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Fig. 44. How IEEE 802.1x and RADIUS works
An access point supporting IEEE 802.1x can be configured to communicate with two RADIUS serv-
ers. When the primary RADIUS server fails to respond, the wireless access point will try to commu-
nicate with the secondary RADIUS server. You can specify the length of timeout and the number of
retries before communicating with the
secondary
RADIUS server after failing to communicate with
the primary RADIUS server.
An IEEE 802.1x-capable wireless access point and its RADIUS server(s) share a secret key so that
they can authenticate each other. In addition to its IP address, a wireless access point can identify it-
self by an NAS (Network Access Server) identifier. Each IEEE 802.1x-capable wireless access point
must have a
unique
NAS identifier.
Fig. 45. IEEE 802.1x/RADIUS settings.
TIP:
Refer to the IEEE 802.1x-related white papers on the companion CD-ROM for more information
about deploying secure WLANs with IEEE 802.1x support.
