Black Box LPB2826A, LPB2810A, LPB2848A, PoE+ Gigabit Managed Switch Eco user manual Security

Chapter 4: Security

NOTE: Suppose two backend servers are enabled and that the server timeout is configured to X seconds (using the AAA configuration page), and suppose that the first server in the list is currently down (but not considered dead).

Now, if the supplicant retransmits EAPOL Start frames at a rate faster than X seconds, then it will never get authenticated, because the switch will cancel ongoing backend authentication server requests whenever it receives a new EAPOL Start frame from the supplicant.

And since the server hasn't yet failed (because the X seconds haven't expired), the same server will be contacted upon the next backend authentication server request from the switch. This scenario will loop forever. Therefore, the server timeout should be smaller than the supplicant’s EAPOL Start frame retransmission rate.

•Single 802.1X: In port-based 802.1X authentication, once a supplicant is successfully authenticated on a port, the whole port is opened for network traffic. This allows other clients connected to the port (for instance through a hub) to piggyback on the successfully authenticated client and get network access even though they really aren't authenticated. To overcome this security breach, use the Single 802.1X variant. Single 802.1X is really not an IEEE standard, but features many of the same characteristics as does port-based 802.1X. In Single 802.1X, at most one supplicant can get authenticated on the port at a time. Normal EAPOL frames are used in the communication between the supplicant and the switch. If more than one supplicant is connected to a port, the one that comes first when the port's link comes up will be the first one considered. If that supplicant doesn’t provide valid credentials within a certain amount of time, another supplicant will get a chance. Once a supplicant is successfully authenticated, only that supplicant will be allowed access. This is the most secure of all the supported modes. In this mode, the Port Security module is used to secure a supplicant's MAC address once successfully authenticated.

•Multi 802.1X: In port-based 802.1X authentication, once a supplicant is successfully authenticated on a port, the whole port is opened for network traffic. This allows other clients connected to the port (for instance through a hub) to piggyback on the successfully authenticated client and get network access even though they really aren't authenticated. To overcome this security breach, use the Multi 802.1X variant.

Multi 802.1X is really not an IEEE standard, but features many of the same characteristics as does port-based 802.1X. Multi 802.1X is - like Single 802.1X - not an IEEE standard, but a variant that features many of the same characteristics. In Multi 802.1X, one or more supplicants can get authenticated on the same port at the same time. Each supplicant is authenticated individually and secured in the MAC table using the Port Security module.

In Multi 802.1X it is not possible to use the multicast BPDU MAC address as destination MAC address for EAPOL frames sent from the switch towards the supplicant, since that would cause all supplicants attached to the port to reply to requests sent from the switch. Instead, the switch uses the supplicant's MAC address, which is obtained from the first EAPOL Start or EAPOL Response Identity frame sent by the supplicant. An exception to this is when no supplicants are attached. In this case, the switch sends EAPOL Request Identity frames using the BPDU multicast MAC address as destination to wake up any supplicants that might be on the port.

The maximum number of supplicants that can be attached to a port can be limited using the Port Security Limit Control functionality.

•MAC-based Auth.: Unlike port-based 802.1X, MAC-based authentication is not a standard, but merely a best practices method adopted by the industry. In MAC-based authentication, users are called clients, and the switch acts as the supplicant on behalf of clients. The initial frame (any kind of frame) sent by a client is snooped by the switch, which in turn uses the client's MAC address as both username and password in the subsequent EAP exchange with the RADIUS server. The 6-byte MAC address is converted to a string on the following form "xxxx-xx-xx-xx-xx", that is, a dash (-) is used as separator between the lower-cased hexadecimal digits. The switch only supports the MD5-Challenge authentication method, so the RADIUS server must be configured accordingly.

When authentication is complete, the RADIUS server sends a success or failure indication, which in turn causes the switch to open up or block traffic for that particular client, using the Port Security module. Only then will frames from the client be for- warded on the switch. There are no EAPOL frames involved in this authentication, and therefore, MAC-based Authentication has nothing to do with the 802.1X standard.

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