3Com 10014299 manual AAA Overview, Radius Overview

38	CONFIGURING AAA AND RADIUS
	PROTOCOL

	This chapter covers the following topics:
	■	AAA Overview
	■	RADIUS Overview
	■ Configuring AAA and RADIUS
	■ Displaying and Debugging AAA and RADIUS
	■ AAA and RADIUS Configuration Examples
	■ Troubleshooting AAA and RADIUS
AAA Overview	AAA implements the following network security services:
	■ Authenticating user access rights
	■ Authorizing users for certain types of services
	■ Accounting for the network resources used by users
	Network security refers mainly to access control which determines:
	■ Users who can access the network server
	■ Services that the users with access authority can obtain
	■ Accounting of users using network resources
RADIUS Overview	Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) is a distributed client/server
	system that provides AAA functions and protects networks from being intruded by

unauthorized visitors, so it is mainly applied in network environments that require high security and support remote login.

RADIUS consists of three components:

■ Protocol: Based on UDP/IP layer, RFC2865 and 2866 define the RADIUS frame relay format and message transmission mechanism, and define 1812 as the authentication port and 1813 as the accounting port.

■ Server: A RADIUS server runs on a central computer or workstation, and contains the information for user authentication and network service visits.

■ Client: A client is located at the Network Access Server (NAS) side. It can be placed anywhere in the network.

As the RADIUS client, a NAS (such as a 3Com router) is responsible for transmitting user information to a specified RADIUS server and for processing according to the information returned from the server. The RADIUS server is