ZyXEL Communications VES-1124 -, User Manual

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VES-1124 User’s Guide
Port Authentication 14-1
Chapter 14
Port Authentication
This chapter describes the 802.1x authentication method and RADIUS server connection setup.
14.1 Introduction to Authentication
IEEE 802.1x is an extended authentication protocol2 that allows support of RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial
In User Service, RFC 2138, 2139) for centralized user profile management on a network RADIUS server.
14.1.1 RADIUS
RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) authentication is a popular protocol used to authenticate
users by means of an external server instead of (or in addition to) an internal device user database that is limited to
the memory capacity of the device. In essence, RADIUS authentication allows you to validate an unlimited number
of users from a central location.
Figure 14-1 RADIUS Server
14.2 Configuring Port Authentication
To enable port authentication, first activate IEEE802.1x security (both on the switch and the port(s)) then configure
the RADIUS server settings.
Click Port Authentication under Advanced Application in the navigation panel to display the screen as shown.
2 At the time of writing, Windows XP of the Microsoft operating systems supports 802.1x. See the Microsoft web
site for information on other Windows operating system support. For other operating systems, see its
documentation. If your operating system does not support 802.1x, then you may need to install 802.1x client
software.