Mirage Networks Launches Industry's First Full-Cycle NAC-in-the-Box Solution; Best-of-Breed Solution Combines Full-Cycle Security Policy Enforcement and Behavioral Threat Detection with IT- and User-Friendly Design.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Infrastructure Independency, Endpoint Quarantine and Flexible Integration Maximize Channel Opportunities

Mirage Networks(R), developers of Full-Cycle Network Access Control(TM), today announced the next generation of its award-winning solution in Mirage NAC(TM) version 3, which delivers: risk assessment for devices entering the network; threat mitigation and policy enforcement post-entry; and infrastructure-independent quarantining for diagnosis and remediation of problems. Without requiring costly network upgrades, complex agents or switch integration, Mirage NAC offers the industry's first NAC-in-the-Box(TM) approach to controlling network access.

This policy-centric solution discovers key characteristics about any device requesting access to network resources -- managed or unmanaged device, wireless or wired access, OS, services running, threat history, time entering network and duration of time on network, VLAN entered -- every time a device enters the network and continually while on the network. This easily enables IT to triage at-risk devices by defining critical risk characteristics according to security policy and user type, to take user-appropriate action including: sending the device to specific quarantine areas for deeper checks and remediation; limiting the device's network access to certain traffic types, speeds, or network areas; or revoking the device's network access altogether.

A Flexible, Real-World Solution

The rise of NAC to the top of many IT departments' must-have technology lists has been spurred by the unique benefits it offers. An excellent complement to perimeter security, NAC helps organizations secure the soft underbelly of the network -- the interior, where out-of-policy and otherwise at-risk devices may attach directly to the network without a check-in at the perimeter.

"NAC is the holy grail of network security, and the market for appliances that enforce NAC will grow exponentially -- 3,206% between now and 2008," said Jeff Wilson, principal analyst, VPNs and Security, Infonetics Research. "Companies are buying into the NAC concept because it enables them to stop threats that bypass perimeter security solutions and target vulnerable devices, while aligning network resources to users according to policy."

Focused on customer and partner benefits, Mirage NAC was designed to be:

--self-contained yet effective against threats and policy violations

--easily integratable with other security technologies

--network infrastructure- and OS-independent

--effective for any IP-enabled device, managed or unmanaged

--scalable for both voice and data networks

"The Mirage NAC design simply works, and neither my users nor my IT staff have to suffer," said Chris Hanson, IT project manager, Kern School Federal Credit Union. "We've examined other solutions, but their effectiveness is based on requirements that are simply unrealistic. Our network infrastructure is heterogeneous, we have to support multiple OSs, and unmanaged devices must have access to network resources -- and none of these factors present a problem to Mirage's solution. Its self-contained and infrastructure-independent design is an effective answer for my real-world network."

Tapping Unmet Market Need

Mirage Networks cites unmet market need as a driving force behind the development of this solution. Building upon its award-winning product line, the company was uniquely positioned to bring to market the first self-contained NAC solution that works irrespective of network infrastructure, OS or device type.

The company points to three key innovations that set its offerings apart from its competitions':

--easily customizable and infrastructure-independent quarantine and remediation capabilities to eliminate cross-infection while enabling user-appropriate mitigation

--the ability to detect and mitigate threats and policy violations on any IP device type -- wired and wireless, managed and unmanaged, from the desktop to IP Telephony and beyond

--the Mirage API, which eases integration with other security products, enabling channel partners to offer complementary product bundling and users to leverage their investments in current security technology

"Our customers want to implement NAC, but onerous and costly requirements of most solutions have forced them to put off a NAC implementation. They rely on us to offer cost-effective technology that delivers results and is realistically implementable given their budgets, bandwidth and infrastructures -- a cookie cutter, push-down approach is not going to work for them," said Dave Ciminelli, VP of Sales, RJ Networking. "That's why the Mirage solution's flexibility makes it an ideal complement to our other security offerings. Not only does Mirage NAC help us solve their network security problems, it shows its value right out of the box, which helps enhance customer satisfaction."

Product Suite for Full Enterprise Support

Mirage NAC Appliance Options:

--Mirage N-245 HA: for networks of up to 32 VLANs/2,500 endpoints, with redundant disks, power, fans, and failover NICs

--Mirage N-245: for networks of up to 32 VLANs/2,500 endpoints

--Mirage N-145: for networks of up to 12 VLANs/1,000 endpoints

--Mirage N-125: for networks of up to 4 VLANs/100 endpoints

Mirage Management Options:

--Mirage M-2060: centralized monitoring and management for up to 50 Mirage NAC appliances

--Mirage M-2050: centralized monitoring and management for up to 20 Mirage NAC appliances

--Mirage M-SW: software-only option for monitoring and management of up to 5 Mirage NAC appliances

Mirage NAC Options:

--Mirage NAC Core Software: enables dynamic IP mapping, detection of threats and policy violations, and quarantining and static threat mitigation

--Mirage Full-Cycle Module: enables pre- and post-admission vulnerability scans and checks for managed and unmanaged devices, and enhanced and customizable mitigation options

Availability

The Mirage NAC version 3 solution suite becomes generally available early in the second quarter of 2006, through Mirage Networks ChannelFirst partners and managed security service partners, and a comprehensive upgrade strategy is in place for Mirage NAC 2.x users. Contact Mirage Networks at [e-mail] to be connected with a partner in your area.

About Mirage Networks

Mirage Networks is an Austin, Texas-based network security company dedicated to delivering real world, complete network access control solutions, serving the enterprise through a strong channel of resellers, original equipment manufacturers and managed security service providers. Mirage solutions ensure a user-friendly and IT-friendly experience that never forces a compromise between business objectives, effectiveness and usability. The company's passion for innovation has paved the way for the development of patent-pending behavioral technology that consistently wins industry awards. Learn more about the industry's only self-contained network access control solution at www.miragenetworks.com.