HP 4100gl, 2650 (J4899A/B), 2626 (J4900A/B), 2600-PWR, 6108 Configuring Port-Based Access Control

Configuring Port-Based Access Control (802.1X)

Overview

■Local authentication of 802.1X clients using the switch’s local user- name and password (as an alternative to RADIUS authentication).

■Temporary on-demand change of a port’s VLAN membership status to support a current client’s session. (This does not include ports that are members of a trunk.)

■Session accounting with a RADIUS server, including the accounting update interval.

■Use of Show commands to display session counters.

■With port-security enabled for port-access control, limit a port to one 802.1X client session at a given time.

Authenticating Users. Port-Based Access Control (802.1X) provides switch-level security that allows LAN access only to users who enter the authorized RADIUS username and password on 802.1X-capable clients (sup- plicants). This simplifies security management by allowing you to control access from a master database in a single server (although you can use up to three RADIUS servers to provide backups in case access to the primary server fails). It also means a user can enter the same username and password pair for authentication, regardless of which switch is the access point into the LAN. Note that you can also configure 802.1X for authentication through the switch’s local username and password instead of a RADIUS server, but doing so increases the administrative burden, decentralizes username/password administration, and reduces security by limiting authentication to one Oper- ator/Manager password set for all users.

Providing a Path for Downloading 802.1X Supplicant Software. For clients that do not have the necessary 802.1X supplicant software, there is also the option to configure the 802.1X Open VLAN mode. This mode allows you to assign such clients to an isolated VLAN through which you can provide the necessary supplicant software these clients need to begin the authentication process. (Refer to “802.1X Open VLAN Mode” on page 8-21.)

Authenticating One Switch to Another. 802.1X authentication also enables the switch to operate as a supplicant when connected to a port on another switch running 802.1X authentication.

8-4