Here’s something that a Hewlett-Packard network can do that no other type of network can do: automatically react to a problem. This problem can be a PC with a worm or virus, a PC whose user is deliberately or unwittingly attacking your network, or a PC with a hardware problem that manifests itself as a dramatic traffic increase.

To get this benefit you only need to use HP switches, have ProCurve Manager Plus, and add a relatively inexpensive license of additional security software to your ProCurve Manager Plus server.

The network can react by just identifying to you exactly where the problem is, by automatically turning off the port that the PC at issue is connected to (for a specified time interval), by throttling down the port’s throughput, or by reading the PC’s MAC address and banishing it from the network. This last procedure assures that the PC can’t attach to any other port in the network.

People generally protect against infected PC’s by installing a NAC system like Bradford, Clean Access, Impulse Point, or StillSecure. These entail a LOT of management work because they have to maintain security agents on all of the PC’s and work through operating system and hardware changes and incompatibilities. This alternative doesn’t focus on preventing PC problems and infections; it automatically—and very quickly—identifies a problem PC and excludes it from the network and tells you where and what it is, so you can make a manual correction. If you only have infrequent issues with viruses, worms and hackers this is a much better system to employ because it provides equivalent protection at a fraction of the cost and management workload.

Implementation time? A few hours. If you have Hewlett-Packard ProCurve switches this is something that you really need to implement. A huge payoff for a small investment. Don’t have HP switches? Here’s a reason to acquire them. No one else offers this type of system.