Napera is seeking a simple way to deploy Microsoft's flavor of NAC to small businesses.

One user of the gear says it gives him the ability to restrict users’ access on a port-by-port basis without having to go to the expense and complexity of introducing virtual LANs.

Design Clinicals, a medical software company in Seattle, Wash., mainly wanted to be able to grant contractors the ability to reach the printer and Internet without exposing the rest of the network, says Bakha Nurzhanov, the company’s CTO.

But at the same time the company wanted to protect the network in a way that is compatible with medical regulations, he says, and deployed Napera's N24 appliance, which includes a 24-port switch. Via Napera’s online service, he says he can generate reports that help provide proof of what steps the company takes to meet those regulations.

An added function he has found for the device is checking whether company-managed machines are properly updated with antivirus software and personal firewalls. The dashboard for the N24 lets him see that information at a glance, Nurzhanov says.

The company is very small - seven employees - so it can’t afford the desktop management software that larger companies can and the Napera gear makes it possible to monitor workstations without having to go from machine to machine, he says.

And because the company is small, it doesn’t have a lot of staff time to configure and manage its network, so the setup instructions provided through an online Napera portal was also a welcome feature.

This is not an enterprise box, but it can be a valuable tool to small businesses that have NAC needs that are just as urgent as a bigger business might have.

Tim Greene is senior editor at Network World.