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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

NAC Support Logs in 4.5

Many people might be wondering what happen to the handy dandy support logs that used to be located in the "/perfigo/logs/" directory in previous NAC versions. Well in version 4.5 there were some enhancements to the logging and with those enhancements came new placement of the logs.

These logs are most commonly used to troubleshoot NAC during deployments. Please do not turn on advanced logging without reading the documentation fully or with the assistance of Cisco TAC.

The CAM log can be found at:

/perfigo/control/tomcat/logs/nac_manager.log

The CAS log can be found at:

/perfigo/access/tomcat/logs/nac_server.log

For those of you not familiar with what the logs contain, please feel free to reference the CAM and CAS Configuration Guides:

CAM Admin Guide - Support Logs
CAS Admin Guide - Support Logs

Thursday, November 13, 2008

NAC Version Matrix

In June of 2006, NAC Version 4.0.0 was released. Since then, Cisco has released numerous updates and features to the NAC Appliance line! Recently a member of the NAC Mailing List posted the following request:

Is there a feature matrix to compare the various versions/tracks of
Cisco NAC?


So that is exactly what this posts answers. It is long, but I know at least one person appreciates it!

I will explore 3 major lines of code.. 4.0.X, 4.1.X and 4.5.X. Realistically all new deployments should be using 4.1.X or 4.5.X, but I wanted to give a good overview for everyone on older codes.

4.0.X

4.0.0
  • Support for Active Directory (Windows Domain) Single Sign-On (SSO)
  • Corporate Asset Authentication and Posture Assessment by MAC Address
  • Support for Layer 3 Out-of-Band (OOB) Deployment
  • New Windows Update Requirement Type
  • SMP Kernel Support for Super CAM
  • Support for Assigning VLANs by VLAN Name in OOB Deployments
  • Support for "IGNORE" Global Device Filter for IP Phones in OOB Deployments
  • Ability to Change Priority of Wildcard/Range Global Device Filters
  • Ability to View or Search Active L2 Devices in Device Filter List
  • Ability to Test MAC Addresses Against Device Filters
  • Support for Relay IP Class Restrictions on DHCP Server
  • Support for DHCP Global Actions
  • New "service perfigo maintenance" CLI Command for CAS
  • Ability of Clean Access Agent to Send IP/MAC for All Available Adapters
  • Support for Stub Installation/Update of the Clean Access Agent
  • OOB Page Redirection Timers (SNMP Receiver Advanced Settings)
  • SNMP Enhancements for CAM
  • CAS Host-Based Traffic Policy Enhancements for Proxy Servers
  • Enhancements for DHCP Option Configuration Forms
  • Authentication Cache Timeout
4.0.1
  • Enable L3 Strict Mode
  • OOB Support for 3750 NME Modules for Cisco 2800/3800 ISRs
  • Link-Failure Based Failover in CAS HA
  • Upgrade Enhancements
  • CAM Disable Serial Login
  • CAM Admin Console Login Enhancements
  • Client OS Detection Signature Lookup
  • Start Timer Specification for Cisco Updates
  • API Enhancements
  • Enhancements for Windows XP Media Center Edition/Tablet PC
4.0.3
  • Restricted Network Access Option for Clean Access Agent Users
  • Daylight Savings Time Support
4.0.4
  • Support for Windows Vista Operating System
  • License Manager Support for Cisco Clean Access Lite, Standard, and Super Managers
  • Improved Memory Footprint for Clean Access Agent Reports
  • Broadcast ARP Server Management Option Removed
  • Kernel Upgrade
4.0.6
  • Debug Log Download Enhancement
  • Syslog Configuration Enhancement

