ZyXEL Communications IES-612-51A Port Authentication, 23.1 Introduction to Authentication, 23.1.1 RADIUS, 23.1.2 Introduction to Local User Database

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Port Authentication

This chapter describes the 802.1x authentication method and RADIUS server connection setup.

23.1 Introduction to Authentication

IEEE 802.1x is an extended authentication protocol2 that allows support of RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial In User Service, RFC 2138, 2139) for centralized user profile management on a network RADIUS server.

23.1.1 RADIUS

RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) authentication is a popular protocol used to authenticate users by means of an external server instead of (or in addition to) an internal device user database that is limited to the memory capacity of the device. In essence, RADIUS authentication allows you to validate an unlimited number of users from a central location.

Figure 85 RADIUS Server

23.1.2 Introduction to Local User Database

By storing user profiles locally on the IES-612-51A, your IES-612-51A is able to authenticate users without interacting

2.At the time of writing, Windows XP of the Microsoft operating systems supports 802.1x. See the Microsoft web site for information on other Windows operating system support. For other operating systems, see its documentation. If your operating system does not support 802.1x, then you may need to install 802.1x client software.

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IES-612-51A User’s Guide