Netgear WC7520 - ProSafe 20-AP Wireless Controller Reference Manual

Manage Authentication Servers and Authentication 
Server Groups

You can specify three types of authentication servers: internal, external RADIUS, and 
external LDAP:

Internal authentication server. The wireless controller handles authentication. If you 

use this setting, set up Wi-Fi clients on the User Management screen (see 

External RADIUS server. You can define a basic external RADIUS server that you would 

typically use in the profiles of a basic profile group of a small-scale network. You need to 
specify its configuration on the basic Authentication Server screen (see the next section) 
so that you can select this authentication option during the configuration of a profile. As 
part of the advanced authentication server settings, you can define multiple external 
RADIUS servers that you would typically use in a more complex network with many 
profiles. You can then assign different RADIUS servers to different profiles.

By default, the external RADIUS server for the basic authentication group is called 
basic-Auth. You cannot change this name. By default, the external RADIUS 
authentication servers for the advanced authentication groups are called Auth1 through 
Auth8, and you can change these names. You can assign the basic-Auth server to an 
advanced profile group, and you can assign a RADIUS server of an advanced 
authentication group to the basic profile group.

See the following configuration guidelines for external RADIUS servers:

For configuration guidelines for external MAC authentication, see 

on page 118.

For configuration guidelines for external authentication of captive portal users, see 

on page 126.

External LDAP server. You can define one external LDAP server (commonly referred to 

as an Active Directory [AD] server). You need to specify its configuration on the basic 
Authentication Server screen (see the next section) so that you can select this 
authentication option during the configuration of a profile.

By default, the external LDAP server for the basic authentication group is called 
basic-LDAP. You cannot change this name, and you cannot configure any LDAP servers 
for the advanced authentication groups. You can assign the basic-LDAP server to both 
the basic profile group and to advanced profile groups.

All three servers can be active so that the profiles that you set up can be configured to work 
with different authentication servers. For example, you could set up a guest profile with no 
authentication, an engineering profile that uses external RADIUS authentication, and a 
marketing profile that uses external LDAP authentication. The settings that you specify on the 
Authentication Server screen affect the selections available in the Network Authentication 
drop-down list and the corresponding Authentication Server field on the Edit Profile screens 
(see 

 on page 77 and