4.1.X

4.1.0
  • CAS Policy Fallback
  • Clean Access Agent/ActiveX/Applet DHCP Release/Renew
  • Support for GPO Update Trigger
  • Online Update to Retrieve Switch OIDs
  • Qualified Remediation Program Launch
  • Clean Access Agent for Mac OS X Authentication
  • Clean Access Agent Installation Options
  • Clean Access Agent Language Template Support
  • Clean Access Agent Silent Auditing
  • Searchable Clean Access Agent Reports
  • Certified Devices Timer Enhancements for Periodic Assessment
  • DHCP Renewal Enhancements
  • DHCP Subnet List Enhancements
  • DHCP Global Option Enhancements
  • IE 7.0 Support
  • Clean Access Agent Enhancements (4.1.0.0)
  • Port Profile Management for OOB Users
  • Enhancements to Check Parameters
  • Daylight Savings Time Support
  • Supported AV/AS Product List Enhancements (Version 42)
  • Deprecated IPsec/L2TP/PPTP/PPP Features
  • Deprecated Roaming Features

4.1.1
  • Support for Windows Vista Operating System
  • RADIUS Challenge-Response Support
  • Layer 2 Traffic Policy Support
  • Multiple Active Directory Server Support in AD SSO
  • Restricted Administrator Web Console Options Hidden from View
  • Proxy Server Basic/Digest/NTLM Authentication Support
  • VLAN Profiles
  • VLAN Pruning
  • Event Logs Enhancement
  • Agent Report Retrieval API Operation
  • Out-of-Band IP Refresh Enhancement
  • Switch Port Configuration Enhancements
  • SNMP Receiver Settings Enhancement
  • Support for Windows Vista Operating System
  • Windows Update Upon Agent Login
  • Agent Reports Show System and User Information
  • Agent IP Address Refresh/Renew Enhancement
  • CAS-Agent Discovery (SWISS) Enhancements
  • 4.1.0.x Agent Support on Release 4.1(1)
  • MAC OS RADIUS Challenge-Response Support
  • MAC OS Automatically Close Message Dialog After Successful Login
  • MAC OS IP Refresh Support for Out-of-Band Deployments
  • MAC OS Allow Only One Mac OS Agent to Run on the Client at a Time
4.1.2
  • Cisco NAC Appliance Integration with Cisco NAC Profiler/Collector Solution
  • New Cisco NAC Network Module (NME-NAC-K9) Support
  • NAC Appliance Platform Type Display
  • Debug Log Download Enhancement
  • Active VPN Client Status Page Enhancement
  • WSUS Requirement Configuration Display Enhancement
  • New "service perfigo platform" CLI Command
  • Web Login Support Using Safari Browser for Mac OS
4.1.3
  • Windows Clean Access Agent Language Template Support Enhancement
  • Cisco NAC Web Agent
  • Support for Clients with Multiple Active NICs
  • Clean Access Server HA Heartbeat Link Enhancement
  • Clean Access Manager HA Configuration and Heartbeat Link Enhancements
  • Guest User Login and Registration Enhancements
  • LDAP Authentication Enhancement
  • Clean Access Server and WSUS Interaction Enhancement
  • Agent Restricted User Access Enhancement
  • Device Filter List Display and Import/Export Enhancement
  • Agent Report Information Display and Export Enhancement
  • VPN SSO Login Enhancement
  • VPN SSO Enhancement to Support Existing Clientless SSL VPN Users Launching the AnyConnect Client from a WebVPN Portal
  • Syslog Configuration Enhancement
  • Debug Log Download Enhancement
  • cisco_api.jsp Enhancement
  • CSRF Protection
  • Proxy Support Enhancements
  • ARP Broadcast Packet Handling Improvement
  • Clean Access Server HA ARP Broadcast Enhancement
  • Deprecated "Retag Trusted-side Egress Traffic with VLAN (In-Band)" Feature
  • Previously-Deprecated Features Removed from CAM/CAS Web Console Pages
  • Clean Access Agent Auto Remediation
  • Delay Agent Logoff on CAM/CAS
  • 64-bit Windows Operating System Agent Support
  • Access to Authentication VLAN Change Detection Enhancement
  • SNMP Inform Notification Enhancement
  • SNMP "MAC Move Notification" Switch Port Configuration Support
4.1.6
  • Trusted Certificate Authority Enhancement for Production Environments
  • Enhanced CAM/CAS Web Console Features Certificate Warning Messages
  • Ability to View and Remove Certificate Authorities from CAM/CAS Without Rebooting
  • Enhanced Security with Server Identity Based Authorization
  • JMX Over SSL Secured with Mutual Authentication
  • HTTPS Connections Enhanced with Mutual Authentication
  • Features Optimized/Removed

