Falcon
M-Class
| User Guide
152
5
.Multi 802.1X
Multi 802.1X is - like Single 802.1X - not an IEEE standard, but a variant
that features many of the same characteristics. In Multi 802.1X, one or
more supplicants can get authenticated on the same port at the same
time. Each supplicant is authenticated individually and secured in the
MAC table using the
Port Security
module.
In Multi 802.1X it is not possible to use the multicast BPDU MAC
address as destination MAC address for EAPOL frames sent from the
switch towards the supplicant, since that would cause all supplicants
attached to the port to reply to requests sent from the switch. Instead,
the switch uses the supplicant's MAC address, which is obtained from
the first EAPOL Start or EAPOL Response Identity frame sent by the
supplicant.
An exception to this is when no supplicants are attached. In this case,
the switch sends EAPOL Request Identity frames using the BPDU
multicast MAC address as destination - to wake up any supplicants that
might be on the port.
The maximum number of clients that can be attached to a port can be
limited using the
Port Security Limit Control
functionality.
6.MAC-based
Auth.
Unlike port-based 802.1X, MAC-based authentication is not a standard,
but merely a best-practices method adopted by the industry. In MAC-
based authentication, users are called clients, and the switch acts as the
supplicant on behalf of clients.
The initial frame (any kind of frame) sent by a client is snooped by the
switch, which in turn uses the client's MAC address as both username
and password in the subsequent EAP exchange with the RADIUS server.
The 6-byte MAC address is converted to a string on the following form
"xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx", that is, a dash (-) is used as separator between the
lower-cased hexadecimal digits. The switch only supports the
authentication method, so the RADIUS server must be
configured accordingly.
When authentication is complete, the RADIUS server sends a success or
failure indication, which in turn causes the switch to open up or block
traffic for that particular client, using the
Port Security
module. Only
then will frames from the client be forwarded on the switch. There are
no EAPOL frames involved in this authentication, and therefore, MAC-
based Authentication has nothing to do with the 802.1X standard.
The advantage of MAC-based authentication over 802.1X-based
authentication is that the clients don't need special supplicant software
to authenticate.
The disadvantage is that MAC addresses can be spoofed by malicious
users - equipment whose MAC address is a valid RADIUS user can be
used by anyone. Also, only the MD5-Challenge method is supported.
The maximum number of clients that can be attached to a port can be
limited using the
ity.
Summary of Contents for Falcon Gen-3 M-Class
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Page 107: ...Falcon M Class User Guide 107 Figure 4 57 DSCP Translation...
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Page 187: ...Falcon M Class User Guide 187 Figure 4 99 RADIUS Statistics for Server...
Page 197: ...Falcon M Class User Guide 197 4 11 6 SyncCenter Status Figure 4 104 Sync Center Status...
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