Corporate

Using RADIUS and a WPA2 protected connection as an example, authentication occurs using 802.1X. The Mobility Controller forwards the request to the RADIUS server who performs the actual authentication and sends a response to the Mobility Controller. Once authentication completes successfully, encryption keys are passed to the Mobility Controller from the RADIUS server, along with the user’s access policies. The Mobility Controller then completes the role derivation process and adds the new user, along with all the relevant state information, into the active user database and completes the authentication process. A security context is created, and for encrypted links, key exchange occurs where all traffic is now encrypted.

WLAN				L2/L3
switch				switch

	3	2	5
	3		5
			3


	AP		Corporate
1	AP		backbone
1

1.Client sends 802.11 association request that is automatically forwarded by the AP to the WLAN switch

2.WLAN switch responds with association acknowledgement

3.Client and WLAN switch start 802.1X authentication conversation along with RADIUS server

RADIUS

server

4.Encryption keys passed to the WLAN switch, and user derives own encryption keys, begins sending encrypted data

5.WLAN switch decrypts data, processes packets, applies services and forwards packets based on .11 MAC

If the user already exists in the active user database and is now attempting to associate to a new AP, the Mobility Controller will understand that an active user has moved, will restore the user’s connectivity state and initiate mobility processing.

ArubaOS uniquely supports AAA FastConnect™, which allows the encrypted portions of 802.1x authentication exchanges to be terminated on the Mobility Controller where Aruba’s hardware encryption engine dramatically increases scalability and performance. Supported for PEAP- MSCHAPv2, PEAP-GTC, and EAP-TLS, AAA FastConnect™ removes the requirement for external authentication servers to be 802.1x-capable and increases authentication server scalability by permitting several hundreds of authentication requests per second to be processed.

Campus Wireless Networks Validated Reference Design Version 3.3 Design Guide

Mobility Controller Configuration 43

Aruba Networks Version 3.3 manual Corporate

Models: Version 3.3

backbone