Xylan switches gain policy features

CALABASAS, CALIF. - Xylan last week announced it has embedded policy software - including a policy server, an authentication service, IP address management software and directory services - into its switches.

The move is the latest in a series of policy-related product announcements from key network players, also including Extreme Networks, IBM and Lucent. Policy-based networking is the ability to grant users varying levels of access to network resources, such as servers and network bandwidth.

"Making network devices more intelligent is the way to go," says Mike McConnell, a director at Infonetics Research in San Jose. Unfortunately, most vendors, including Xylan, are implementing policy-based networking for their own devices, rather than creating policies that interoperate.

Network administrators can now use a policy server from Xylan to give traffic associated with certain applications or servers various levels of priority and bandwidth through Xylan switches.

The company's new authentication service requires users to log on to the network. The software accesses security databases using either Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service or Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) to verify that the users are allowed access to resources.

For directory services, Xylan switches use an LDAP client to access a directory server. This way, the switches know what policies to assign to users listed in the directory.

For IP address management, Xylan uses the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol and Domain Name Service software from Lucent's Quadritek division. As users log on to the net, the IP Control software assigns them temporary IP addresses. This allows more flexibility for moving users around the network.

Xylan is also shipping a Java-based management application, called QoS PolicyView, which helps network managers build policies and set them on Xylan switches.

The policy server and the authentication service have the same price: $2,000 for Xylan's chassis-based switches, and $1,000 for its stackable switches. QoS PolicyView costs roughly $20,000.The LDAP client is free with Xylan switches. IP Control costs about $500.

Xylan: (818) 880-3500