4.5.X

4.5.0
  • Policy Import/Export
  • CAM/CAS SSL Certificate Management Enhancement
  • CAM/CAS Software Upload Page Enhancements
  • Database Snapshot Upgrade Enhancement
  • Clean Access Manager High Availability User Interface Enhancement
  • CAM/CAS Support Log Level Settings Enhancement
  • CAM/CAS High Availability Configuration Able to Detect Hard-Drive Failure
  • Support for Wireless Out-of-Band Deployments
  • Assign Restricted VLAN for OOB Client Machines When Disconnected
  • Certified Device List/Online User List Enhancements
  • Out-of-Band Shield Enhancement
  • Out-of-Band Discovered Clients Cleanup
  • Pre-Login Banner
  • Strong Password Support for Root Admin Users
  • External Authentication Server Support for Web Administrator Login
  • Support for Cisco NAC Appliance/NME-NAC Platforms Only
  • Web Upgrade Support Removed
  • Default CAM Web Console Password Removed
  • Windows ME/98/NT OS Support Removed

Bottom Line, I recommend 4.1.6 for any new deployment that does require any of the features of 4.5.X

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Cisco NAC Appliance 4.5 Released

The time has come.... 4.5 is here


It can be downloaded here! (Require Valid Smartnet Contract)

As with all NAC releases, be sure to read the RELEASE NOTES before upgrading!

CAM/CAS Configuration Guides:
Bottom line is that 4.5 brings way too many features to list. That is why the release notes will help!

Looks for future posts on new features and benefits!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Configuration Example - Wireless Out Of Band - New NAC 4.5 Feature

The following is a configuration guide that was posted to explain how to configure NAC 4.5 with Wireless LAN Controller 5.1 for NAC Wireless OOB support.

NAC Out-Of-Band (OOB) Wireless Configuration Example


Wireless OOB is a feature we all have been waiting for. Some of the great benefits that I see are:

- No need for a second Clean Access Server(CAS) just for wireless. If you are a smaller organization wireless and wired can be performed on a single CAS.
- Bandwidth benefits for larger wireless infrastructures. With 10Gbps network backbones and large central wireless deployments(lots of clients), having a OOB wireless deployment is a no brainer.

This is one of a few great features coming out with NAC release 4.5.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Coming Soon - Cisco NAC Release 4.5

Cisco is preparing for NAC Release 4.5 which will include great features like Wireless OOB, Mac Posture Assessment Support and CAM import/export of policies.

The first piece of documentation has been published:

Cisco NAC Appliance Release 4.5 - Video Data Sheet


Keep a lookout for posting on all the new features and when the download becomes available.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

NAC Updates

Windows Clean Access Agent Version 4.1.7 Released - Sept 30th

In this release their are a few minor resolved caveats:

- Symantec AntiVirus 10.x not fully compatible with CCA Agent
- V
ista Agent does not detect MAC Address of Wireless NIC
-
AVG Anti-Virus Free 8.x support for Virus Definition check

As with all upgrades, it is highly recommended to read the release notes before upgrading. Also, on a side note, remember that upgrades should be done for a purpose, either to fix a caveat or to gain new features.

Download 4.1.7 Windows Agent

Release Notes


3 NEW Configuration Examples posted to CCO

- NAC Appliance (CCA): Configure High Availability (HA) for the Clean Access Manager (CAM)
29/Sep/2008


- Deploy NAC Profiler in an Existing Out-of-Band NAC
02/Sep/2008


- Importing SSL Certificates to NAC Profiler
02/Sep/2008


To see all the previous Configuration Examples and TechNotes


How to Block Operating Systems with CCA

A friend of mine, Rob Chee, writes a blog on network security and had a great post on how to block operating systems using User Pages with CCA.

Make sure you check out his Post.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

New Configuration Example: Configure Guest Access

Cisco posted a new Configuration Guide:

NAC: Configure Guest Access
This example will walk you through how to configure the various types of guest access on the Cisco Clean Access or NAC appliance.


