Networking

What Is Network Policy? Benefits of Network Policy?

You might have heard the term ‘network policy’ before but mightn’t be too sure what it actually means. If you don’t, then you wouldn’t know exactly how it can benefit your business.

In short, this is a collection of rules that dictate how network devices operate. Similar to how you would decide how your employees work, network administrators use policies to allow devices to complete business objectives and duties.

Benefits Of Network Policy

If the term is new to you, then you might wonder what the benefits of network policy are. There are quite a few of them, with some of the more notable being:

• Business alignment;
• Consistent services, and;
• Dependable performance.

There are several other benefits that you might want to know about. With those, you could be persuaded to implement network policies.

Network Automation

If guidance exists, then your network can be automated. With network policy, you put this guidance in place. By using this, your networks can be configured to do whatever they can to achieve your business objectives.

That’ll help your company be more productive long term. It will also help you streamline your operations much more effectively, which can have benefits in itself.

Performance Monitoring

Your business will have definite goals that it wants to reach. The best way to do this is by tracking your performance and adapting when needed. Network policies can be instituted to track and analyze this performance.

These can help you generate reports about your company’s progress toward its goals. With that, you’d be in the best position possible to ensure it’s on track. If not, then it lets you focus on what needs to be changed or fixed.

Why Is It Important For A Network To Follow Policies?

If you’re not too tech-savvy, you might wonder why it’s important for a computer network to follow these policies. There are multiple reasons to do so. The largest of these is that these policies can be seen as objectives and goals.

Without objectives, your network wouldn’t be working optimally, and without goals, their overall performance can’t be tracked. This can be seen in multiple areas, depending on what your network policies are.

Business Intent And Agility

Your network policy will require quite a few things and are often a reflection of your company’s intent. These are taken in by network controllers, who then create the policies to achieve the business’ goals.

These are subsequently carried out by quite a few pieces of equipment, such as routers and wireless access ports.

Consistency of experience

A well-designed policy framework provides consistent service across different networks, irrespective of location, type of connection, or device used. With this architecture, users and things can connect from any device and still have the same level of access privileges and quality of network experience.

What Are Different Kinds Of Network Policies?

While you mightn’t expect it, there are quite a few types of network policies. In many cases, you might want to use several of them, although it’s worth knowing what they are first. They are:

• Access and Security: They determine whether something becomes part of the network and which resources the person or device has access to. Data access and security policies may be the most important types because the security of data and apps depends on them.

• Application and QoS: These define the relative priority of different types of traffic and how they should be prioritized.
• Traffic routing and service insertion: Traffic from specific user groups should be routed differently, such as through a firewall.
• IP-based vs. group- or role-based: You can define policies at either an IP address level or by role. Dynamic role-based policies are easier to use than static ones, allow for greater flexibility, and provide a better user and device mobility support. IP-based policies don’t scale well and are better suited for environments where things don’t change too often.

How Do You Apply These Policies To Your Network Devices?

In many cases, you’ll have to choose between IP-based or group- or role-based network policies. As the names would suggest, these can be polar opposite approaches. With an IP-based option, you’ll have to implement the policies manually, whereas it can be automatic with the alternative.

Why Would You Want To Use A Network Policy Manager?

The main reason to use a network policy manager is that implementing your network policies can be much more difficult than you’d think. That’s typically associated with the creation and development of these policies, alongside their ongoing maintenance.

With a network policy manager, you can implement these much more effectively. It’ll also ensure that all best practices are followed.

What Does NPM Provide For Me As An Administrator?

An NPM can provide you with a wealth of resources focused on your computer network. Exactly what you get, however, can depend on which NPM you choose. You should expect an overview of your entire system, alongside more detailed reports about the network at a minimum.

What Should I Know About Using NPM In My Environment?

When you’re getting an NPM, there’s a lot that you should know about. Usability, effectiveness, and expertise will be the tip of the iceberg. At a minimum, you should make sure that it comes with the features you want, alongside being scalable as you grow.

What Other Tools And Technologies Might Help With Managing Network Security?

You might want to use several other tools and technologies alongside your network policy. These can change depending on what your company needs, but can include infrastructure software and much more. There are multiple providers you can get these from, each with their pros and cons.

What Are Different Kinds Of Network Policies?

While you mightn’t expect it, there are quite a few types of network policies. In many cases, you might want to use several of them, although it’s worth knowing what they are first. They are:

• Access and Security;
• Application and QoS;
• Traffic routing and service insertion, and;
• IP-based vs group- or role-based.

You might want to use several of them at the same time, depending on what your company’s needs are.

What Does It Take To Implement Effective Policies?

If you want to take advantage of network policy, then you’ll need to know how to implement it. The first thing you’ll need to do is identify what policies you want to use before modeling and then activating them.

Over time, you’ll want to track and analyze these to make sure they’re working effectively. That will make sure the policies are being implemented consistently and optimally.

What Are The Benefits Of Well-Executed Policies?

There are multiple benefits associated with well-executed network policies. The majority of these revolve around streamlining and securing your business operations. If you have a large computer network, then these can be used to optimize your company’s workflow. It will also help to protect the overall network, coupled with other tools.

How Can Policies Be Defined And Enforced In A Modern Network?

Doing all of the above will be difficult to define and enforce. By hiring a network controller or administrator, however, things will go much smoother than trying to do it yourself. In doing so, they’ll follow best practices to ensure that everything’s high-quality.