Cloud security is a system engineering problem. A common approach to address the problem is to adapt existing Trusted Network Connection (TNC) framework in the cloud environment, which can be used to assess and verify end clients’ system state. However, TNC cannot be applied to network equipment attached to the cloud computing environment directly. To allow the network devices to access the trusted network devices safely and reliably, we first developed a Trusted Network Equipment Access Authentication Protocol (TNEAAP). We use the BAN logic system to prove that TNEAAP is secure and credible. We then configure the protocol in an attack detection mode to experimentally show that the protocol can withstand attacks in the real network. Experiment results show that all the nine goals that decide the protocol’s security have been achieved.