Enterasys NetSight® Policy Manager
Secure, Business-Oriented Policy Management of Users and Applications
Implementing network security, authentication and Quality of Service using Access Control Lists and VLANs is complex, unreliable and time-consuming. Enterasys NetSight® Policy Manager automates the definition and enforcement of network-wide policy rules for users, applications, protocols, VLANs, ports and flows. It eliminates the need to configure policies on a device-by-device basis using complex CLI commands. With Policy Manager’s intuitive GUI you define policies once and—regardless of the number of moves, adds or changes—automatically enforce them on Enterasys security-enabled infrastructure devices. Policy Manager enables the simple management of complex networks—fully aligning the network infrastructure with business objectives and maximizing end-user productivity.
Policy Manager provides far greater control over users and applications than legacy filter/forward methods. It implements Class-of-Service rules to prioritize and bandwidth-limit network traffic based on multiple parameters, including application type, service type and user profile. Policy Manager controls the rate of new connection establishment, isolates or redirects traffic flows for further analysis, and audits traffic flow data. With NetSight Policy Manager one click equals a thousand actions, and rules are applied dynamically to the entire network.
Policy Manager uses the concept of Roles, Rules and Services to define and optimize network behavior. Roles group individuals into logical behavioral profiles—for example Sales Managers, Senior Executives or Guest Users. Classification Rules relate to specific applications—for example Messaging, Peer-to-Peer or Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Services are used to apply groups of related rules to specific roles—for example, prioritize CRM applications for Sales Managers or block peer-to-peer traffic for Guest Users. Policy Manager includes a number of predefined policies to facilitate rapid deployment, and configuration wizards to simplify the creation of additional policies.
Policy Manager is a part of Enterasys’ NetSight enterprise-class network management system that provides visibility and control for a Secure Networks infrastructure. NetSight Console—which controls infrastructure view synchronization, information sharing and preferences configuration—is required in order to run Policy Manager.