architecture enables more frequent delivery of new application enhancements.

"Policy based access control and user specific audit capability are increasingly important components of network and systems management,” said Andrew Braunberg, Research Director for Enterprise Security and Software at Current Analysis, in the press release. “Today's solutions must address the critical need of providing complete network visibility and a simplified, yet fine grained, approach to controlling access to network resources."

For more information, visit www.enterasys.com.

----------

Patrick Barnard is Associate Editor for Customer Interaction Solutions magazine and Assignment Editor for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit Patrick Barnard’s columnist page.