The Short NAP: Thursday March 13 2008

13 Mar 2008 in Microsoft

Network Access Protection is a great new feature of Windows Server 2008 that will help you understand the health of your client machines (Windows Vista and Windows XP Service Pack 3) and increase the trust in your network.

Server and Domain Isolation utilises IPsec to protect domain computers from un-trusted devices. Network Access Protection automates the process of moving machines between logical trusted and un-trusted IPsec networks.

Here are the links for Thursday the 13^th of March 2008:

• Blain Barton, an IT Pro Evangelist at Microsoft, takes you through NAP deployment an troubleshooting in TechNet Webcast: Windows Network Policy Server Fundamentals (Level 300)
• Here’s some recent content updates on TechNet for planning Server and Domain Isolation zones when implementing Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.
• TechNet Security Series Seminar III (29 Feb 2008) include Dennis Chung’s slides on Server and Domain Isolation with IPsec.
• Network World has a brief overview of their testing of Network Access Protection.
• Network World also has an article on recent vendor support for NAP: Security vendors rallying around NAP.
• Although a little brusque, Mike Rothman’s assessment of this take up is true. Vendor would be crazy not to be on the NAP bandwagon.
• Jason Slater gives his view on NAP in Why Network Access Protection is important to an SME.
• Jonathan Hassell, at SearchWindowsSecurity.com, covers NAP and IPsec enforcement, and has good stuff to say about this enforcement method. I don’t get the jab at DHCP enforcement though as this could never be considered secure.