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802.1X
802.1X is a method of port security. A device connected to a port that is enabled with 802.1X is disallowed from sending or
receiving packets on the network until its identity can be verified (through a username and password, for example). This feature
is named for its IEEE specification.
802.1X employs extensible authentication protocol (EAP) to transfer a device’s credentials to an authentication server (typically
RADIUS) using a mandatory intermediary network access device, in this case, a Dell Networking switch. The network access
device mediates all communication between the end-user device and the authentication server so that the network remains
secure. The network access device uses EAP-over-Ethernet (EAPOL) to communicate with the end-user device and EAP-over-
RADIUS to communicate with the server.
NOTE: The Dell Networking operating system (OS) supports 802.1X with EAP-MD5, EAP-OTP, EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS,
PEAPv0, PEAPv1, and MS-CHAPv2 with PEAP.
The following figures show how the EAP frames are encapsulated in Ethernet and RADIUS frames.
Figure 3. EAP Frames Encapsulated in Ethernet and RADUIS
Figure 4. EAP Frames Encapsulated in Ethernet and RADUIS
The authentication process involves three devices:
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