Blade ICE G8000 manual RADIUS Authentication and Authorization, How RADIUS authentication works

RackSwitch G8000 Application Guide

RADIUS Authentication and Authorization

Blade OS supports the RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-in User Service) method to authenticate and authorize remote administrators for managing the switch. This method is based on a client/server model. The Remote Access Server (RAS)—the switch—is a client to the back-end database server. A remote user (the remote administrator) interacts only with the RAS, not the back-end server and database.

RADIUS authentication consists of the following components:

„A protocol with a frame format that utilizes UDP over IP (based on RFC 2138 and 2866)

„A centralized server that stores all the user authorization information

„A client, in this case, the switch

The G8000—acting as the RADIUS client—communicates to the RADIUS server to authenti- cate and authorize a remote administrator using the protocol definitions specified in RFC 2138 and 2866. Transactions between the client and the RADIUS server are authenticated using a shared key that is not sent over the network. In addition, the remote administrator passwords are sent encrypted between the RADIUS client (the switch) and the back-end RADIUS server.

How RADIUS authentication works

1.Remote administrator connects to the switch and provides user name and password.

2.Using Authentication/Authorization protocol, the switch sends request to authentication server.

3.Authentication server checks the request against the user ID database.

4.Using RADIUS protocol, the authentication server instructs the switch to grant or deny administrative access.

26 „ Chapter 1: Accessing the Switch BMD00041, November 2008