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Before version 4.6, the Cisco NAC Agent used registry key settings to for configuration.  Starting with version 4.6, the Cisco NAC Agent uses an XML file for configuration.  This file is located in c:Program FilesCiscoCisco NAC AgentNACAgentCFG.xml.  This configuration file provides many options for customizing the behavior of the NAC…

It's never fun trying to open a Cisco TAC case and realizing that you can't find the serial number of the NAC Appliance that is having a problem.  Instead of having to trek to the data center to grab the serial number, you can retrieve it by accessing the NAC…

I just finished spending two days in San Jose, participating in the Gestalt IT Network Field Day, an event dreamed up by Stephen Foskett and Greg Ferro. Twelve delegates who [...]

This troubleshooting tip pertains to environments that use Cisco NAC in L3 OOB mode and use the Windows Firewall for end computer protection.  In this scenario, a problem could occur where the Windows Firewall incorrectly uses the standard profile when it should be using the domain profile.  This could cause…

At Applied Infrastructure blog under

I hear the phrase from many of my clients: “What is best practice?” It comes when I am asked to design a new Internet perimeter, a VPN system or deploy a wireless network. The assumption is that there is a single correct design for their network (after all, a network…

I’ve been doing Data Center design recently and the customers are interested in what to monitor and why it should be monitored. At first, a data center is just another [...]

I’ve been pondering writing a series of blogs about the topic, Data Center of the Future (“DCoF” below). The present topic, “How Many Servers?”, may be the first of that projected [...]

I’ve written in this blog about various reasons for using network automation but it is time to put them together. Counting down… 7. Performance and SLAs The first thing that [...]

I understand that many UC Engineers may look at this blog subject and write it off as an old topic; however, I assure you that my experience has shown me that the introduction of the CFA CSS Activation Policy to CUCM is still a commonly overlooked and misunderstood topic.  If…

Device naming standards are boring. Why should we even talk about them? When you’re in the middle of a network melt-down and you are having problems remembering device names and [...]

The Cisco NAC device filter is used to allow computers to bypass authentication and optionally perform posture assessment.  The optional posture assessment is based on the role that is assigned to the device filter.  The MAC addresses, used in the device filter list, can be added through the NAC Manager…