Solsoft says you do it with Net Partitioner, its Java-based policy engine that lets you define and apply data and application access lists strategically, as business processes and organizations demand, rather than at the application or network device level. Its internal access controls would be difficult or even impossible to implement using standard firewall and router technologies. The product works with Windows, AIX, Linux, Solaris and HP-UX operating systems and supports most commonly used routers and network filtering devices. Many other tools in this genre require administrators to painstakingly identify every user, resource and filtering device on the network before creating a policy. Net Partitioner builds its access control list by taking IP address-filtering data from the routers and using it to give a graphical picture of users, groups, applications and other network resources.
Administrators collect groups, assign resource privilege levels and create access points visually.
In the background, Net Partitioner assigns IP addressing and manages the inevitable moves, additions and changes with a network policy engine that can speak to filtering devices in their own language. Net Partitioner provides its own script-programming language to access the policy engine and provides scripts for automatically bringing new devices into the policy schema. It also maintains audit trails that can print graphical reports of both network policy configurations and their effects. But until policy-based security management becomes second nature to enterprise operating systems, farsighted information technology organizations will keep tools like Solsoft Net Partitioner handy. Computerworld Inc. All rights reserved.