To set up Access Gate with the quick start, you need four things: a capture of your network, a router you can add one route and one rule to, two free ports on a small dedicated VLAN, and a browser.
What you need
| You need | Why | Quick-start step |
|---|---|---|
A capture of your network (a .pcap file, up to 500 MB), or a mirror (SPAN) port on the switch your machines use so you can record one | Access Gate builds your map, inventory and enclaves from it | 1 |
| A router or L3 switch that routes your machine subnet, where you can add one route and one rule | The route brings replies back through the gate, the rule switches your machines over | 3 and 4 |
| Two free ports on that router or switch | One for the admin cable, one for the protection cable | 3 |
A small dedicated VLAN or subnet for the gate, for example 100.65.0.0/29 | Your router takes 100.65.0.1 on it, and the gate 100.65.0.6 | 3 |
| A browser | The network analyzer and the Access Gate console both run in it | 1 and 3 |
You also need someone who can change the router configuration. If you are not sure you can add the rule on your equipment, check the guide for it: Cisco Catalyst, Cisco Meraki, Fortinet FortiGate, Ubiquiti UniFi, MikroTik.
Optional
You do not need these on day 1. They help later.
| Item | What it is for |
|---|---|
| DNS | Reach your machines by name. See Give your machines easy names. |
| Time synchronization | Accurate timestamps in your logs. See Configure NTP. |
| Identity provider | Sign in with your existing accounts. See Synchronize your user directory (Entra ID) or LDAP / AD. |
| PKI | Your own certificates. See Deploy a PKI with Access Gate. |
You do not need to be a network engineer. If you can log in to your router and add a line of configuration, you can follow these docs.