Cisco seems to be getting ready to further integrate its NAC gear under a program it calls oneNAC.
While Cisco’s not acknowledging that name, oneNAC promises to be a new alignment of Cisco’s NAC appliance with its network based NAC Framework architecture.
Cisco has said that the two NAC alternatives were established in part to give customers a variety of choices. The company’s original NAC architecture called for embedding NAC enforcement in network devices, but that was going to take some time for customers to make sure their Cisco network gear supported it.
The Framework architecture required software and in some cases hardware upgrades for individual customers, and some of these upgrades were only available on a roadmap.
The appliance can be installed in networks with less disruption and expense for customers that can’t wait or can’t afford to adopt the Framework. And Cisco has said that ultimately there will be individual customer cases requiring a blend of NAC technologies.
According to a source familiar with what Cisco is saying to customers about its NAC plans, the NAC management server that is part of the NAC Appliance option will be able to determine policies under the NAC Framework as well.
If Cisco succeeds with oneNAC it will help customers that want to start with a NAC appliance to fulfill a limited, targeted NAC need and then expand the deployment. Most NAC customers do start with NAC appliances, whether from Cisco or others, because they are simpler to deploy and are less disruptive of existing networks, says Rob Whiteley, an analyst with Forrester Research.
If Cisco can show customers that the NAC Appliances they buy initially will also work within the more scalable NAC Framework option, it may persuade them to by into Cisco’s NAC gear.