Network Identity Authentication
Architecture Design Guide

System Overview

This guide defines an engineering-grade Network Identity Authentication System whose core goal is to form a closed loop of Unified Identity Source + Strong Authentication + Least-Privilege Authorization + End-to-End Auditing. The system unifies identity lifecycle for people, devices, and service accounts, and enforces access decisions consistently across wired, wireless, VPN/ZTNA, management access, and application entry points.

It is designed for procurement, implementation, delivery, and long-term operations, emphasizing interoperability with AAA (RADIUS/TACACS+), NAC, PKI, MFA/conditional access, PAM, SIEM, and NTP time synchronization. The architecture supports organizations with 2,000–10,000 users across 8–30 sites in mixed on-premises and cloud environments.

Figure 0.1: Typical Project Deliverables — Identity → AuthN → AuthZ → Audit closed-loop delivery package

System Architecture

The reference architecture uses a single authoritative identity plane and multiple policy enforcement planes. The directory/IdP provides identity truth; AAA/NAC enforces access at network edges; PAM and TACACS+ control privileged operations; SIEM provides audit centralization. The four-layer model ensures clear separation of concerns and supports independent scaling of each tier.

Figure 0.2: Four-Layer Reference Architecture — Identity & Trust → Policy Decision → Enforcement → Telemetry

Main Functions

The system delivers six integrated capability domains, each contributing to the overall security posture. The honeycomb model below illustrates how all six domains radiate from a central unified identity source, ensuring coherent policy enforcement across every access pathway.

Figure 0.3: Main Functions Overview — Six capability domains centered on Unified Identity Source

Scope & Key Dependencies

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