Specifications

OmniAccess Reference: AOS-W System Reference
84 Part 031652-00 May 2005
Once an authentication method has been enabled on the switch, it is
automatically available for all ESSIDs configured on that switch.
802.1x Authentication
802.1x is an IEEE standard designed to provide authentication before any L2
access to the network is permitted. 802.1x provides a framework inside of
which multiple authentication protocols may operate. A number of
authentication protocols, including EAP-TLS, PEAP, and TTLS are ideally suited
for wireless network, most notably because they allow the client to
authenticate the network as well as allowing the network to authenticate the
client. The authentication protocols are all based on EAP (Extensible
Authentication Protocol) and are also known as “EAP types”.
An 802.1x system consists of three parts. The supplicant, or client, is the
device attempting to gain access to the network. The authenticator is the
“gatekeeper” to the network, either permitting or denying access to
supplicants. Finally, the authentication server provides a database of
authentication information and signals the authenticator whether or not access
should be permitted. An Alcatel switch acts as an authenticator, relaying
authentication requests between the supplicant and the authentication server.
The Alcatel switch implements the 802.1x framework, but is transparent to
different authentication protocols within 802.1x. As long as the supplicant and
authentication server support compatible authentication protocols, the Alcatel
switch will interoperate with all EAP types.