I was perusing TechTarget's SearchNetworking.com website and came across a pretty good article that discussed the trend network switch vendors are following to build more security intelligence into the switches themselves such as anti-virus features. Cisco Systems and Juniper Networks introduced new products in late January that include some of these embedded features. For more details, see Cisco Lays Cornerstone for Data Center 3.0 and Juniper Networks Enterprise Ethernet Switches, but apparently these aren't the only companies thinking along the same lines:
"Vendors are taking differing approaches to building these intelligent switching technologies. Some offer overlay control systems that work with an existing network infrastructure. Other vendors, such as ConSentry, are offering intelligent switches with network access control and application management technology built right into the architecture of their switches."
The article focused on efforts at Adaptec to replace legacy Cisco switches at the edge of the network with ConSentry LANShield Intelligent switches which would then be tied into Adaptec's Active Directory to integrate the concept of identity, such as user and role.
Integrating the switches allowed network managers to create and enforce policies through the switches to improve security and performance. Adaptec was also able to define policies to segregate certain network traffic for their engineers based on their token or prioritize VoIP traffic.
So, if you're planning on a refresh of your network infrastructure, whether it's at the core or edge; you might want take a look at intelligent switches to leverage some of these new capabilities.
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