News

New Access Point Management application now available

Concord, N.H. – Bradford Networks, developer of Security and Policy Enforcement Solutions for Enterprise Networks, today announced the release of an Access Point Management application that is able to provide robust security and control capabilities to users that are connected to non-managed hub devices.

There is a very large install base of non-managed hub devices that connect hundreds of thousands of users in college and university networks. The inexpensive devices are easy to deploy and allow quick expansion of network connection points. Unfortunately, each of these devices can pose a potential security risk in your network where potential violators can easily gain unmonitored access.

The Access Point Management application provides the ability to fully manage computer devices connected to non-managed hubs using DHCP as a means to control or restrict client access. Typically only users connected to manageable switch devices could benefit from port level control and VLAN isolation. Using Bradford’s solution, the configuration for the DHCP server is updated to include ‘authorized’ clients MAC addresses with their associated IP addresses.

With this new application, users attached to non-managed hubs can be forced to register, can be disconnected from the network through VLAN association, and their activity can be monitored. A user that is found to be ‘at risk’ can be directed to a remediation or quarantine area, thereby protecting the rest of the production network from potential trouble. This can be accomplished even though that user is on a non-managed hub and sharing a switch port with other users on the hub.Bradford ’s Access Point Management application will:

• Assign authorized clients an IP Address from the Authorized IP Address pool
• Update the DHCP server configuration with authorized IP Addresses and their associated MAC Addresses
• Direct authorized clients to a valid DNS to allow network access
• Direct unauthorized clients to a bogus DNS where they are redirected based on client state to the appropriate remediation or quarantine area
• Verify whether or not the client accessing the network through an access point has a valid IP Address in the DHCP configuration file
• Generate a StaticIPAddress event if a client’s IP Address is not listed in the DHCP configuration file maintained by Campus Manager
• Take action on the StaticIPAddress event when the event is mapped to an alarm and action through the Alarm Mapping functionality