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-PTa (EAP method suitable for carrying posture information as well as supporting
authentication)
3. IF-PTb (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-PTa
(EAP method layer)
--- requirements for IF-NAE
September
2006:
* Submit revised
requirements I-D to IETF that includes above plus:
--- requirements
for IF -PTb (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
