Chapter 13. The Role of Standards

In This Chapter

• Knowing why standards matter in NAC

• Looking into industry standards for NAC solutions

In technology, the term standard has a single meaning: A technology standard is an agreed-upon set of guidelines, requirements, or specifications that may be adopted or approved universally or by a large group of like-minded parties.

Technology standards are typically designed to work with other technologies. Some standards even integrate other industry standards:

• Open standards: A set of interoperable guidelines made available and easily accessible to the public without any obstructions or restrictions (which includes any restrictive licensing or use fees), which anyone may use by accessing, adopting, and implementing the standard.

  NOTE

  When we talk about technology standards, we're usually talking about concepts that encompass and capture the ideas of the concurring many, which are transcribed in granular detail and specified. These specifications serve as rules, and can strictly or leniently adhere to or enforce these rules in the implementation or adoption of usable technology, to which must apply the concepts and constraints of compatibility, interoperability, and agreement. Many times, open standards in technology are created to address a particular issue or set of issues, or to solve a specific problem.

• Proprietary standard: A guideline or requirement that's owned privately (by a company or organization).

  Although an independent group or standards body may not have approved or certified a proprietary standard, or the standard may not be publicly accessible without restriction (for example, users may have to pay a license fee, use fee, or other monetary or non-monetary cost), an industry widely accepts or follows that standard.