Authentication - Nortel 120 Using Manual

52 System configuration management
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Secondary Radius Server Setup—Configure a secondary RADIUS server
to provide a backup in case the primary server fails. The access point uses
the secondary server if the primary server fails or becomes inaccessible.
When the access point switches over to the secondary server, it periodically
attempts to establish communication again with primary server. If
communication with the primary server is reestablished, the secondary
server reverts to a backup role.

Authentication

Wireless clients can be authenticated for network access by checking their
MAC address against the local database configured on the access point, or
by using a database configured on a central RADIUS server. Alternatively,
authentication can be implemented using the IEEE 802.1X network access
control protocol.
A client's MAC address provides relatively weak user authentication,
because MAC addresses can be easily captured and used by another
station to break into the network. Using 802.1X provides more robust user
authentication by using usernames and passwords or digital certificates.
You can configure the access point to use both MAC address and 802.1X
authentication, with client station MAC authentication occurring prior to
IEEE 802.1X authentication. However, it is better to choose one or the
other, as appropriate.
Copyright © 2006, Nortel Networks
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Port: The UDP port number used by the RADIUS server for
authentication messages. (Range: 1024-65535; Default: 1812)
Key: A shared text string used to encrypt messages between the access
point and the RADIUS server. Be sure that the same text string is
specified on the RADIUS server. Do not use blank spaces in the string.
(Maximum length: 255 characters)
Timeout: Number of seconds the access point waits for a reply from the
RADIUS server before resending a request. (Range: 1-60 seconds;
Default: 5)
Retransmit attempts: The number of times the access point tries to
resend a request to the RADIUS server before authentication fails.
(Range: 1-30; Default: 3)
Accounting Port: The RADIUS Accounting server UDP port used for
accounting messages. (Range: 0 or 1024-65535; Default: 0, disabled)
Interim Update Timeout: The interval between transmitting accounting
updates to the RADIUS server. (Range: 60-86400; Default: 3600
seconds)
Note: For the Timeout and Retransmit attempts fields, accept the
default values unless you experience problems connecting to the
RADIUS server over the network.
Using the Nortel Business Access Point 120
NN47921-301 01.01 Standard
1.0 August 2006
BAP120
Nortel Networks Confidential