3com WXR100 3CRWXR10095A User Manual

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C
HAPTER
 21: C
ONFIGURING
 AAA 
FOR
 N
ETWORK
 U
SERS
If the WX does not receive a reply to a client’s DNS request, the WX 
spoofs a reply to the browser by sending the WX switch’s own IP address 
as the resolution to the browser’s DNS query. The WX also serves the web 
login page. This behavior simplifies use of the WebAAA feature in 
networks that do not have a DNS server. However, if the requested URL is 
invalid, the behavior gives the appearance that the requested URL is valid, 
since the browser receives a login page. Moreover, the browser might 
cache a mapping of the invalid URL to the WX IP address.
If the user enters an IP address, most browsers attempt to contact the IP 
address directly without using DNS. Some browsers even interpret 
numeric strings as IP addresses (in decimal notation) if a valid address 
could be formed by adding dots (dotted decimal notation). For example, 
208194225132 would be interpreted as a valid IP address, when 
converted to 208.194.225.132. 
WebAAA
Requirements and
Recommendations
Use the following information to ensure operation of the WebAAA 
feature. 
MSS Version 5.0 does not require or support special user web-portal-ssid, 
where ssid is the SSID the Web-Portal user associates with. Previous MSS 
Versions required this special user for Web-Portal configurations. Any 
web-portal-ssid users are removed from the configuration during 
upgrade to MSS Version 5.0. However, the web-portal-wired user is still 
required for Web Portal on wired authentication ports.
WX Switch Requirements
„
WebAAA certificate—A WebAAA certificate must be installed on the 
switch. You can use a self-signed (signed by the WX) WebAAA 
certificate automatically generated by MSS, manually generate a 
self-signed one, or install one signed by a trusted third-party 
certificate authority (CA). (For more information, see Chapter 20, 
“Managing Keys and Certificates,” on page 413.)
„
If you choose to install a self-signed WebAAA certificate, use a 
common name (a required field in the certificate), that resembles a 
web address and contains at least one dot. When MSS serves the 
login page to the browser, the page’s URL is based on the common 
name in the WebAAA certificate.