Understanding 802.1X Port-Based And Host-Based Network Access Control - D-Link xStack Reference Manual

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xStack DGS-3200 Series Layer 2 Managed Gigabit Ethernet Switch Web UI Reference Guide
The D-Link implementation of 802.1X allows network administrators to choose between two types of Access Control used on the
Switch, which are:
1. Port-based Access Control – This method requires only one user to be authenticated per port by a remote RADIUS server
to allow the remaining users on the same port access to the network.
2. Host-based Access Control – Using this method, the Switch will automatically learn up to sixteen MAC addresses by port
and set them in a list. Each MAC address must be authenticated by the Switch using a remote RADIUS server before
being allowed access to the Network.

Understanding 802.1X Port-based and Host-based Network Access Control

The original intent behind the development of 802.1X was to leverage the characteristics of point-to-point in LANs. As any single
LAN segment in such infrastructures has no more than two devices attached to it, one of which is a Bridge Port. The Bridge Port
detects events that indicate the attachment of an active device at the remote end of the link, or an active device becoming inactive.
These events can be used to control the authorization state of the Port and initiate the process of authenticating the attached device
if the Port is unauthorized. This is the Port-Based Network Access Control.
Figure 6 - 23. 802.1X Authentication Process
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