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Multiple Authentication Methods
If more than one authentication method is enabled on the switch, the following hierarchy of
authentication methods is applied:
•
802.1x Authentication: Highest
•
MAC-Based Authentication: Lowest
Multiple methods can run at the same time. When one method finishes successfully, the client
becomes authorized, the methods with lower priority are stopped and the methods with higher
priority continue.
When one of the authentication methods running simultaneously fails, the other methods
continue.
When an authentication method finishes successfully for a client authenticated by a method with
a lower priority, the attributes of the new method are applied.When the new method fails, the
client is left authorized with the old method.
802.1x-Based Authentication
The device supports the 802.1x authentication mechanism, as described in the standard, to
authenticate and authorize 802.1x supplicants.
The 802.1x-based authenticator relays transparent EAP messages between
802.1x supplicants and authentication servers. The EAP messages between supplicants and the
authenticator are encapsulated into the 802.1x messages, and the EAP messages between the
authenticator and authentication servers are encapsulated into the RADIUS messages.
This is described in the following:
MAC-Based Authentication
MAC-based authentication is an alternative to 802.1X authentication that allows network access
to devices (such as printers and IP phones) that do not have the 802.1X supplicant capability.
MAC-based authentication uses the MAC address of the connecting device to grant or deny
network access.
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