To see all the previous
Configuration Examples and TechNotes

NEW NAC Version 4.1(6)

4.1.6 is available and you can download it here:

Cisco NAC Appliance Software Download Page
Requires a valid Smartnet contract in order to download



4.1(6) Release Notes
As with all NAC Upgrades, the release notes are extremely important!

4.1(6) CAM Installation & Configuration Guide

4.1(6) CAS Installation & Configuration Guide

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Ask the Expert - Cisco NAC Guest Server

Click Here to Begin

This is a great forum to ask your NAC Guest Server questions. Syed is apart of the stellar NAC business unit and focuses on Guest Server. Please read the detailed description below:

This is an opportunity to get an update on the new Cisco NAC Guest Server which works with either Cisco NAC Appliance or Cisco wireless LAN controllers to manage the entire lifecycle of guest access with Cisco expert Syed Ghayur. Syed is a technical marketing engineer in the product marketing team for the Cisco Network Access Control (NAC) Appliance. He also works on global scalability of the product, documentation, partner training, and system engineer trainings. In addition, he works closely with the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) to resolve complex issues and product related bugs. Early this year, he joined the Security Technology Group (STG) as technical marketing engineer for NAC Appliance.

Remember to use the rating system to let Syed know if you have received an adequate response.

Syed might not be able to answer each question due to the volume expected during this event. Our moderators will post many of the unanswered questions in other discussion forums shortly after the event. This event lasts through July 25, 2008. Visit this forum often to view responses to your questions and the questions of other community members.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

NAC Manager (CAM) Backups

Background:

The Cisco NAC Manager is the brain of the Cisco NAC solution. All configuration is stored in a database which makes the solution scalable. With that said, a crucial step in any deployment is developing a backup plan to ensure that if the NAC Manager or Failover Pair fails(Hardware failure, database corruption, administrator configuration mistake, fire, flood, sinkhole, etc.) the database can be restored and everything will be back up and working!


What gets backed up:

Everything that is stored in the database gets backed up. The following is a list of items that get backed up:

o Clean Access Server Configuration information (DHCP, Managed Subnets, VLAN Mapping, Static Routes, filters, etc.)
o
Filters (Device Filters, Subnet Filters)
o
Posture Assessment (Checks, Rules, Requirements,etc)
o Switch Management
o User Management (User Roles, Auth Servers, User Pages, Admin Users)
o Reports
o Licenses


What doesn't get backed up:

The less talked about item is what is not backed up. The following is a list of things that must be backed up manually during deployment and are not included in the database backup:

o Initial Configuration Information (service perfigo config) for the Managers and Servers. This means that good documentation of the initial network placement and ip addresses is a MUST.
o Failover Configuration (Good documentation will be the solution)
o Certificates (This is the #1 forgotten piece of information) Make sure to backup the private keys, root certificates, and CAM/CAS Certificates


Manual Backups:

The NAC Manager supports manual backups by going to administration -> backup, name the snapshot and hit "Create Snapshot". The snapshot may be downloaded to the local pc, if desired.

Figure 1 – Manual Backups

Automatic On-Box Backups:

The NAC Manager automatically creates daily snapshots of the Clean Access Manager database and preserves the most recent from the last 30 days. It also automatically creates snapshots before and after software upgrades, and before and after failover events. No configuration is required to enable these automatic backups. These backups are stored at /perfigo/backup directory.

Figure 2 – Automatic On-Box Backups


Automatic Off-Box Backups:

The first two methods are great, but what happens if the CAM gets caught in a fire? This is why creating a backup strategy to include automatically sending backups to another device that will not take the same hit as the CAM(Think different location) is vital. Cisco has provided a script located on the CAM(/perfigo/control/bin/) called pg_backup that will take a database backup and send it to an external FTP server. The following is a list of procedures to use the pg_backup script to send your DB backup to a ftp server nightly(See example for details):

o Login to the CAM as root
o cd /perfigo/control/bin
o Test using the pg_backup script
o Create a crontab file to use with cron (Example shows running pg_backup every morning at 2:30am)
o Import the crontab file
o Verify the file imported correctly

Figure 3 – Automatic Off-Box Backups
If ftp is not available within an organization SCP/NFS/SFTP may be utilized by creating a custom backup script or hiring a consultant to create one for the organization. Also, please note the pg_backup script names the file "csdb.gz". In order to keep multiple backups, create a backup rotation script on the ftp server or modify pg_backup to include a date.

