Features

FreeNAC contains a host of features to help system administratos to ease the management and deployment of VLANs while providing Network Access Control.

The key features are

  • Dynamic VLAN assignment
  • LAN access control
  • Flexibility of LAN authentication mechanisms: 802.1x, VMPS/Mac, Cisco Mac-Auth-Bypass
  • Highly automated
  • Redundancy and load sharing for high availability
  • Live inventory of end-devices on the network
  • Switch port programming
  • Documentation of LAN cabling
  • Flexible reporting

The Community edition is free to download, the Enterprise edition provides additional features, as detailed below.

Feature comparison Community Enterprise
MAC address based authentication (VMPS mac-auth-bypass). Yes Yes
802.1x authentication. Yes Yes
Windows user interface. Yes Yes
Web based user interface. Yes Yes
Active directory integration. Yes Yes
Intelligent hub integration. Yes Yes
Scanning of open port and identification of the Operating System on End Devices. Yes Yes
Patch cabling documentation. Yes Yes
Automated inventory of hostnames Yes Yes
Enable an expiry date to be set for each MAC address (to allow Visitors access for one day only for example). Yes Yes
Support for handling virtual machines Yes Yes
Assignment of VLANs by switch location Yes Yes
Scripts to assist in the initial import of systems from a CSV file. Yes Yes
Alerting of key system events Yes Yes
Automatic detection of end-devices /ports not actively managed by FreeNAC, to ensure a complete inventory of End-Devices on the network. Yes Yes
McAfee Epo Anti-Virus server integration. Yes Yes
Microsoft SMS (Software package/system management) server integration.   Yes
Emergency "stop" tool which can disable NAC and quickly configure static vlans on switch ports (for disaster recovery in extreme situations). Yes Yes
Custom modules for client specific environments (e.g. interfaces to "static" corporate inventory systems).   Yes
Priority Support from the FreeNAC core team.   Yes
Long term patches & support   Yes

Policy decision methods:

  • End-device is known, killed, expired.
  • End-device can be queried from external datasources.
  • Vlan is assigned per end-device, a port default, or a global default.
  • Health warning methods: specific ports are open on the end device. Windows patches or (EPO) Anti-Virus is old.

If you are using FreeNAC in a production environment, or require priority support, custom modules, or you wish to financially support the core development team; the enterprise edition is recommended.

Please contact us.