NETGEAR WG511U user manual Figure B-4 802.1x authentication

User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U

IEEE 802.1x offers an effective framework for authenticating and controlling user traffic to a protected network, as well as dynamically varying encryption keys. 802.1x ties a protocol called EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) to both the wired and wireless LAN media and supports multiple authentication methods, such as token cards, Kerberos, one-time passwords, certificates, and public key authentication. For details on EAP specifically, refer to IETF's RFC 2284.

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Figure B-4: 802.1x authentication

1.After associating with a wireless access point, the client sends an EAP-start message. This begins a series of message exchanges to authenticate the client.

2.The access point replies with an EAP-request identity message.

3.The client sends an EAP-response packet containing the identity to the authentication server.

4.The authentication server uses a specific authentication algorithm to verify the client's identity. This could be through the use of digital certificates or other EAP authentication type.

5.The authentication server will either send an accept or reject message to the access point.

6.The access point sends an EAP-success packet (or reject packet) to the client.

B-12 Wireless Networking Basics

August 2004