User`s guide

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3.2.6 RADIUS SETTINGS
Radius servers provide centralized authentication services to wireless clients. Two Radius
servers can be defined: one acts as a primary, and the other acts as a backup.
Two user authentication methods can be enabled: one based on MAC address filter, and
the other based on 802.1x EAP authentication.
MAC address filtering based authentication requires a MAC address filter table to be
created in either the 802.11A/G ACCESS POINT (as described in Chapter 3.2.3 MAC
Filtering Settings) and/or the Radius server. During the authentication phase of a
wireless station, the MAC address filter table is searched for a match against the wireless
client’s MAC address to determine whether the station is to be allowed or denied to
access the network.
The Radius server can also be used for 802.1x EAP authentication. IEEE 802.1x is an
IEEE standard that is based on a framework that involves stations to be authenticated
(called Supplicant), an authentication server (a Radius Server) that provides
authentication services, and an authenticator that provides necessary translation and
mediating functions between the authentication server and the stations to be
authenticated. The 802.11A/G ACCESS POINT acts as an authenticator, and it relays
authentication messages between the RADIUS server and client devices being
authenticated.