P-2602H(W)(L)-DxA Series User’s Guide
IEEE 802.1x
In June 2001, the IEEE 802.1x standard was designed to extend the features of IEEE 802.11 to support extended authentication as well as providing additional accounting and control features. It is supported by Windows XP and a number of network devices. Some advantages of IEEE 802.1x are:
•User based identification that allows for roaming.
•Support for RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial In User Service, RFC 2138, 2139) for centralized user profile and accounting management on a network RADIUS server.
•Support for EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol, RFC 2486) that allows additional authentication methods to be deployed with no changes to the access point or the wireless stations.
RADIUS
RADIUS is based on a
•Authentication
Determines the identity of the users.
•Authorization
Determines the network services available to authenticated users once they are connected to the network.
•Accounting
Keeps track of the client’s network activity.
RADIUS is a simple package exchange in which your AP acts as a message relay between the wireless station and the network RADIUS server.
Types of RADIUS Messages
The following types of RADIUS messages are exchanged between the access point and the RADIUS server for user authentication:
•
Sent by an access point requesting authentication.
•
Sent by a RADIUS server rejecting access.
•
Sent by a RADIUS server allowing access.
366 | Appendix E Wireless LANs |