Summary:

Backups are vital to ensuring NAC will be up and running quickly through any failure. Be sure with any deployment a strong backup strategy is included.

Sources: CAM Installation & Configuration Guide v4.1.3

Coming Up Next: Restores

Happy Cisco-Live week to everyone attending in Orlando and make sure to sign up for the NAC Deployment or NAC Troubleshooting session.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Cisco NAC Guest Server 1.1.1

On June 9th, Cisco posted an update to NAC Guest Server.



Version 1.1.1 comes with a few new features:

Guest Role Support
Guest Role Support provides the ability for Sponsors to create guest accounts with different privileges. This includes provisioning into different roles on the Clean Access Manager, returning different RADIUS attributes to RADIUS clients or only allowing access from specified networks.

Additional NTP Server
The 1.1.1 release introduces the ability to configure two NTP servers instead of a single NTP server in 1.1.0.

FTP Backup Directory
The 1.1.1 release allows a directory to be specified as part of the scheduled FTP backup, prior versions placed the backup in the default directory of the FTP user account.

As with all NAC related upgrades make sure to read the RELEASE NOTES before upgrading!

The NAC Guest Server Installation & Configuration Guide 1.1.1 can be used for reference of the new features.

Finally to download the new version go to the NAC Guest Server Download Page. (Requires Valid CCO Login)

New Configuration Examples

Cisco posted two new Configuration Guides:

NAC: LDAP over SSL on the Clean Access Manager (CAM)
This example will walk you through using SSL with your LDAP Auth Server.

NAC: LDAP Integration with ACS Configuration Example
This example will explain how to use Cisco NAC Profiler for MAC Auth Bypass(MAB) for 802.1X deployments.

To see all the previous
Configuration Examples and TechNotes

Monday, June 2, 2008

Cisco NAC with IP Phones

Background:

One question that many people ask is how to deal with IP Phones during your NAC Deployment. Well the easy answer is "it depends", but what does it really depend on...

Identify all of the phones:

To find all of the phones on your network you may manually go through your Call-Manager or other Voice Server and export a list or utilize Cisco NAC Profiler to find all the phones. Please note that you must keep an updated list of all IP Phones in the CAM Device Filter Table in order for NAC to exclude the phones.

Determine your NAC deployment type:

When deploying an In-Band (IB) NAC Deployment, handling phones is very simplistic. One deployment option is when all of the phones are on a Voice VLAN they should bypass NAC. Meaning if the voice VLAN is NOT be bridged or routed through the CAS, the phones will never go through NAC. Another possibility, is the phones are on the same VLAN as users.(Please note it is a best practice to separate your voice devices from data devices for security reasons and also performance/QoS). If you do have data and voice merged and you have an IB deployment, then identify all phones' MAC Addresses and add them into the Device Filter Table as an "Allow Filter". This allows the MAC Addresses of the phones to go through the CAS without authentication or posture assessment.

Figure 1 - Allow Filter for a phone (IB deployment with Data/Voice Combined)


When deploying an Out-of-Band (OOB) NAC deployment, there are a few more things to think about. OOB works by setting a port's VLAN to an authentication/quarantine VLAN during the NAC process and then changing the VLAN to an access VLAN after the user is finished. When PCs are plugged into phones, you must ensure a few basics are covered.

Don't miss a call, even when NAC is deployed:

The first basic step required to make sure NAC does not interfere with phones is to ignore all traps regarding phones plugging in. This is done, by adding in a device filter with the type "ignore" into the CAM. Please note that this configuration is regardless of the vendor/type of phone.

Figure 2 - Ignore Filter for a phone (OOB deployment)
The next step is to ensure that all port profiles being used do not bounce the port for OOB. If the CAM bounces the port then the Phone in front of the PC will get rebooted which will then cause missed calls,etc.

If you ensure these two steps are performed, then deploying NAC with phones is going to be easy.

