News

Concord, NH – Bradford Networks, a provider of comprehensive network access control (NAC) solutions, announced today Campus Manager version 3 with advanced role-based access that gives network managers the ability to manage every aspect of user access from any type of network connection – wired, wireless, or virtual private network (VPN).

With new VPN support and advanced role-based access, Campus Manager version 3 provides user-focused, network-based identity management, endpoint compliance, and usage policy enforcement. The new release allows control over who accesses the network, with what machine, where, and when driven by policies based on identity, device, location, and time. Using Campus Manager, network managers can create rules about network access that are as simple or complex as desired. Previously, IT managers had to cobble together disparate applications and appliances.

“The new release gives us the ability to build network security that really works for our network and our user community. User-focused NAC is essential to ensuring that the right people are on the network at the right time,” said Ryan Laus, associate network manager, Central Michigan University. “Because we can now have a single NAC solution that addresses all users connecting through wired, wireless, and VPN connections, management will become seamless and we can simply ‘set it and forget it.’ ”
Campus Manager version 3, Bradford Networks’ flagship product, will be generally available in December.

“Network managers are increasingly concerned about their inability to map user identities to network traffic. Tracking down the source of internal dangerous or illegal activity also often requires the ability to tie an identity to a network address,” said Lawrence Orans, Gartner research director and co-author of “Finding From the ‘Security’ Research Meeting: Focus on Integrating User Identification Into NAC Deployments” (April 13, 2006). “Identity information can also be used to make smarter NAC quarantining decisions.”

In addition to supporting VPN platforms from Cisco Systems and Juniper Networks, Campus Manager version 3 adds TippingPoint and Internet Security Systems to the list of supported intrusion prevention system ( IPS) vendors. By accessing the deep packet information from IPS scans, Campus Manager can act on real-time information about network activities, such as file sharing and other excess bandwidth utilization. The new version also adds the ability to automatically update user computers with antivirus and antispyware definitions from nearly 40 vendors, including Symantec, McAfee, and Trend Micro.

“Customers are demanding automated solutions to relieve the administrative headaches of NAC. We’re allowing administrators to secure and manage every piece of their network access, including VPN connections, based on who is actually on the network,” said Michael Gadoury, Bradford Networks founder and chief executive officer. “To maximize their network investment, organizations need tools to provide individualized access – guest access for visitors, full C-level access, and everywhere between.”
This fall, Campus Manager secured move-in for more than half-a-million students, faculty, and staff at hundreds of educational institutions worldwide. Enterprises and health care organizations are also adopting Bradford’s NAC to transparently secure corporate networks stretched by the demands of an increasingly mobile and transient workforce.