3-16. 802.1x Configuration
802.1x
Before the devices or end stations can access the network resources through the ports under 802.1x control, the devices or end stations connected to a controlled port send the authentication request to the authenticator, the authenticator pass the request to the authentication server to authenticate and verify, and the server tell the authenticator if the request get the grant of authorization for the ports.
According to IEEE802.1x, there are three components implemented. They are Authenticator, Supplicant and Authentication server shown in Fig.
Supplicant:
It is an entity being authenticated by an authenticator. It is used to communicate with the Authenticator PAE (Port Access Entity) by exchanging the authentication message when the Authenticator PAE request to it.
Authenticator:
An entity facilitates the authentication of the supplicant entity. It controls the state of the port, authorized or unauthorized, according to the result of authentication message exchanged between it and a supplicant PAE. The authenticator may request the supplicant to
A port acting as an authenticator is thought to be two logical ports, a controlled port and an uncontrolled port. A controlled port can only pass the packets when the authenticator PAE is authorized, and otherwise, an uncontrolled port will unconditionally pass the packets with PAE group MAC address, which has the value of
Authentication server:
A device provides authentication service, through EAP, to an authenticator by using authentication credentials supplied by the supplicant to determine if the supplicant is authorized to access the network resource.
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