Behind the scenes:

Cisco NAC Appliance may be deployed with most any type of phone. The key is to understand how NAC works. There are two basic ways to configure a switchport with a PC and a Phone:

Switchport with a Cisco IP Phone or other vendor IP Phone using CDP:

interface gigabitethernet 0/1
switchport mode access
switchport access vlan 10 <--- This is the VLAN NAC will change switchport voice vlan 11 <-- NAC will NEVER change this VLAN With this deployment type, NAC will never modify the voice VLAN thus never affect the phone. Switchport with an Avaya IP Phone or other vendor IP Phone using Trunking:

interface gigabitethernet 0/1
switchport trunk encapsulation dot1q
switchport mode trunk
switchport trunk native vlan 10 <--- This is the VLAN NAC will change In this example, the phone will be tagging its frames on the Voice VLAN and the phone must pass the PC's frames through untagged. This ensures that the CAM can change the native VLAN of the port which will force the PC to either go through NAC or not. Summary:

Hopefully this answers everyones questions of how to deploy Cisco NAC Appliance with IP Phones. Keep the questions coming(JSanbower@hotmail.com) and I will be sure to keep posting!

Friday, April 11, 2008

NAC Updates

I want to apologize for the lack of posts over the past couple of months. I have been out performing NAC Deployments non-stop.

I thought I would kick things off by offering some updates on the latest software release. Look for more custom check and best practice posts soon. Also, if anyone has any requests on something they would like to see posted about let me know!

Cisco Clean Access Agent 4.1.3.2
Some updates to the original 4.1.3.0 Agent has been made, refer to the release notes for all enhancements, bug fixes, etc.

Cisco NAC Profiler 2.1.8-37
On April 7th, Cisco released an upgrade to NAC Profiler.
Release Notes | Documentation

Cisco NAC Guest Server 1.1.0
Cisco released an upgrade to the Guest Server. Check out the documentation for all enhancements/fixes
Release Notes | Documentation

Sunday, March 9, 2008

New NAC NEWS - ChalkTalks and PodCasts

If everyone out there has not heard yet, there is a spring 2008 chalktalk series going on currently. The chalk talks are very technical and can give everyone great insight into the topics discussed.

March 13th - Cisco NAC Deployment Methodologies
March 20th - Troubleshooting Cisco NAC Appliance
March 27th - NAC Profiler Best Practices

All can be seen at 10am PDT at http://premium.meetingplace.net with meeting ID 434343

Also, Robb Boyd and the TechWise TV team posted a podcast on Troubleshooting Cisco NAC Appliance. It features "rockstar" Prem Ananthakrishnan, one of the great TMEs from the NAC BU.

NAC Troubleshooting Podcast

Monday, January 21, 2008

NAC Appliance episode on TechwiseTV

There is a new TechWiseTV episode about to be taped, focusing on Cisco NAC Appliance and the producers are looking for feedback as to what the episode should focus on. The main presenter will be Alok Agrawal, one of the Technical Marketing Engineers from the Cisco NAC Business Unit. If you have never seen TechWiseTV, it is a highly technical show focusing on getting answers to the tough questions. I can promise that if enough of you want a topic discussed that Alok will definately be put on the spot to give you an answer. So please visit their website and start posting about what you are interested in hearing explained:

http://www.mytechwisetv.com/page/30+Network+Admission+Control


The following is a draft of the topics discussed:

Proposed Segmentation:
Segment 1: NAC Foundational Concepts -
  • What is it, why do we need it, why now?
  • Where does 802.1x fit, what problems can be solved here, etc.
  • Posture Assesment - more than just AV and Spyware
  • Client vs. Clientless, Inband vs. Out of Band, Remediation, Non-Cisco applications
  • Server, Manager, Agent Communication, Rule Set updates.

Segment 2: Server Deployment Modes
  • Virtual and Real IP Gateway
  • Layer 2 and Layer 3
  • In-band and Out of Band
  • Client & Temporal Agent

Segment 3: Topology and Design Considerations
  • VPN
  • Wireless
  • Remote Sites
  • Campus

Segment 4: Device Profiling
  • NAC Profiler
  • Collector
  • Design Choices/Trade-offs