Created on 13.5.2007
Life with Network Access Control (NAC) at the University of Liverpool
When the University of Liverpool realised that they required an automatic user / device management system for their Campus and Halls network, they began to look at Network Access Control solutions. The basic requirement was to automatically register devices to the network, check the devices were compliant to the University connection policy and to track and log all connections. Following a review of vendors / suppliers, the University selected Khipu Networks to supply Bradford Campus Manager for an initial 10,000 user roll-out.
Whilst the requirements for Network Access Control and Identity Management across Student Halls of Residences and Campus Networks are very different, working with the University of Liverpool, Khipu have been able to address the differing needs to manage and control access on both of these environments, without effecting or disrupting the user experience.
Whichever solution the University considered, it had to meet all of their defined mandatory requirements on both the open student networks and locked-down campus networks. These included:
- The solution must be scalable and have been deployed into other education based environments of over 10,000 users.
- It must be able to support multiple basic and complex policies for different users on different networks.
- It must not be limited to Microsoft platforms and will need to support a wide range of Linux operating systems and Apple Mac OS devices.
- It must be able to support role based access, identifying the different users i.e. student, member of staff, visitor etc via an LDAP group or attribute and place authenticated safe users into the correct network.
- It must be capable of being rolled out in a phased approach (e.g. department by department).
- It must not be network vendor or topology dependant.
- Must provide full audit capabilities of the users, devices, their location and the state of their device.
- The User experience must not be disrupted or effected, with special attention for Campus based users.
- It must support both a client-less scan for non-University owned devices and a client scan for University owned campus devices.
"The evaluation process was very strict, as we had to ensure the solution would fit into our environment and provide a flexible, non-complex process for our users to access our network without comprising security or effecting their academic life. We needed a NAC solution that would remove the issues we have experienced when users / devices connect into our network. Viruses, Spyware outbreaks, peer to peer networking are all common issues a number of institutions experience, as well as needing to know what and who is connected into their networks in order to meet audit compliance rules and regulations"
Chris Wooff, Deputy Director, Computing Services Department, University of Liverpool
After completing the evaluation process, the University of Liverpool selected Khipu Networks to design and install the Bradford Networks Bradford Campus Manager solution across the entire University, as it was the only system that met and exceeded all of the short and long term requirements.
"We were delighted to win the NAC contract and have such a prestigious University as a customer reference for the solution and our services"
Perry Scanlon, Director, Khipu Networks Limited
Key reasons for the decision included:
- It had been successfully deployed into other large University wired and wireless environments and had exceptional customer references.
- It allowed the University to enforce specific policies based on their different types of user. For example, a different scan for staff, for postgraduates and undergraduates.
- It provided full support for the extensive variants of Linux platforms.
- It could provide multiple scan types based on the type of user, their device and location.
- It will allow students to pre-scan their machines before they arrive at the University.
- It will enable the University to stop students attempting to access their network with un-registered, non-supported operating systems.
- The Khipu team are very experienced within the Education sector
The Campus Manager System has been successfully tested and deployed across the Universitys Halls of Residences and the different departments on their campus network. The different policy scans for their staff, postgraduates and undergraduates have enabled them to provide a flexible and easy process to allow these users to connect their own devices on to the various networks, whilst securing and protecting the network at the port level.
"Feedback from the users was a worrying concern for us, however to date, we have received very positive comments from our user base, giving us the confidence when rolling out the solution to new departments"
Diana Dainton, Network Team Leader, Computer Services Department, University of Liverpool
The Campus Manager System is the most advanced and feature rich Network Access Control (NAC) and Identity Management solution on the market today. With over 300 successful implementations using the system to control and manage a wide range of different users, from students and staff, to guests (including JRS / EDUROAM users) and conference delegates, and devices including laptops / desktops / servers (Microsoft including Vista, Apple Macs and an extensive range of Linux operating systems), PDAs, VoIP and even printers. For further details on the BCM solution, please click here.
All of our Education based customers are exceptional references, please contact Khipu if you would like to speak to them. We have at least one institution in each of the JANET MANs.
About the University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is one of the UK's leading research institutions. It attracts collaborative and contract research commissions from a wide range of national and international organisations valued at more than £100 million annually. For further information - www.liverpool.ac.uk
About Khipu Networks Limited
Khipu Networks are a UK based advanced systems integrator, focusing on supplying innovative secure compliant infrastructure solutions across the public and private sector. The company is a leading adopter of new and best in breed technology, expert technical staff ensure that customers get the solutions they need, when they want them and how they need them. The ethos is to ensure that the customer has the edge on the security and compliance of their network and not the attacker. Hampshire based Khipu Networks Ltd are the security division of the White Clarke Group of companies.
