802.1x policies function

Overview

The NFM-P implementation of the 802.1X protocol provides 802.1X authentication on an individual port basis.

In an 802.1X environment, a user, called the supplicant, requests access to an access point, called the authenticator. The authenticator forces the supplicant into an unauthorized state, forcing them to send an EAP start message.

The authenticator returns an EAP message to request the user identity. The user returns the identity, which is forwarded by the authenticator to the authentication server. The server authenticates the user and returns an accept or reject message to the authenticator.

If an accept message is received, the authenticator changes the user state to authorized and user traffic is processed.