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Catalyst 2950 Desktop Switch Software Configuration Guide
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Chapter 8 Configuri ng 802.1X Port-Bas ed Authenticat ion Configuring 802.1X Authentication

Setting the Switch-to-Client Frame-Retransmission Number

In addi ti on t o c hang i ng th e swi tch- to-c li ent re tra nsmiss io n ti m e, y ou ca n ch an ge the n umb er o f tim es
that the switch sends an EAP-request/identity frame (assuming no response is received) to the client
before restarting the authentication process.
Note You sh ould ch ange the de fault value of th is co mm an d onl y to a dju st for un usua l ci rcu msta nces suc h as
unrelia ble li nks or spe ci fic behavioral p roble ms wi th c erta in c lie nts an d aut h entic ati on se rvers .
Beginnin g in privile ged EXEC mode, f ollow these steps to set the switch-to-client frame- retransmission
number:
To return to the default retransmission number, use the no dot1x max-req global configurati on
command.
This example shows how to set 5 as the number of times that the switch sends an EAP-request/identity
reques t b ef or e re star t in g th e au th en t ica tio n p r oce ss :
Switch(config)# dot1x max-req 5

Enabling Multiple Hosts

You can atta ch multip le hosts to a single 802 .1X-en able d port as s hown in Figure 8-3 on page 8-5. In
this mode, only one of the attached hosts must be successfully authorized for all hosts to be granted
network access. If the port becomes unauthorized (re-authentication fails or an EAPOL-logoff message
is received), all attached clients are denied access to the network.
Beginning in privileged EXEC mode, follow these steps to allow m ultiple hosts (clients) on an
802.1 X-aut horized port that ha s the dot1x po rt -cont rol interface configuration command set to auto.
Command Purpose
Step 1 configure terminal Enter glob al co nfiguration mo de.
Step 2 dot1x max-req count Set the number of times th at the switch sends an EAP-request/identity
frame to th e clie nt bef ore rest arting the authen tication process. The r ange
is 1 to 10; the default is 2.
Step 3 end Return to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 4 show dot1x Verify your entries.
Step 5 copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Save your entries in the configuration file.
Command Purpose
Step 1 configure terminal Enter glob al co nfiguration mo de.
Step 2 interface in terface-id Enter interface configuration mode, and specify the interface to which
multiple hosts are indirectly attached.
Step 3 dot1x multiple-hosts Allow multiple hosts ( clients) on an 802.1X-authorized port.
Make sure that the dot1x port-control interface configuration command
set is set to auto f or the specified interface.