Review: Bradford Networks NAC Director

The NAC Director from Bradford Networks features a policy-driven architecture to provide agent-based access control across wired, wireless and VPN connections throughout the network. The NAC Director can enforce compliance of the operating system type and patch levels, anti-virus application type and definition version levels, anti-spyware application installation, and the presence of required applications, such as firewalls.

Installation of NAC Director is a two-part process. The first is the initial setup and configuration of the appliance itself. This is done through a short setup wizard. This wizard guides users through the network configuration and getting the appliance up and running in the environment. The second part is done using a setup wizard as well, and this wizard gathers all the network device information, in addition to password and VLAN configuration.

Both wizards are web-based and are easy to follow. After setup is complete, all management is done from the web-based interface, which we found to be intuitive and easy to use.

This appliance can plug into many network devices, including switches, wireless access points, VPN products and IDS/IPS. Agents can be either persistent or dissolvable and can run on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. NAC Director also interfaces with Microsoft Active Directory for user and group configuration.

Documentation includes an installation guide, as well as an in-depth guide for using the web interface. The installation guide covers the installation and initial configuration in a well-organised, step-by-step process. Both guides include many screen shots and configuration examples.

Bradford offers two support programs. There is also an expansive support area available on the website, which includes access to product documentation, datasheets and other resources.

At a price just under US$10,000, we find NAC Director to be a solid value for the money. This appliance combines a lot of functionality with easy installation and management.

For: Flexible persistent and dissolvable agents and easy to manage. Against: None that we found. Verdict: Extremely versatile with lots of associated functionality. We designate NAC Director our Best Buy.