Managing Access Nodes
An Access Node is essentially an IP address or a range of IP addresses from which the Defender Security Server accepts authentication requests. If an Access Node is misconfigured, authentication requests may not reach the Defender Security Server and the user cannot get access to the resources protected by Defender.
After creating an Access Node, you need to assign it to a Defender Security Server, specify its members (users or groups you want to authenticate through the node), and select a Defender Security Policy for the node.
Creating an Access Node
To create an Access Node
- On the computer where the Defender Administration Console is installed, open the Active Directory Users and Computers tool (dsa.msc).
- In the left pane (console tree), expand the appropriate domain node, and then expand the Defender container.
- Right-click the Access Nodes container, point to New, and then click Defender Access Node.
- Complete the wizard that starts to create a new Access Node.
For more information about the wizard steps and options, see New Object - Defender Access Node Wizard reference.
New Object - Defender Access Node Wizard reference
Table 10:
New Object - Defender Access Node Wizard reference
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Enter a name and description for this Access Node |
Provides the following text boxes:
- Name Type a name for the Access Node being created.
- Description Type a description for the Access Node being created.
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Select the node type and user ID type for this Access Node |
Provides the following options:
- Node Type Use this list to select a type for the Access Node being created. The following node types are available:
Radius Agent Allows a NAS device to connect to Defender using the RADIUS protocol. RADIUS is transmitted over UDP and uses port 1812 by default. This is the default setting and is supported by most access devices.
Radius Proxy Allows RADIUS requests received from a RADIUS Agent access node to be forwarded to another RADIUS Server.
Radius Proxy (to non-negotiating server) Allows Defender to issue the response request on behalf of the RADIUS Server. This node type is typically used when migrating from RSA to Defender. In some cases, the user ID included in the request sent from the Access Node and proxied by the Defender Security Server to the RADIUS Server cannot be processed by the RADIUS Server, unless accompanied by a password.
Defender Agent Allows Defender agents to connect and process authentication requests. Typically, this node type is required for use with legacy Cisco ACS devices. Defender agents use a proprietary protocol to transmit data and use TCP (default port number 2626), instead of the UDP of RADIUS.
NetScreen Agent Select this node type if your Access Node is a NetScreen VPN.
NC-PASS Radius Agent Select this node type if you are using the NC-Pass two-factor authentication software.
Nortel VPN Agent Select this node type if you plan to authenticate using an SNK token in synchronous mode.
- User ID Use this list to select the required user ID type. This is the user ID that will be used to locate the user in Active Directory. The available options are SAM Account Name, Defender ID, User Principal Name, Proper Name, and E-mail Address.
If you select E-mail Address, the e-mail address specified on the General tab of the user Properties dialog box is used. |
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Enter the connection details for this Access Node |
- IP Address or DNS Name Type the IP address or Network ID (IP address or DNS name) from which the Defender Security Server will accept authentication requests.
If you specify a single IP address, you must use the 255.255.255.255 subnet mask.
If you specify a network ID (for example, 192.168.10.0) and subnet mask 255.255.255.0, this causes the corresponding Defender Security Server to accept authentication requests from all hosts on the specified subnet (192.168.10.0).
- Port Type the port number of the Defender Security Server.
- Subnet Mask Type the subnet mask you want to use for the Access Node.
- Shared Secret Type the shared secret you want to use. The shared secret configured on the access device must match the shared secret specified for the Access Node. The shared secret can be up to 63 alphanumeric characters. (For a Defender Agent Access Node, the shared secret can be 16 hex or 24 octal digits).
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Modifying Access Node properties
To modify Access Node properties
- On the computer where the Defender Administration Console is installed, open the Active Directory Users and Computers tool (dsa.msc).
- In the left pane (console tree), expand the appropriate domain node, and then expand the Defender container.
- Click to select the Access Nodes container.
- In the right pane, double-click the Access Node whose properties you want to modify.
- Use the dialog box that opens to modify the Access Node properties as necessary.
The dialog box has the following tabs:
- General tab Allows you to view or edit the Access Node configuration.
- Servers tab Allows you to view or edit a list of the Defender Security Servers to which the Access Node is assigned.
- Members tab Allows you to specify users or groups whose members can authenticate via the Access Node.
- Policy tab Allows you to assign a Defender Security Policy to the Access Node.
- RADIUS Payload tab Allows you to configure the RADIUS payload for the Access Node.
- When you are finished, click OK to apply your changes.
