THE ROOT GROUP NEWSLETTER

Most organizations have already deployed 802.1x authentication for their wireless network, allowing secure access to their internal network from authorized users and devices. However, securing wired networks using Network Access Control (NAC) products from vendors such as Cisco ISE and ForeScout remain complex and costly. While full-featured NAC solutions are still at the top of many CISO’s wish list, basic NAC can be configured with many of your existing enterprise switches with no additional product costs. If full-on NAC is beyond your skills and budget, let our engineers help you design a 802.1x security framework for wired access to your internal network. In the not too distant past, this kind of simplified Layer 2 security was problematic and unreliable, but modern enterprise switches running modern firmware can act as a gatekeeper, preventing just anyone from plugging a network cable into an open wall port and getting into your business-critical network. At the very least, this will keep out anyone without credentials, and in some cases certificate authentication can also be used to keep out any device not properly registered on your domain. In addition, SIEM tools can be tied in to NAC to track port usage and help audit any misbehaving or compromised devices quickly and easily.

Veeam Licensing Models – New Veeam Universal Licensing (VUL) model offers greater flexibility but at what cost?

Veeam backup software has quickly become one of the most popular backup and restore products in the market. It’s user interface and relatively affordable cost model allowed many enterprises a simpler and cheaper way of backing up systems than legacy Veritas, Commvault or other backup solutions. In 2019 Veeam introduce VUL as a way to purchase Veeam on a subscription basis vs. the perpetual license with annual support fees that has been the traditional pricing model for many products for years. While VUL offers some additional flexibility, it can also become quite a bit more expensive for perpetual customers if you don’t need the flexibility VUL offers. We have seen annual costs double or triple for clients that want to switch from perpetual to VUL and we can help you evaluate the pros and cons if converting is under consideration.

Vendor Delivery Time Update: Dell Servers: up to 45 days, Dell laptops: up to 60 days, Ruckus ICX 7150: 45 days