3com WXR100 3CRWXR10095A User Manual

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C
HAPTER
 21: C
ONFIGURING
 AAA 
FOR
 N
ETWORK
 U
SERS
If one of the RADIUS servers in the group does respond, but it indicates 
that the user does not exist on the RADIUS server, or that the user is not 
permitted on the network, then authentication for the user fails, 
regardless of any additional methods. Only if all the RADIUS servers in the 
server group do not respond does the WX attempt to authenticate using 
the next method in the list.
Also note that if the primary authentication method is local and the 
secondary method is RADIUS, but the user does not exist in the local 
database, then the WX does attempt to authenticate using RADIUS. See 
“Local Override Exception” on page 443.
Using pass-through authentication as the primary authentication method and 
the local database as the secondary authentication method is not supported.
IEEE 802.1X
Extensible
Authentication
Protocol Types
Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) is a generic point-to-point 
protocol that supports multiple authentication mechanisms. EAP has 
been adopted as a standard by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic 
Engineers (IEEE). IEEE 802.1X is an encapsulated form for carrying 
authentication messages in a standard message exchange between a user 
(client) and an authenticator. 
Table 38 summarizes the EAP protocols (also called types or methods) 
supported by MSS. 
Table 38   EAP Authentication Protocols for Local Processing
EAP Type
Description
Use
Considerations
EAP-MD5
(EAP with 
Message Digest 
Algorithm 5)
Authentication algorithm 
that uses a 
challenge-response 
mechanism to compare 
hashes
Wired 
authentication only
*
This protocol 
provides no 
encryption or key 
establishment.
EAP-TLS
(EAP with 
Transport Layer 
Security)
Protocol that provides 
mutual authentication, 
integrity-protected 
encryption algorithm 
negotiation, and key 
exchange. EAP-TLS 
provides encryption and 
data integrity checking for 
the connection.
Wireless and wired 
authentication.
All authentication is 
processed on the 
WX switch.
This protocol 
requires X.509 
public key 
certificates on 
both sides of 
the connection.
Requires use of 
local database. 
Not supported 
for RADIUS.