Types Of Radius Messages - ZyXEL Communications NWA-3100 User Manual

If the Fragmentation Threshold value is smaller than the RTS/CTS value (see previously)
you set then the RTS (Request To Send)/CTS (Clear to Send) handshake will never occur as
data frames will be fragmented before they reach RTS/CTS size.
The ZyXEL Device may be prone to RF (Radio Frequency) interference from
other 2.4 GHz devices such as microwave ovens, wireless phones, Bluetooth
enabled devices, and other wireless LANs.
IEEE 802.1x
In June 2001, the IEEE 802.1x standard was designed to extend the features of IEEE 802.11 to
support extended authentication as well as providing additional accounting and control
features. It is supported by Windows XP and a number of network devices. Some advantages
of IEEE 802.1x are:
• User based identification that allows for roaming.
• Support for RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial In User Service, RFC 2138, 2139) for
centralized user profile and accounting management on a network RADIUS server.
• Support for EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol, RFC 2486) that allows additional
authentication methods to be deployed with no changes to the access point or the wireless
stations.
RADIUS
RADIUS is based on a client-server model that supports authentication, authorization and
accounting. The access point is the client and the server is the RADIUS server. The RADIUS
server handles the following tasks:
• Authentication
Determines the identity of the users.
• Authorization
Determines the network services available to authenticated users once they are connected
to the network.
• Accounting
Keeps track of the client's network activity.
RADIUS is a simple package exchange in which your AP acts as a message relay between the
wireless station and the network RADIUS server.

Types of RADIUS Messages

The following types of RADIUS messages are exchanged between the access point and the
RADIUS server for user authentication:
• Access-Request
Sent by an access point requesting authentication.
ZyXEL NWA-3100 User's Guide
Appendix D Wireless LANs
253