Chapter 10 802.1x
MES-2110 User’s Guide
84
10.6 Technical Reference
This section provides technical background information about the topics covered in
this chapter.

10.6.1 RADIUS and TACACS+

RADIUS and TACACS+ are security protocols 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 and
TACACS+ authentication both allow you to validate an unlimited number of users
from a central location.
The following table describes some key differences between RADIUS and
TACACS+.

10.6.2 Supported RADIUS Attributes

Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) attributes are data used to
define specific authentication, and accounting elements in a user profile, which is
stored on the RADIUS server. This appendix lists the RADIUS attributes supported
by the MES-2110.
Guest VLAN This shows if a Guest VLAN is enabled on the port.
Reauthenticat
ion This shows if a subscriber has to periodically re-enter his or her username
and password to stay connected to the port.
Reauth-Period This shows how often (in minutes) a client has to re-enter his or her
username and password to stay connected to the port.
Undo Click this to restore your last saved settings.
Apply Click Apply to save your changes to the MES-2110’s run-time memory.
The MES-2110 loses these changes if it is turned off or loses power, so
use the Save Settings link in the navigation panel to save your changes
to the non-volatile memory when you are done configuring.

Table 18 Configuration > 802.1x Status (continued)

LABEL DESCRIPTION

Table 19 RADIUS vs. TACACS+

RADIUS TACACS+
Tran spo rt
Protocol UDP (User Datagram Protocol) TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)
Encryption Encrypts the password sent for
authentication. All communication between the client
(the MES-2110) and the TACACS
server is encrypted.