EXHIBIT D

Case 2:23-cv-00397-JRG-RSP Document 78-4 Filed 11/06/24 Page 1 of 5 PageID #: 3165
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What Is Network Policy? 

Network policy is a collection of rules that govern the behaviors of 

network devices. Just as a federal or central government may lay down 

policies for state or districts to follow to achieve national objectives, 

network administrators define policies for network devices to follow to 

achieve business objectives. 

Watch video (3:01) Explore policy solution 

Benefits FAQs Deploy Network Policy Resources Contact Cisco 

Benefits of network policy 

A network that runs on policies can be automated more easily and therefore respond more quickly to changing needs. Many common tasks, such as 

adding devices and users and inserting new applications and services, can now be easily accomplished. Well-defined policies can benefit a network 

in the following ways: 

Align the network with business needs 

Provide consistent services across the entire infrastructure 

Bring agility through greater automation 

Make performance dependable and verifiable 

An even bigger advantage to enterprises is the security gains from policy. By granularly defining policies that give users and devices the least amount 

of access to resources that they need to do their jobs, you can better protect sensitive data. Violations can be caught and mitigated quickly. Such 

zero-trust security measures reduce risk, contain threats, stop lateral movement of malware, and help verify regulatory compliance. 

Why is it important for a network to follow policies? 

A network that follows well-defined policies capably fills business needs that it is designed to support. Think of network policies as objectives or 

goals. Without clear objectives, your network can't be set up to deliver optimally, and without goals, its performance can't be measured. 

Business intent and Network policies reflect business intent. Network controllers ingest business intent and create policies that help 

achieve the desired business outcomes. Policies are enforced and carried out by network equipment such as 

agility switches, routers, wireless access points, and wireless LAN controllers. Networks operated in an ad hoc 

fashion, without guiding policies, will likely fail to deliver optimally. 

Consistency of Well-executed policies in the network provide consistency of service throughout it, regardless of locations, 

means of connectivity, or devices in use. This means users and things can use the network from anywhere and 

experience still have the same access privileges and quality of network experience. 

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Network automation Network devices and their operations can be better automated when guidance exists. With policies, 

configurations can be automated and orchestrated so that each device does what's required to achieve the 

larger objectives. 

Performance Once well-understood goals are defined, metrics can be established to measure how the network is delivering. 

Continuous analysis of performance helps ensure that policies are being followed and business objectives are 

monitoring being met. 

Network security With policies in place, any violations can be easier to detect. Security is more easily enforced, threats more 

quickly contained, and risk rapidly reduced with security-related policies. 

What do policies govern? 

Policies don't exist in a vacuum. All network devices, users, and applications should be governed by those policies. 

Users - Effective policies need to recognize all types of users. Clearly, an admin user should have different rights and be able to do a wider array of 

tasks on the network than a guest user. Likewise, a financial user needs access to business-critical financial data, while a security guard does not. 

User and IoT devices - Access privileges provided to devices form key policies, especially as IoT expands. A policy could enable people to perform 

more tasks and access more types of information than a connected temperature sensor or printer. In fact, policies should expressly prohibit a 

moisture sensor from accessing a financial database. 

Applications - Not all applications are equal, and policies should reflect that. Bandwidth is always limited, so polices should prioritize traffic from 

business-critical applications over traffic from social media, for example. 

Data Type - Similarly, not all data types are of equal importance. Critical financial data demands a more restrictive policy. Video traffic may demand 

a specific quality-of-service (QoS) policy to help optimize performance levels. 

Location - Location can be an important policy attribute. As telecommuting becomes more widespread, users' locations may affect their security 

profiles and what applications and data they can access. For example, a user may access a human resources data base from the privacy of their 

home office, but not while working from a public coffee shop. 

What are different kinds of network policies? 

Since network policies specify how the network must function in different circumstances, there is no set list of policies. A network's policies depend 

on what's necessary to achieve business objectives. Some of the more common policies that all businesses need to consider are: 

Access and security These govern whether a given user or thing will become part of the network and what resources the person or 

device can access. Access and security policies might be the most important types of policies, since the 

security of data and applications depends on them. 

Application and QoS These define the relative importance of various applications and how the traffic for each should be prioritized. 

