Network Access Protection (NAP), a new feature in Windows Vista® and Windows Server® 2008, allows you to control the access of client computers to network resources based on computer identity and compliance with corporate governance policy. To implement NAP, you must configure NAP settings on both servers and client computers.
There are three tools that you can use to configure NAP client settings:
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The NAP Client Configuration console provides a graphical user interface with which you can configure NAP client settings on the local computer or in a configuration file that you can save and apply to other computers.
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The Netsh commands for NAP client provide a command-line tool that you can use to configure client computers or to create a configuration file that you can save and apply to other computers.
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If you want to manage NAP client settings on domain member client computers, you can use the Group Policy Management Console and the Group Policy Management Editor. When you configure NAP client settings in Group Policy, these settings are applied on NAP-capable domain member client computers when Group Policy is refreshed.
 | Important |
If you configure NAP client settings in Group Policy, the settings configured using the NAP client configuration console or the Netsh command-line tool will be ignored. |
For an overview of managing client computers that are NAP-capable, see NAP Client Configuration Overview.
For a list of steps that guide you through the NAP client configuration process, see NAP Client Configuration Checklist.
To enable and disable NAP enforcement clients, see Configure NAP Enforcement Clients.
To specify branding text and graphics for the NAP user interface, see Configure the NAP Client User Interface.
To specify the Health Registration Authority (HRA) servers with which a client computer communicates and to specify the cryptographic mechanism that client computers use to communicate with HRA servers, see Configure Health Registration Settings.
To configure NAP tracing, see Configure NAP Tracing.
To create and manage configuration files that contain NAP settings, see Use NAP Client Configuration Files.