Chapter 3: Featuring Configuration
– Web UI
Featuring Configuration
– Web UI
NGSM48T2 User Manual | 75
Port Configuration
The table has number of columns which allows you to configure the port mode
based on IEEE 802.1X standard. Select the port and configure the settings.
Port
The port number for which the configuration below applies.
Admin State
If NAS is globally enabled, this selection controls the port's authentication mode.
The following modes are available:
Force Authorized
In this mode, the switch will send one EAPOL Success frame when the port link
comes up, and any client on the port will be allowed network access without
authentication.
Force Unauthorized
In this mode, the switch will send one EAPOL Failure frame when the port link
comes up, and any client on the port will be disallowed network access.
Port-based 802.1X
In the 802.1X-world, the user is called the supplicant, the switch is the authenticator,
and the RADIUS server is the authentication server. The authenticator acts as the
man-in-the-middle, forwarding requests and responses between the supplicant and
the authentication server. Frames sent between the supplicant and the switch are
special 802.1X frames, known as EAPOL (EAP Over LANs) frames.
EAPOL frames encapsulate EAP PDUs (RFC3748). Frames sent between the
switch and the RADIUS server are RADIUS packets. RADIUS packets also
encapsulate EAP PDUs together with other attributes like the switch's IP address,
name, and the supplicant's port number on the switch. EAP is very flexible, in that it
allows for different authentication methods, like MD5-CHALLENGE, PEAP, and TLS.
The important thing is that the authenticator (the switch) doesn't need to know which
authentication method the supplicant and the authentication server are using, or
how many information exchange frames are needed for a particular method. The
