Forward Networks
Forward Networks provides a digital twin platform that models your entire network infrastructure to prevent outages, verify security policies, and automate complex change management tasks effectively.
macmon NAC
macmon NAC is a network access control software providing immediate network visibility and security by identifying, authenticating, and controlling all devices connected to your corporate infrastructure to prevent unauthorized access.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Forward Networks | macmon NAC |
|---|---|---|
| Website | forwardnetworks.com | macmon.eu |
| Pricing Model | Custom | Custom |
| Starting Price | Custom Pricing | Custom Pricing |
| FREE Trial | ✘ No free trial | ✓ 30 days free trial |
| Free Plan | ✘ No free plan | ✘ No free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2013 | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Santa Clara, USA | Berlin, Germany |
Overview
Forward Networks
Forward Networks provides a mathematical model of your entire network, creating a functional digital twin that spans on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments. You can visualize every possible traffic path and verify that your network is behaving exactly as intended. By analyzing your network's state against your specific business policies, the platform identifies misconfigurations and security gaps before they cause outages or breaches.
You can use the platform to perform 'what-if' analysis, allowing you to test changes in the digital twin before deploying them to production. This proactive approach eliminates manual troubleshooting and reduces the risk of human error. Whether you are managing complex data centers or sprawling multi-cloud deployments, you gain a single source of truth that simplifies audits and accelerates digital transformation initiatives.
macmon NAC
macmon NAC gives you complete control over your network by providing instant visibility into every connected device. You can see exactly what is on your network, where it is connected, and how it is behaving without needing to install complex agents on every endpoint. It simplifies security by automating the authentication process for both wired and wireless connections, ensuring only authorized devices can access your sensitive data.
You can implement guest management and BYOD policies easily, allowing visitors to connect securely while keeping your core infrastructure protected. The software integrates with your existing switches and infrastructure, making it a flexible choice for growing businesses. Whether you are managing a single office or a global enterprise, you can maintain a high security standard with minimal administrative effort.
Overview
Forward Networks Features
- Network Digital Twin Create a vendor-agnostic mathematical model of your entire network to visualize paths across all devices and cloud instances.
- Path Analysis Search for any traffic path between two points to see exactly how packets are handled by every hop.
- Intent Verification Define your network policies and receive instant alerts if a configuration change violates your security or connectivity rules.
- Change Modeling Predict the impact of planned changes by testing them against the digital twin before touching your production environment.
- Security Posture Blast Visualize the potential reach of a compromised host to identify and close security holes in your segmentation strategy.
- Automated Documentation Generate up-to-date network diagrams and configuration state reports automatically for simplified compliance audits and troubleshooting.
macmon NAC Features
- Network Overview. Get a real-time graphical view of your entire topology so you can see every connected device and switch port instantly.
- Agentless Operation. Secure your endpoints without installing software on every device, making it easy to manage printers, medical devices, and IoT.
- Guest Portal. Provide secure internet access for visitors through a customizable captive portal while keeping them isolated from your internal network.
- Compliance Enforcement. Automatically isolate or block devices that don't meet your security requirements to prevent the spread of malware and threats.
- VLAN Management. Assign users and devices to specific network segments automatically based on their identity or department for better data isolation.
- BYOD Control. Manage personal employee devices safely by defining clear access rules and authentication methods for your corporate Wi-Fi.
Pricing Comparison
Forward Networks Pricing
macmon NAC Pricing
Pros & Cons
Forward Networks
Pros
- Unmatched visibility into complex multi-vendor network environments
- Drastically reduces time spent on manual troubleshooting
- Simplifies complex compliance audits with automated verification
- Prevents costly outages by catching errors before deployment
Cons
- Initial data collection setup requires significant time
- High price point targets large enterprise budgets
- Requires consistent data snapshots for maximum accuracy
macmon NAC
Pros
- Fast implementation compared to other NAC solutions
- Excellent visibility into non-traditional IoT devices
- Intuitive web interface for daily management tasks
- Strong integration with existing network hardware vendors
Cons
- Initial configuration requires deep networking knowledge
- Documentation can be overly technical for beginners
- Pricing is high for very small environments