When deploying Cisco NAC for desktop computers, it is imperative minimize the impact to the end user experience as much as possible.  This helps to ensure that the NAC deployment does not get derailed by user complaints.  One way to minimize the impact is to implement Active Directory…

OMB has mandated the Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC) security configuration.  NIST has a detailed set of configuration settings in an Excel spreadsheet that can be downloaded from http://fdcc.nist.gov.  I'd like to provide an example how Cisco NAC can easily help to enforce the FDCC security configuration for a Windows…

As I prepare for another quixotic attempt at the CCDE practical, I have collected a set of test taking tips. These tips are based on talking to exam administrators, reading all the materials, studying the demo tests, and mostly, attending the preparation session given at this year's Networkers.   Of course,…

I have some hints on getting started with Expect, organized into 5 sections:   Reference Material Downloading and Installing ActiveState TCL with Expect Extensions Create Your First Script Regular Expressions Limiting Script Output

One of the strongest features of Cisco NCM is the capability to create scripts to be executed against any number of devices. These scripts can be as simple as running a sequence of Cisco IOS commands or as complex as a multi-page Expect script. In this blog I'll show how…

Every once in awhile there are instances where you need information about a Microsoft Windows XP computer that you think should be easy to find but seems impossible to uncover. The tool to find the information is a built-in command line tool call wmic.exe. This command has a slew of…

Cisco Network Compliance Manager (NCM) is a powerful tool that can ease network and security management by automating many of the more tedious aspects. This is all on top of the policies that can be used to ensure compliance with various compliance standards such as SOX, PCI, COBIT, ITIL, COSO,…

The NAC API provides a method of inputting configuration into the NAC using a Perl script instead of typing it in manually. This is really nice if you have a large number of items to add or if you want to automate a particular process. One example would be to…

MARS 6.0.2 just came out 12/15/08. The changes are Cisco ASA 8.0.4 support Cisco ASA 8.1.2 support Cisco IPS 6.1 support Here's a link to the release notes http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/security/security_management/cs-mars/6.0/release/notes/rnote602.html#wp83851

With Cisco IOS 12.4(20)T, Cisco now supports packet captures on interfaces. This is a welcome addition to the Cisco feature set.

Cisco has made a big push into the SSL VPN market. Currently, their main focus appears to be on beefing up their SSL VPN support of the ASA FW. SSL VPN does exist within IOS as well, though. Version 12.4(20)T added a lot of new features. The IOS SSL VPN…

One of the great features about the Cisco AnyConnect VPN client is auto reconnect. This feature automatically reconnects a VPN session if the users internet connectivity drops. This means that if a user is connected to the VPN and the user's computer is accidentally unplugged, the VPN connection will be…