Microsoft's Network Access Protection

For several months now, our team has been doing live events around the US demonstrating the value of Windows Server 2008 Network Access Protection.  Network Access Protection is one of the new features that comes built-in to Windows Server 2008 that helps enforce health policies on machines connecting to the network.

If you've been thinking about deploying or piloting NAP and want to get an independent view on the feature, take a look at this article in Information Week magazine, Rolling Review: Microsoft NAP.

Quote from the article:

"Bottom line, NAP is a great value for organizations that have yet to invest in NAC. For now, it's all about the price; if you're buying a Windows 2008 license, you're getting the functionality for free. In addition, as more vendors develop the System Health Validators needed to expand on present policy enforcement capabilities, we expect Microsoft NAP to mature to the point where it will pose a significant threat to established NAC players."

Solution Accelerators

We also have a great resource for IT Pros, the Microsoft Forefront Integration Kit for Network Access Protection.  If you're doing a Forefront Client Security and Network Access Protection(NAP) project, this is a great accelerator to help you get on your way!!!!

So.....if you've piloted or deployed the feature, I would love to hear what your experiences were, good or bad.

Finally, check out the at NAP team's blog for ongoing information on network access protection!!