Cisco Cisco Secure Access Control System 5.2 Data Sheet
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Data Sheet
Cisco Secure Access Control System 5.6
Product Overview
Cisco
®
Secure Access Control System (ACS) ties together an enterprise’s network access policy and identity
strategy. Cisco Secure ACS is the world’s most trusted policy-based enterprise access and network device
administration control platform, deployed by about 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies.
Cisco Secure ACS, a core component of the Cisco TrustSec
®
solution, is a highly sophisticated policy platform
providing RADIUS and TACACS+ services. It supports the increasingly complex policies needed to meet today's
demands for access control management and compliance. Cisco Secure ACS provides central management of
access policies for device administration and for wireless, wired IEEE 802.1x, and remote (VPN) network access
scenarios. Figure 1 shows the Cisco Secure Network Server (SNS) 3415 appliance, based on the Cisco UCS
®
C220 M3 Rack Server platform.
Cisco Secure ACS 5.6 software can run on the Cisco SNS 3415 and 3495 appliances as well as on existing
Cisco 1121 for Cisco Secure ACS Engine appliances, which have reached their end-of-sale dates.
Figure 1. Cisco Secure Network Server 3415 Appliance for Cisco Secure Access Control System 5.6 Software
With the ever-increasing reliance on enterprise networks to perform daily job routines and the increasing number of
methods available to access today’s networks, security breaches and uncontrolled user access are primary
methods available to access today’s networks, security breaches and uncontrolled user access are primary
concerns for enterprises. Network security officers and administrators need solutions that support flexible
authentication and authorization policies that are tied not only to a user’s identity but also to context such as the
authentication and authorization policies that are tied not only to a user’s identity but also to context such as the
network access type, time of day the access is requested, and the security of the machine used to access the
network. Further, there is a stronger need to effectively audit the use of network devices, monitor the activities of
device administrators for corporate compliance, and provide broader visibility and control over device access
policies across the network.
Cisco Secure ACS is a highly scalable, high-performance access policy system that centralizes device
administration, authentication, and user access policy while reducing the management and support burden for
these functions.