Traffic routing and These govern how traffic from certain types of users should be routed, such as guest traffic through a firewall. 

service insertion 

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IP-based versus Policies can be defined on an IP-address level or by role. Role-based policies are dynamic, offer more 

flexibility, are easier to automate, and support user and device mobility. IP-based policies are static, do not 

group- or role-based scale, and are best suited for an environment that doesn't change much. 

Why has it been difficult to enforce network policies? 

Despite the acknowledged importance of setting and adhering to policies, most corporate networks do not have effective policy strategies in place. 

The reasons most often cited are: 

Ad hoc growth Many enterprise networks simply evolve over the years. New divisions and their needs are addressed in a oneoff manner. Each merger or acquisition bridges two disparate networks without an effective plan. Several types 

of network devices with varying capabilities may also contribute to disorder. 

Difficulty of specifying Even if the network was well designed originally, operating policies may not have been adjusted as business 

needs changed over the years. In these cases, there's often no good way to update or specify new policies 

or updating policies without redesigning the entire network. 

Traditional manual IP- When network administrators must adapt their networks to new business needs, they may be constrained by 

the need to manually reconfigure network devices. This lack of agility and the scaling difficulties mean network 

based processes that cannot live up to expectations. 

don't scale and aren't 

agile 

What does it take to implement effective policies? 

Of course, you can't implement policies without knowing what policies to implement. This is particularly true for larger networks that have evolved over 

time and whose administrators may not have a complete grasp of business needs and how the network is responding to them. Here are the steps for 

implementing policies that work: 

Identify - Figure out who and what is on the network. Users may have brought their own devices, and departments may have plugged in IoT 

devices without administrator knowledge. Without an inventory of devices, and their security postures (locations, operating systems, latest 

software patches and updates, etc.), it's difficult to set policies that govern their uses and places in the network. 

Visualize - Understand how users and devices communicate. If you're starting from scratch, you can preplan, but you don't always have that 

luxury. 

Define - Once you have a solid idea of how your network is being used, you can start to define policies that will permit, deny, or modify those 

flows. 

Model - After visualizing and defining your policies but before putting them in place, do a "dry run" to determine what effects the policies will have 

on users, traffic, and performance. 

Activate - Here, you activate network devices to enforce policies as per the functions they perform. 

Extend - Sometimes, activating policies in just one network isn't enough. In this age of connectedness, consistent policies must permeate all 

networks within the enterprise – campus, branch, WAN, and data center, as well as the ecosystem, such as ITSM. Extending policies would make 

all networks collaborate to fulfill business intent. 

Assure - It's not enough to define, model, and activate policies. You need to help ensure that they're being followed and getting the job done. 

Here, you analyze the network and evaluate whether it is enforcing the policies and identify any fine-tuning you may need to do. 

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How can policies be defined and enforced in a modern network? 

All the tasks listed above for discovering, defining, authoring, and activating policies are certainly not easy to perform. Network controllers that follow 

the industry's intent-based networking (IBN) framework are best suited for those jobs. They take business intent as input, translate it into policies, and 

make sure the policies are being applied appropriately and delivering the desired results. 

Deploy network policy 

Cisco Catalyst Center Identity Services Engine (ISE) Cisco networking software 

Manage SD-Access with a central dashboard Simplify delivery of identity-based policy for Easily buy, manage, and upgrade your network 

across the entire network. users and devices. and infrastructure software. 

Resources 

Intent-Based Networking​​ Related networking topics 

Network Control for the Digital Age Managed Switches Versus Unmanaged Switches 

Creating More Agile and Upgradeable Networks with a Controller-Based What Is Network Provisioning? 

Architecture 

What Is Network Monitoring? 

Policy-based networking 

What Is a User Authentication Policy? 

What Is Network Security Policy Management? Policy products and solutions 

What Is Software-Defined Access? Cisco Networking 

What Is Network Security? Cisco Software-Defined Access 

What Is a Network Controller? Cisco Identity Services Engine 

What Is Network Segmentation? 

Intent-based network controllers What Is a Network Fabric? 

Cisco Catalyst Center 

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Manager 

Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller (APIC) 

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