Cisco and Microsoft agree to agree on network security

By Steve Malone

Posted on 18 Oct 2004 at 13:30

Cisco Systems has promised that its Network Admission Control security architecture will work with Microsoft's Network Access Protection.

Both systems do essentially the same thing. That is, to prevent potentially compromised machines from connecting to a company network. Given that Microsoft and Cisco are market leaders in their respective markets many customers raised concerns over compatibility. The two companies are now promising that NAC and NAP will soon become compatible and later interoperable so that customers can mix and match the solutions to best fit their needs.

The bad news is that Microsoft won't be able to deliver full compatibility until the launch of Longhorn Server, which is not slated to arrive until 2007 at the earliest. In the meantime, the companies say they will also press for 'broad acceptance' of their joint solution to establish an industry standard.

With corporate networks under constant threat from Trojans, viruses and worms, large customers are not prepared to tolerate turf wars between companies which force them to choose between different security products. The major technology companies now realise that security requires them to work together to provide a seamless unified answer to the dangers.

Last week Cisco announced that it had extended its interoperability deal with IBM to help secure laptops and other mobile devices. By combining Network Admission Control with IBM's Tivoli security policy compliance software, companies can manage the ability of remote devices to access sensitive corporate networks. Under the deal, the two companies' security software will work in tandem so that if a particular device does not comply with the rules set out in the Tivoli Security Compliance Manager, Network Admission Control won't allow it onto the network.