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Cisco DNA Center gets access to more IoT devices
Cisco DNA Center can now access an additional 620 IoT device profiles. Cisco also introduced this week a couple of Catalyst 9500 switches, including one with 100 GbE ports.
Cisco has added more than 600 profiles to the list of internet-of-things devices network operators can access through DNA Center, the vendor's central orchestration tool for campus and branch networks.
Also, Cisco introduced this week two Catalyst 9500 fixed-core campus switches. One is a 1 RU 25/40/100 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) device, and the other is a dual-rate 10/25 Gb optical switch.
The 620 new internet-of-things (IoT) device profiles are for gear found in manufacturing, medical institutions and building systems. Cisco has added the device information to the latest upgrade of its Identity Services Engine (ISE), which Cisco DNA Center uses as a policy enforcer. DNA stands for Digital Network Architecture.
A network operator uses Cisco DNA Center to create policies that dictate which network resources a specific group of people can access. DNA Center feeds the instructions to ISE, which restricts groups to their assigned resources.
The additional profiles in ISE 2.4 indicate Cisco is setting the stage for intent-based networking (IBN) in IoT, said Bob Laliberte, an analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group, based in Milford, Mass. The ISE enhancement ensures Cisco can provide "greater visibility over a wider range of IoT devices out of the box and can enforce security policies, as well."
Cisco DNA Center is a critical component of the vendor's IBN strategy. The company focuses on delivering IBN through software that configures hardware based on policies that describe what operators want the network to do.
Cisco targets IoT growth in the enterprise
Cisco is targeting IoT as a growth market that can help counter slowing sales in its traditional business of selling networking gear for data centers. This year, worldwide spending on IoT will reach $772.5 billion, an increase of 14.6% over 2017, according to IDC.
In other Cisco news, the company plans to extend Cisco DNA Center's features for device configuration and management to switches it sells to distribution centers, warehouses, manufacturing plants and outdoor environments, such as roadways and oil rigs. Cisco plans to make the features available this quarter.
Also, by July, Cisco plans to release the latest 9500 Catalyst switches. The 25 Gb optical model and the 100 GbE device will start at $21,600 and $29,900, respectively.
Meanwhile, at RSA Conference 2018 in San Francisco, Cisco introduced new features in its cloud-managed Advanced Malware Protection service for endpoint security. The enhancements include the detection and neutralization of malware that can execute code solely from a device's memory.
Called a fileless attack, the malicious code leaves little or no trace on a device's hard disk. Victims typically install the malware by clicking on a malicious website link or an email attachment disguised to look legitimate.
