Integration of network admission control functions in network access devices

An apparatus comprising:

• a forwarding engine for receiving traffic from an endpoint device and forwarding the traffic to a network;
• and
• a network admission control server for identifying a network admission control policy for the endpoint device and enforcing said network admission control policy for traffic received from the endpoint device;
• a profiler for performing continuous profiling operations at the network access device to identify the endpoint device, wherein said network admission control policy is based on identification of the endpoint device;
• and
• memory for storing said network admission control policy;
• wherein the apparatus is configured for operation within a data path between the endpoint device and the network, wherein identifying said network admission control policy comprises receiving policy information from a network admission control manager in communication with the network, and wherein enforcing said network admission control policy at the network access device comprises utilizing a service template downloaded from the network admission control manager and locally configured at the network access device, the network admission control manager selecting the service template for the endpoint device and instructing the network access device to apply said service template to the endpoint device.

An apparatus comprising:

• a forwarding engine for receiving traffic from an endpoint device and forwarding the traffic to a network;
• a profiler for identifying an endpoint device in communication with the apparatus and providing identification information for each of the endpoint devices in communication with the apparatus to a manager;
• a network admission control server for enforcing a network admission control policy for each of the endpoint devices in communication with the apparatus, said network admission control policy based on said identification information, wherein enforcing said network admission control policy at the network access device comprises utilizing a service template downloaded from the network admission control manager and locally configured at the network access device, the network admission control manager selecting the service template for the endpoint device and instructing the network access device to apply said service template to the endpoint device;
• and
• memory for storing said identification information;
• wherein the apparatus is configured for operation within a data path between the endpoint device and the network.