User Manual

Configuration Examples
414
Insight Managed 28-Port and 52-Port Gigabit Ethernet Smart Cloud Switches
authentication server) and the supplicant (the system that requests authentication), as well as
between the authenticator and the authentication server.
The switch can support a guest VLAN, which allows unauthenticated users limited access to
the network resources.
Note: You can use QoS features to provide rate limiting on the guest VLAN
to limit the network resources that the guest VLAN provides.
Another 802.1X feature is the ability to configure a port to enable or disable EAPoL packet
forwarding support. You can disable or enable the forwarding of EAPoL when 802.1X is
disabled on the device.
The ports of an 802.1X authenticator switch provide the means by which it can offer services
to other systems reachable through the LAN. Port-based network access control allows the
operation of a switch’s ports to be controlled to ensure that access to its services is permitted
only by systems that are authorized to do so.
Port access control provides a means of preventing unauthorized access by supplicants to
the services offered by a system. Control over the access to a switch and the LAN to which it
is connected can be desirable when you restrict access to publicly accessible bridge ports or
to restrict access to departmental LANs.
Access control is achieved by enforcing authentication of supplicants that are attached to an
authenticator's controlled ports. The result of the authentication process determines whether
the supplicant is authorized to access services on that controlled port.
A port access entity (PAE) is able to adopt one of two distinct roles within an access control
interaction:
1. Authenticator. A port that enforces authentication before allowing access to services
available through that port.
2. Supplicant. A port that attempts to access services offered by the authenticator.
Additionally, a third role exists:
3. Authentication server. A server that performs the authentication function necessary to
check the credentials of the supplicant on behalf of the authenticator.
All three roles are required for an authentication exchange.
The switch supports the authenticator role only, in which the PAE is responsible for
communicating with the supplicant. The authenticator PAE is also responsible for submitting
the information received from the supplicant to the authentication server for the credentials to
be checked, which determines the authorization state of the port. The authenticator PAE
controls the authorized/unauthorized state of the controlled port depending on the outcome of
the RADIUS-based authentication process.