Users Guide

254 | 802.1x Authentication Dell PowerConnect ArubaOS 5.0 | User Guide
Figure 45 802.1x Authentication with Termination on Controller
In this scenario, the supplicant is configured for EAP-Transport Layer Security (TLS) or EAP-Protected EAP
(PEAP).
z EAP-TLS is used with smart card user authentication. A smart card holds a digital certificate which, with the
user-entered personal identification number (PIN), allows the user to be authenticated on the network. EAP-
TLS relies on digital certificates to verify the identities of both the client and server.
EAP-TLS requires that you import server and certification authority (CA) certificates onto the controller (see
“Configuring and Using Certificates with AAA FastConnect” on page260). The client certificate is verified
on the controller (the client certificate must be signed by a known CA) before the user name is checked on the
authentication server.
z EAP-PEAP uses TLS to create an encrypted tunnel. Within the tunnel, one of the following “inner EAP”
methods is used:
 EAP-Generic Token Card (GTC)—Described in RFC 2284, this EAP method permits the transfer of
unencrypted usernames and passwords from client to server. The main uses for EAP-GTC are one-time
token cards such as SecureID and the use of an LDAP or RADIUS server as the user authentication server.
You can also enable caching of user credentials on the controller as a backup to an external authentication
server.
 EAP-Microsoft Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol version 2 (MS-CHAPv2)—Described in
RFC 2759, this EAP method is widely supported by Microsoft clients. A RADIUS server must be used as
the backend authentication server.
If you are using the controller’s internal database for user authentication, you need to add the names and
passwords of the users to be authenticated. If you are using an LDAP server for user authentication, you need to
configure the LDAP server on the controller, and configure user IDs and passwords. If you are using a RADIUS
server for user authentication, you need to configure the RADIUS server on the controller.
Configuring 802.1x Authentication
On the controller, use the following steps to configure a wireless network that uses 802.1x authentication:
1. Configure the VLANs to which the authenticated users will be assigned. See Chapter 2, “Network
Parameters”
2. Configure policies and roles. You can specify a default role for users who are successfully authenticated using
802.1x. You can also configure server derivation rules to assign a user role based on attributes returned by the
Client
(Supplicant)
WLAN Switch
(Authenticator and
Authentication Server)
• EAP Type = EAP-TLS
or EAP-PEAP
• ESSID
• Network Authentication
• Data Encryption
User authentication via
internal database or non-
802.1x server
• EAP Type = EAP-TLS
or EAP-PEAP
• ESSID
• Network Authentication
• Data Encryption