Operation Manual – 802.1x and System Guard
H3C S5100-SI/EI Series Ethernet Switches
Chapter 1 802.1x Configuration
1-1
Chapter 1 802.1x Configuration
When configuring 802.1x, go to these sections for information you are interested in:
z
Introduction to 802.1x
z
Introduction to 802.1x Configuration
z
Basic 802.1x Configuration
z
Advanced 802.1x Configuration
z
Displaying and Maintaining 802.1x Configuration
z
Configuration Example
1.1 Introduction to 802.1x
The 802.1x protocol (802.1x for short) was developed by IEEE802 LAN/WAN
committee to address security issues of wireless LANs. It was then used in Ethernet as
a common access control mechanism for LAN ports to address mainly authentication
and security problems.
802.1x is a port-based network access control protocol. It authenticates and controls
devices requesting for access in terms of the ports of LAN access devices. With the
802.1x protocol employed, a user-side device can access the LAN only when it passes
the authentication. Those fail to pass the authentication are denied when accessing the
LAN.
This section covers these topics:
z
Architecture of 802.1x Authentication
z
The Mechanism of an 802.1x Authentication System
z
Encapsulation of EAPoL Messages
z
802.1x Authentication Procedure
z
Timers Used in 802.1x
z
802.1x Implementation on an S5100-SI/EI Series Switch
1.1.1 Architecture of 802.1x Authentication
As shown in
Figure 1-1
, 802.1x adopts a client/server architecture with three entities: a
supplicant system, an authenticator system, and an authentication server system.
