What is the primary function of the Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)?

The primary function of the Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is centralized policy management for network access control. This entails managing user identities, authorization, and device profiling across the network. Cisco ISE provides a comprehensive solution that allows IT administrators to create and enforce policies that determine who can access the network, what resources they can access, and under what conditions.

By utilizing a centralized platform, organizations can implement consistent policies across multiple network devices and locations, ensuring compliance with security regulations and best practices. ISE integrates seamlessly with diverse network systems, enabling role-based access control and allowing for more efficient management of user credentials and network resources.

While integration with external databases does occur within the context of user credential management and authentication, it is not the central feature of ISE. Providing VPN services and monitoring network traffic are functionalities that might be needed in a comprehensive network security framework, but they do not define the primary role of Cisco ISE, which is fundamentally about access control and policy management.