User's Manual

802.1x Authentication
How 802.1x Authentication Works
802.1x Features
Overview
802.1x authentication is independent of the 802.11 authentication process.
The 802.1x standard provides a framework for various authentication and key-
management protocols. There are different 802.1x authentication types, each
provides a different approach to authentication but all employ the same
802.1x protocol and framework for communication between a client and an
access point. In most protocols, upon the completion of the 802.1x
authentication process, the supplicant receives a key that it uses for data
encryption. Refer to
How 802.1x authentication works for more information.
With 802.1x authentication, an authentication method is used between the
client and a Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) server
connected to the access point. The authentication process uses credentials,
such as a user's password that are not transmitted over the wireless network.
Most 802.1x types support dynamic per-user, per-session keys to strengthen
the static key security. 802.1x benefits from the use of an existing
authentication protocol known as the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP).
802.1x authentication for wireless LANs has three main components:
● The authenticator (the access point)
● The supplicant (the client software)
● The authentication server (a Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service
server [RADIUS])
802.1x authentication security initiates an authorization request from the
wireless client to the access point, which authenticates the client to an
Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) compliant RADIUS server. This
RADIUS server may authenticate either the user (via passwords or
certificates) or the system (by MAC address). In theory, the wireless client is
not allowed to join the networks until the transaction is complete.