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802.1X
802.1X is a method of port security. A device connected to a port that is enabled with 802.1X is
disallowed from sending or receiving packets on the network until its identity can be verified (through a
username and password, for example). This feature is named for its IEEE specification.
802.1X employs extensible authentication protocol (EAP) to transfer a device’s credentials to an
authentication server (typically RADIUS) using a mandatory intermediary network access device, in this
case, a Dell Networking switch. The network access device mediates all communication between the
end-user device and the authentication server so that the network remains secure. The network access
device uses EAP-over-Ethernet (EAPOL) to communicate with the end-user device and EAP-over-
RADIUS to communicate with the server.
NOTE: The Dell Networking OS supports 802.1X with EAP-MD5, EAP-OTP, EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS,
PEAPv0, PEAPv1, and MS-CHAPv2 with PEAP.
The following figures show how the EAP frames are encapsulated in Ethernet and RADIUS frames.
Figure 2. EAP Frames Encapsulated in Ethernet and RADUIS
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802.1X