The agreement calls for Cisco and Microsoft to share key information about their respective approaches to controlling network access and quarantining potentially infected machines before that infection can spread to the entire network.
Cisco will share some of the foundation for its Network Admissions Control (NAC) technology, which it launched last summer, while Microsoft will lift the hood on its Network Access Protection (NAP) approach, which is said to be in the late stages of development.
The goal is a "single, coordinated solution" that enables network administrators to control both Windows installations and Cisco network architecture, the two tech giants said in a statement. The companies will also strive to draft and have implemented industry standards in the network admissions and access control arenas.
