Patent ID: 8832811

Claim:
A method comprising: in response to a request received at an authentication server comprising a processor from a client entering a network, transmitting by the authentication server a network access control (NAC) request to the client using a NAC protocol, wherein the NAC request is compatible with a first extensible authentication protocol (EAP) method, the NAC request comprising an identifier (ID) identifying a trusted platform (TP) credential that represents integrity of at least a portion of software and hardware configurations of the client, wherein the client represents a host operating system (OS) hosting a guest OS representing a virtual machine comprising a virtual trusted platform module (VTPM), the VTPM spawned from a base trusted platform module, and wherein a network connection is provided to the guest OS virtually via a software bridge implemented in a kernel of the host OS; receiving, at the authentication server, a NAC response from the client, the NAC response comprising a first TP credential embedded therein and a different EAP method; in response to the NAC response, the processor of the authentication server comparing the first TP credential with a second TP credential stored in a storage associated with the authentication server; allowing, by the authentication server, the client to enter the network when the first and second TP credentials are matched using the different EAP method; and denying, by the authentication server, the request of the client to enter the network when the first TP credential does not match the second TP credential using the different EAP method.