Port Authentication; Chapter 18 Port Authentication; Port Authentication Overview; What You Can Do - ZyXEL Communications XGS1930-28 User Manual

18.1 Port Authentication Overview

This chapter describes the IEEE 802.1x, MAC, and Guest VLAN authentication methods.
Port authentication is a way to validate access to ports on the Switch to clients based on an external
authentication server. The Switch supports the following methods for port authentication:
• IEEE 802.1x
password provided by the user. A user that fails an authentication server can still access the port, but
traffic from the user is forwarded to the guest VLAN port.
• MAC Authentication – An authentication server validates access to a port based on the MAC address
and password of the client.
• Guest VLAN – In either mode, if authentication fails the Switch can still allow the client to access the
network on a Guest VLAN.
Note: All types of authentication use the RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial In User Service,
RFC 2138, 2139) protocol to validate users. You must configure a RADIUS server before
enabling port authentication.
Note: If you enable IEEE 802.1x authentication and MAC authentication on the same port, the
Switch performs IEEE 802.1x authentication first. If a user fails to authenticate through
the IEEE 802.1x method, then access to the port is denied.
Note: IEEE 802.1x is not supported by all user operating systems. For details on compatibility,
see your operating system documentation. If your operating system does not support
802.1x, you must install 802.1x client software.

18.1.1 What You Can Do

• Use the Port Authentication screen
screens where you can enable the port authentication methods.
• Use the 802.1x screen
• Use the MAC Authentication screen
• Use the Guest Vlan screen
2. At the time of writing, IEEE 802.1x is not supported by all operating systems. See your operating system
documentation. If your operating system does not support 802.1x, then you may need to install 802.1x client
software.

Port Authentication

2
– An authentication server validates access to a port based on a user name and
(Section 18.3 on page
(Section 18.5 on page
XGS1930 Series User's Guide
C
(Section 18.2 on page 168) to display the links to the configuration
168) to activate IEEE 802.1x security.
(Section 18.4 on page
171) to enable and assign a guest VLAN to a port.
166
H A P T E R
170) to activate MAC authentication.
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