DELL N3000 User Manual

Configuring Port and System Security

The Authentication Manager supports the hierarchical configuration of host 

authentication methods on an interface. Dell switches support the following 

host authentication methods:

• IEEE 802.1x
• MAC Authentication Bypass
• Captive portal

Using the Authentication Manager, the administrator can configure an 

authentication method list on a per-port basis. Authentication can be enabled 

or disabled. If authentication is disabled, then no authentication method is 

applied and the port is provided with open access. The default behavior is 

that authentication is disabled for all ports.
The configured authentication methods are attempted in the configured 

order. If an authentication method times out, then the next configured 

method is attempted. If an authentication method fails, then the next 

method is not attempted and authentication begins again from the first 

method. If all the methods fail, then the Authentication Manager starts a 

timer for reauthentication. Failure in this context means that host 

authentication was attempted and the host was unable to successfully 

authenticate. At the expiry of the timer, the Authentication Manager starts 

the authentication process again from the first method in the list.
The Authentication Manager supports configuring a priority for each 

authentication method on a port. The authentication priority allows a higher 

priority method (not currently running) to interrupt an authentication in 

progress with a lower-priority method. If a client is already authenticated, an 

interrupt from a higher-priority method can cause a client previously 

authenticated using a lower priority method to reauthenticate.
By default, Dell switches are configured with a method list that contains the 

methods (in order) Dot1x, MAB, and captive portal (web-auth) 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.