Concept Guide

Configuring 802.1X Authentication for a Network Profile
The Instant network supports internal RADIUS server and external RADIUS server for 802.1X authentication.
The steps involved in 802.1X authentication are as follows:
1. The NAS requests authentication credentials from a wireless client.
2. The wireless client sends authentication credentials to the NAS.
3. The NAS sends these credentials to a RADIUS server.
4. The RADIUS server checks the user identity and authenticates the client if the user details are available in its
database. The RADIUS server sends an Access-Accept message to the NAS. If the RADIUS server cannot
identify the user, it stops the authentication process and sends an Access-Reject message to the NAS. The
NAS forwards this message to the client and the client must re-authenticate with appropriate credentials.
5. After the client is authenticated, the RADIUS server forwards the encryption key to the NAS. The encryption
key is used for encrypting or decrypting traffic sent to and from the client.
The NAS acts as a gateway to guard access to a protected resource. A client connecting to the wireless network
first connects to the NAS.
Configuring 802.1X Authentication for a Wireless Network Profile
You can configure 802.1X authentication for a wireless network profile in the Instant UI or CLI.
In the Instant UI
To enable 802.1X authentication for a wireless network:
1. On the Network tab, click New to create a new network profile or select an existing profile for which you
want to enable 802.1X authentication and click edit.
2. In the Edit <profile-name> or New WLAN window, ensure that all required WLAN and VLAN attributes are
defined, and then click Next.
3. On the Security tab, specify the following parameters for the Enterprise security level:
a. Select any of the following options from the Key management drop-down list.
l WPA-2 Enterprise
l WPA Enterprise
l Both (WPA-2 & WPA)
l Dynamic WEP with 802.1X
4. If you do not want to use a session key from the RADIUS Server to derive pair wise unicast keys, set Session
Key for LEAP to Enabled.
5. To terminate the EAP portion of 802.1X authentication on the W-IAP instead of the RADIUS server, set
Termination to Enabled.
By default, for 802.1X authorization, the client conducts an EAP exchange with the RADIUS server, and the
AP acts as a relay for this exchange. When Termination is enabled, the W-IAP by itself acts as an
authentication server and terminates the outer layers of the EAP protocol, only relaying the innermost layer
to the external RADIUS server.
6. Specify the type of authentication server to use and configure other required parameters. You can also
configure two different authentication servers to function as primary and backup servers when termination
is enabled. For more information on RADIUSauthentication configuration parameters, see Configuring an
External Server for Authentication on page 164.
7. Click Next to define access rules, and then click Finish to apply the changes.
Dell Networking W-Series Instant 6.4.3.1-4.2.0.0 | User Guide Authentication and User Management | 176