Application Guide

[64]
Software User's
Manual
–
Version 3.0
Reauthentication
Enabled
If checked, successfully authenticated supplicants/clients are
reauthenticated after the interval specified by the Reauthentication
Period. Reauthentication for 802.1X-enabled ports can be used to detect
if a new device is plugged into a switch port or if a supplicant is no longer
attached.
For MAC-based ports, reauthentication is only useful if the RADIUS
server configuration has changed. It does not involve communication
between the switch and the client, and therefore doesn’t imply that a client
is still present on a port (see Aging Period below).
Reauthentication
Period
Determines the period, in seconds, after which a connected client must be
reauthenticated. This is only active if the Reauthentication Enabled
checkbox is checked.
Valid values are in the range 1 to 3600 seconds.
EAPOL Timeout
Determines the time for retransmission of Request Identity EAPOL
frames. Valid values are in the range 1 to 65535 seconds. This has no
effect for MAC- based ports.
Aging Period
This setting applies to the following modes, i.e. modes using the Port
Security functionality to secure MAC addresses:
 Single 802.1X
 Multi 802.1X
 MAC-Based Auth.
When the NAS module uses the Port Security module to secure MAC
addresses, the Port Security module needs to check for activity on the
MAC address in question at regular intervals and free resources if no
activity is seen within a given period of time. This parameter controls
exactly this period and can be set to a number between 10 and 1000000
seconds.
It is not critical, if reauthentication is enabled and the port is in an 802.1X-
based mode, as supplicants that are no longer attached to the port will get
removed upon the next reauthentication, which will fail. But if
reauthentication is not enabled, the only way to free resources is by aging
the entries.
For ports in MAC-based Auth. mode, reauthentication doesn’t cause
direct communication between the switch and the client, so this will not
detect whether the client is still attached or not, and the only way to free
any resources is to age the entry.
Hold Time
This setting applies to the following modes, i.e. modes using the Port
Security functionality to secure MAC addresses:
 Single 802.1X
 Multi 802.1X
 MAC-Based Auth.
If a client is denied access - either because the RADIUS server denies
the client access or because the RADIUS server request times out
(according to the timeout specified on the Configuration > Security >
AAA page) - the client is put on hold in the Unauthorized state. The hold
timer does not count during an on-going authentication.
In MAC-based Auth. mode, the switch will ignore new frames coming from
the client during the hold time.