The pxGrid (Platform Exchange Grid) framework allows developers to create plugins for Cisco’s Identity Services Engine (ISE). ISE provides policy based, context aware security for Cisco networks. Third party appliances can be used to instruct the ISE on remediation actions by interfacing through pxGrid. The networking company has been pushing for the standardization of pxGrid in order to integrate security products from multiple vendors. Cisco hopes that pxGrid will become an IETF standard by 2014.
Cisco Security Technology Partner Ecosystem has been created to include key security third parties (including SIEM -security information event management vendors, threat management and mobile device management firms) to share security information. These organizations have products which integrate with ISE to accelerate the ability to of IT companies to resolve network issues. Cisco plans to integrate more third party solutions into its context databases, sharing them from its partners to the market. Partners in the initiative include IBM, Splunk, Symantec, Citrix, SAP and Mobile Iron.
pxGrid applications for the ISE are expected to be generally available in early 2014 although there is already a base of early adopters making use of it.