New Workspace Experience: Borderless Network Access

White Paper
Borderless Network Access
The workspace is changing. It is no longer about working just in our offices or even confined to the country in which we work. ®Borderless Networks, a Cisco next-generation architecture for agile delivery of services and applications, delivers a new workspace experience, connecting anyone, anywhere, using any device, to any resource: securely, reliably, and seamlessly. The Cisco Borderless Networks architecture addresses primary IT and business challenges to help create a truly borderless experience by bringing interactions closer to the employee and customer.
Borderless experience is only possible with intelligent network elements designed to meet the needs of a global workspace with an increasingly mobile workforce. Cisco Borderless Access solutions are a primary component of this architecture, enabling various services such as mobility, security, medianet, and Cisco EnergyWise that simplify operations, increase productivity, and improve operational efficiency. When network access is intelligent and relevant, it knows the identity of the user, as well as where the user is on the network. It knows what is connecting to the network to automatically provision the network for optimal quality of service (QoS) and delivery. It becomes services-aware to optimize user experience. Only with an intelligent access network can your enterprise go borderless securely and smoothly. Your business can save energy, simplify operations with better business efficiency, and enjoy an optimized total cost of ownership.
Cisco network access solutions for the borderless enterprise focus on the following primary areas (Figure 1): ®? Sustainability: Cisco Catalyst switching solutions enable greener practices through measurable power efficiency, integrated services, and continuous innovations such as Cisco EnergyWise, an enterprisewide solution that reduces energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions footprint. EnergyWise monitors the power of all Cisco network-connected devices, from Power over Ethernet (PoE) devices to IP-enabled building controllers, generating aggregated power consumption reporting to optimize overall power usage based on user policies. ? Ease of operations: Catalyst Smart Operations are a comprehensive set of capabilities that simplify LAN deployment, configuration, and troubleshooting. In addition to adaptive, always-on technologies such as ®Cisco StackWise and FlexStack, Smart Operations enable zero-touch installation and replacement of switches, fast upgrade, as well as ease of troubleshooting with reduced operational cost. Cisco Catalyst switches automatically apply the right configuration based on the device connecting to the network (wireless access point, IP phone, video camera, and so on), thus simplifying the network setup and enabling mobility. When Cisco best practices templates are applied, configuration errors are minimized, and network is made operational with minimal setup. ? Borderless security: Cisco TrustSec is a foundational component of the Cisco Borderless Security Architecture, which helps securely deliver identity-based business services and applications. TrustSec capabilities include policy-based access control, identity and role-aware networking, data integrity, and confidentiality. In addition, Cisco Catalyst switches offer Cisco Integrated Security Features, an industry-leading solution that provides superior Layer 2 threat defense capabilities for mitigating man-in-the-middle attacks (such as MAC, IP, and Address Resolution Protocol [ARP] spoofing). Delivering powerful, easy-to-use tools to effectively prevent the most common and potentially damaging Layer 2 security threats, Cisco Integrated Security Features provide robust security throughout the network. Furthermore the deployment of end-to-end wired and wireless intrusion prevention system (IPS) solutions also helps to defend against network exploits. © 2010 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 1 of 1 White Paper
? Borderless experience: To enable a borderless experience for end users, it is critical to provide them with ubiquitous connectivity that is secure and reliable, thereby resulting in improved productivity. Although Ethernet-based LAN access has been the primary technology in the enterprise, there has been a significant increase in the adoption of wireless LAN to support the increasingly m... [download for more]