White Paper

© 2014 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public. Page 3 of 6
help you get there, using capabilities embedded in the network you already have in place. And it is as easy as
1+1=2:
1. Converge your wired, wireless, and virtual networks so that you can use one policy, one management, and one
network for your entire environment.
2. Automate repetitive operations and Innovate with zero-touch deployment tools and software-defined
networking (SDN) capabilities that speed up provisioning and amplify network intelligence.
1. Converge
A major source of complexity in your network is the sheer variety of infrastructures types and number of networks
you have to manage. You may have started with a basic LAN/WAN/WLAN years ago, but the explosion of the
number of branches led to the adoption of WAN architectures. Then you enabled remote worker connectivity with
VPN. With BYOD, now users need to be delivered the same level of experience no matter the device and no matter
the location. Too many of these services depend on their own separate infrastructures, separate policy, and
separate management. (See Figure 2.)
Figure 2. Simplify Your Network with Unified Access
With the Cisco ONE Enterprise Networks Architecture, your Cisco network can help you reduce the complexity and
empower you to use one network, one policy, and one management for wired, wireless, and remote networks. Cisco
helps you converge your network by providing:
●
One policy with Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE): Manually provisioning security policies for each
type of user, device, location, and resource is a nightmare, especially when your policy frameworks are
different across wired, wireless, and VPN domains. Cisco ISE lets you control policies from a business
perspective, based on the user’s identity, device, connectivity, location, and time of day. Cisco ISE
communicates with Cisco Catalyst® switches to enforce these policies everywhere on the network with no
need for an overlay policy framework. Just specify the business policy, and Cisco ISE translates it into
network actions, without you having to touch a single device.
●
One management with Cisco Prime™: Cisco also converges your environment from a management
perspective. No longer do you need to swivel between different management platforms. No matter which
device, network, application, or user, Cisco Prime provides a holistic view of your IT environment and