Which Way to IF-MAP?
Nope, it won't get you to your vacation destination and you can't find it on Mapquest. But it is generating a lot of excitement in the networking and security communities. What is it, you ask?
Simple: IF-MAP! Short for Interface Metadata Access Protocol, this little standard out of TCG's Trusted Network Connect work group has excited lots of companies and users. It defines a STANDARD way for devices on the network to share information about events happening on the network. Like all TCG specifications, the TNC IF-MAP Binding for SOAP Specification is free.
What can be done with IF-MAP? At its heart, it's like Facebook for IP-based devices and systems. An IF-MAP server processes and distributes data updates from connected IF-MAP clients, which could be anything including intrusion detection systems, firewalls, security event management systems, DHCP servers and the like.
In fact, one guy has integrated ISC DHCP with the IF-MAP server omapd (open source version for IF MAP server). Read more about this including code examples and instructions on his blog post.
Who else is supporting IF-MAP? Here is a list of commercial products:
Infoblox's DHCP Server and Orchestration Server
Juniper's UAC and SSL-VPN products
For more information on IF-MAP, please reference the following white papers:
"IF-MAP and the Orchestration Era," Infoblox
"New Standard Lays the Foundation for Coordinated, Multi-Vendor Security," Juniper Networks
Categories: Network Security, News & Events