Users Guide

Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting 295
By default, Dell switches are configured with a method list that contains the
methods (in order) 802.1x, MAB as the default methods for all the ports. Dell
switches restrict the configuration such that no method is allowed to follow
the Captive Portal method, if configured.
The authentication manager controls only the order in which the
authentication methods are executed. The switch administrator is responsible
for implementing the required configuration for the respective methods to
authenticate successfully.
Authentication Restart
Authentication restarts from the first configured method on any of the
following events:
• Link flap
• Authentication fails for all configured methods
• Authentication priority (802.1X packet received when a lower priority
method is active)
802.1X Interaction
By default, 802.1X drops all traffic (other than LLDP/CDP/DHCP/BOOTP)
prior to successful 802.1X (or MAB) authentication. If Captive Portal is
configured as a method, authentication allows certain traffic types, such as
DHCP or DNS, access to the network during the Captive Portal method
invocation.
Authentication Priority
The default authentication priority of a method is equivalent to its position
in the authentication list. If authentication method priorities are configured,
then methods with the same priority are processed in list order.
Authentication priority allows a higher-priority method (not currently
running) to interrupt an in-progress authentication of a lower-priority
method. Alternatively, if the client is already authenticated, an interrupt from
a higher-priority method can cause a client, which was previously
authenticated using a lower-priority method, to reauthenticate.
For example, if a client is already authenticated using a method other than
802.1X (MAB or Captive Portal) and 802.1X has higher priority than the
authenticated method, and if an 802.1X frame is received, then the existing