User's Manual

Cisco Small Business 200, 300 and 500 Series Managed Switch Administration Guide (Internal Version) 381

Security: 802.1X Authentication

This section describes 802.1X authentication.

It covers the following topics:

• Overview of 802.1X

• Authenticator Overview

• Common Tasks

• 802.1X Configuration Through the GUI

• Defining Time Ranges

• Authentication Method and Port Mode Support

Overview of 802.1X

802.1x authentication restricts unauthorized clients from connecting to a LAN

through publicity-accessible ports. 802.1x authentication is a client-server model.

In this model, network devices have the following specific roles.

• Client or supplicant

• Authenticator

• Authentication server