Setup Guide

802.1X

802.1X is a method of port security. A device connected to a port that is enabled with 802.1X is disallowed from sending or receiving

packets on the network until its identity can be veried (through a username and password, for example). This feature is named for its IEEE

specication.

802.1X employs extensible authentication protocol (EAP) to transfer a device’s credentials to an authentication server (typically RADIUS)

using a mandatory intermediary network access device, in this case, a Dell Networking switch. The network access device mediates all

communication between the end-user device and the authentication server so that the network remains secure. The network access

device uses EAP-over-Ethernet (EAPOL) to communicate with the end-user device and EAP-over-RADIUS to communicate with the

server.

NOTE: The Dell Networking OS supports 802.1X with EAP-MD5, EAP-OTP, EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS, PEAPv0, PEAPv1, and MS-

CHAPv2 with PEAP.

The following gures show how the EAP frames are encapsulated in Ethernet and RADIUS frames.

Figure 2. EAP Frames Encapsulated in Ethernet and RADUIS

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