If you have an endpoint that does not have a supported operating system, you can allow access or quarantine the endpoint. The current supported operating systems are listed in Section 5.2, Endpoints Supported.
If you allow an untested endpoint to have access, there are several important items to keep in mind.
The IP address granted by your DHCP server has a lease expiration period that cannot be affected by the Novell ZENworks Network Access Control server. Once an untested endpoint has been allowed access and assigned a non-quarantined IP address by your DHCP server, that endpoint has continual access through that IP address until the IP address lease expires. For example, you are not be able to quarantine that endpoint (or affect any other action on that endpoint) with Novell ZENworks Network Access Control until the lease expires. It is not unusual for system administrators to set a lease expiration time of three or more days.
NOTE:The access status column on the Endpoint activity window shows unable to quarantine, and the action cannot complete until the IP address lease expires.
HINT:It is strongly recommended that if you are going to allow untested endpoints on your network, you set extremely short lease times (use hours rather than days) on your DHCP server.
This process results in the following condition for an untested endpoint:
When new end-users log in for the first time, are tested, and are allowed access, there is up to a three-minute delay between the time the Novell ZENworks Network Access Control server determines that they are allowed access and the point at which they are actually allowed access, potentially causing concern to the end-user. This uncertainty is due to the three-minute lease on the temporary quarantined IP address assigned during the initial login process. Once the lease expires (in at most, three minutes), a new IP address (the non-quarantined IP address) can be assigned and access is actually granted.
To define access settings for non-supported operating systems, see Section 6.3.12, Defining Non-supported OS Access Settings.