Architectures have
been implemented in the industry to assess the software or hardware
configuration of endpoint devices for the purposes of monitoring or
enforcing compliance of endpoints to an organization's policy for access to
the network. These architectures are not fully interoperable since some of
the protocols used to implement the architecture are not
standards.
The first purpose of
the proposed working group is to define requirements for the protocols needed to
ensure interoperability in an NEA system. The second purpose of the working
group is to ensure standardization of protocols that meet these
requirements. In some cases, these
protocols may best be standardized in another working group. Therefore, the
proposed working group will work with the area directors to determine the best
way to complete this standardization effort (in the proposed working group or in
another one).
The scope of
the initial charter is on the following protocols that support architectures for
network endpoint assessment (as
described in
draft-thomson-nea-problem-statement-00.txt):
1. IF-PB (posture
broker protocol)
2. IF-PT (EAP
method suitable for carrying posture
information as well as supporting
authentication)
3. IF-PT (EAP over
IP transport protocol)
4. IF-NAE (Radius
attributes for network access enforcement)
Other interfaces
that may be included in the charter at a later date
include:
--- IF-PA
(posture attribute protocol)
--- IF-SB (Protocol between server broker and posture
server. Name of interface TBD in problem-statement
I-D. )
Note that the
initial scope of the WG targets architectures that use the EAP/Radius framework
for IF-PT (posture transport interface) and IF-NAE (network access enforcement
interface). This does not preclude the
standardization of other posture transport protocols or network authorization protocols in
the future, but this is not part of the initial
charter.
Work will be carried
out in two phases. In the first phase, the
WG will define requirements for each of the protocols identified in 1) - 4) above. When
the requirements have been defined, this WG
will work with the responsible ADs to identify the appropriate
WG for meeting these
requirements.
Milestones:
June 2006:
* Submit
requirements I-D to IETF including
--- requirements for IF-PT (EAP method layer)
--- requirements for IF-NAE
September
2006:
* Submit revised
requirements I-D to IETF that includes above plus:
--- requirements
for IF -PT (EAP over IP
transport layer e.g. EAP over
UDP, EAP over TLS)
--- requirements
for IF-PB
December 2006:
* Review ongoing
work in IETF (e.g. EMU WG, Radext WG, PANA WG, NEA WG) and work with ADs to
identify the WG responsible for accommodating protocol requirements that are not
currently being met.
Feb
2007:
* Submit
requirements I-D to IESG for publication as Info RFC
* Revise WG charter
to accommodate definition of protocols not covered in other WGs e.g. IF-PB
* Submit I-D
on protocols to be defined in this WG e.g. IF-PB
specification
