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Avenda (News - Alert) Systems, a provider of identity-based network security solutions, announced the release of its latest identity-based authentication solution eTIPS 3.0 with network access control, or “NAC,” capabilities for securing today's enterprise networks.

According to Santhosh Cheeniyil, VP of Engineering at Avenda Systems, the introduction of eTIPS 3.0 functionality to securely authenticate Windows 7 and Apple (News - Alert) iPhone users satisfies growing customer demand to support multi-platform networks: Windows, Linux, and Mac.

The new eTIPS 3.0 includes two new solutions - eTIPS VM, a virtual appliance offering for the data center; and Edge, a remote access authentication gateway, the company said. 

The company’s foray into virtual infrastructure is in response to customer requirements for authentication, authorization and accounting or “AAA” and NAC functions to reside on existing datacenter resources, eliminating the need to add new hardware to the network, according to company officials.

Avenda's eTIPS VM authentication and access control solution allows customers to take full advantage of their VMWare virtualization management features. The solution also enables them to save money through reduced hardware, power, cooling and administration costs, they addded.

Additionally, the eTIPS multi-function platform is enhanced to include comprehensive health checks for Microsoft Windows 7, 802.1X deployment support for the iPhone (News - Alert) OS, and the hosting of Web-based captive portals for the industry's leading wireless solutions.

The Edge remote access authentication gateway, introduced as part of eTIPS 3.0, enables access enforcement based on the health status of endpoints used by remote users over VPN devices. 

With this feature, organizations can use the health policies, such as anti-malware, firewall, patches and corporate image checks configured for wired and wireless access, to authorize both corporate-owned and user-owned devices accessing corporate resources over a remote VPN connection.

The new eTIPS also features built-in support of external captive portals for Enterasys (News - Alert), Cisco, Aruba and Xirrus wireless equipment. This new capability enables centralized Web authentication and endpoint health checking of guests, partners, contractors and employees for wireless, wired and VPN access via a unified policy model, the company said.

Other functionalities of new eTIPS include GuestConnect, a comprehensive guest access management via Sponsor or Self Registration with support for PCI (News - Alert) DSS payment gateways; Insight, an advanced reporting and archiving with threshold based real-time alerts; and Quick1X, an Auto configuration wizard for making endpoints 802.1X and NAP ready with support for Windows 7 and iPhone.

Earlier this year Avenda Systems announced that the City of Gastonia, one of North Carolina's 15 largest cities, has deployed its eTIPS solution to satisfy requirements for user-based network accountability and compliance, across multiple agencies and departments.