Administrator Guide

Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting 279
IEEE 802.1X
What is IEEE 802.1X?
The IEEE 802.1X standard provides a means of preventing unauthorized
access by supplicants (clients) to the services the switch offers, such as access
to the LAN.
The 802.1X network has three components:
• Supplicant — The client connected to the authenticated port that
requests access to the network.
•
Authenticator — The network device that prevents network access prior to
authentication.
•
Authentication Server — The network server (such as a RADIUS server)
that performs the authentication on behalf of the authenticator, and
indicates whether the user is authorized to access system services.
Dell
Networking
supports interoperability with a variety of external
authentication servers. Refer to "Authentication, Authorization, and
Accounting " on page 229 for more information.
Figure 10-3 shows the 802.1X network components.
Figure 10-3. IEEE 802.1X Network
Authenticator
Supplicant
Authentication
Server
LAN