CH APT ER 60

Configuring IEEE 802.1X Port-Based

Authentication

This chapter describes how to configure IEEE 802.1X port-based authentication in

Cisco IOS Release 12.2SX to prevent unauthorized devices (clients) from gaining access to the network.

Note For complete syntax and usage information for the commands used in this chapter, see the Cisco IOS
Master Command List, at this URL:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/ios/mcl/allreleasemcl/all_book.html

This chapter consists of these sections:

• Understanding 802.1X Port-Based Authentication, page 60-1
• 802.1X Authentication Feature Configuration Guidelines, page 60-29
• Configuring 802.1X Port-Based Authentication, page 60-33
• Displaying Authentication Status and Information, page 60-65

Understanding 802.1X Port-Based Authentication

The IEEE 802.1X standard defines a client and server-based access control and authentication protocol
that restricts unauthorized clients from connecting to a LAN through publicly accessible ports. The
authentication server authenticates each client connected to a switch port and assigns the port to a VLAN
before making available any services offered by the switch or the LAN.
Until the client is authenticated, 802.1X access control allows only Extensible Authentication Protocol
over LAN (EAPOL) traffic through the port to which the client is connected. After authentication is
successful, normal traffic can pass through the port.
These sections describe the role of 802.1X port-based authentication as a part of a system of
authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA):
• Understanding 802.1X Device Roles, page 60-2
• Understanding the Port-based Authentication Process, page 60-3
• Authentication Initiation and Message Exchange, page 60-6
• Ports in Authorized and Unauthorized States, page 60-8

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• 802.1X Host Modes, page 60-9

• Understanding 802.1X Authentication with DHCP Snooping, page 60-11
• Understanding 802.1X Accounting, page 60-12
• Understanding 802.1X Authentication with VLAN Assignment, page 60-13
• Understanding Multiple VLANs and VLAN User Distribution with VLAN Assignment, page 60-15
• Understanding 802.1X Authentication with Guest VLAN, page 60-15
• Understanding 802.1X Authentication with Restricted VLAN, page 60-16
• Understanding 802.1X Authentication with Inaccessible Authentication Bypass, page 60-17
• Understanding 802.1X Authentication with Voice VLAN Ports, page 60-18
• Understanding 802.1X Authentication Critical Voice VLAN Support, page 60-19
• Understanding 802.1X Authentication with Port Security, page 60-19
• Understanding 802.1X Authentication with ACL Assignments and Redirect URLs, page 60-20
• Understanding RADIUS Change of Authorization, page 60-25
• Understanding 802.1X Authentication with Port Descriptors, page 60-22
• Understanding 802.1X Authentication with MAC Authentication Bypass, page 60-23
• Understanding Network Admission Control Layer 2 IEEE 802.1X Validation, page 60-24
• Understanding 802.1X Authentication with Wake-on-LAN, page 60-25
• Understanding MAC Move, page 60-26
• Understanding MAC Replace, page 60-27
• Understanding 802.1x Supplicant and Authenticator Switches with Network Edge Access Topology
(NEAT), page 60-27

Understanding 802.1X Device Roles

With 802.1X port-based authentication, the devices in the network have specific roles as shown in
Figure 60-1.

Figure 60-1 802.1X Device Roles

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The specific roles shown in Figure 60-1 are as follows:

• Client—The device (workstation) that requests access to the LAN and switch services and responds
to requests from the switch.The workstation must be running 802.1X-compliant client software such
as that offered in the Microsoft Windows XP operating system. (The client is the supplicant in the
IEEE 802.1X specification.)

Note To resolve Windows XP network connectivity and 802.1X port-based authentication issues,
read the Microsoft Knowledge Base article at this URL:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q303597/

• Authentication server—Performs the actual authentication of the client. The authentication server
validates the identity of the client and notifies the switch whether or not the client is authorized to
access the LAN and switch services. Because the switch acts as the proxy, the authentication service
is transparent to the client. The Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) security
system with Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) extensions is the only supported
authentication server; it is available in Cisco Secure Access Control Server (ACS), version 3.0.
RADIUS uses a client-server model in which secure authentication information is exchanged
between the RADIUS server and one or more RADIUS clients.
• Switch (also called the authenticator and back-end authenticator)—With Release 12.2(33)SXH and
later releases, controls the physical access to the network based on the authentication status of the
client. The switch acts as an intermediary (proxy) between the client and the authentication server,
requesting identity information from the client, verifying that information with the authentication
server, and relaying a response to the client. The switch includes the RADIUS client, which is
responsible for encapsulating and decapsulating the EAP frames and interacting with the
authentication server.
When the switch receives EAPOL frames and relays them to the authentication server, the Ethernet
header is stripped and the remaining EAP frame is reencapsulated in the RADIUS format. The EAP
frames are not modified or examined during encapsulation, and the authentication server must
support EAP within the native frame format. When the switch receives frames from the
authentication server, the server’s frame header is removed, leaving the EAP frame, which is then
encapsulated for Ethernet and sent to the client.

Understanding the Port-based Authentication Process

When 802.1X port-based authentication is enabled, these events occur:
• If the client supports 802.1X-compliant client software and the client’s identity is valid, the 802.1X
authentication succeeds and the switch grants the client access to the network.
• If 802.1X authentication times out while waiting for an EAPOL message exchange, the switch can
use a fallback authentication method, such as MAC authentication bypass (MAB) or web-based
authentication (webauth), if either or both are enabled:
– If MAC authentication bypass is enabled, the switch relays the client’s MAC address to the
AAA server for authorization. If the client’s MAC address is valid, the authorization succeeds
and the switch grants the client access to the network.
– If web-based authentication is enabled, the switch sends an HTTP login page to the client. The
switch relays the client’s username and password to the AAA server for authorization. If the
login succeeds, the switch grants the client access to the network.

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Note The default order for authentication methods is 802.1X, and then MAB, then web-based
authentication. You can change the order, and you can disable any of these methods.

• If fallback authentication methods are not enabled or are not successful, and if a guest VLAN is
configured, the switch assigns the client to a guest VLAN that provides limited services.
• If the switch receives an invalid identity from an 802.1X-capable client and a restricted VLAN is
specified, the switch can assign the client to a restricted VLAN that provides limited services.
• If the RADIUS authentication server is unavailable (down) and inaccessible authentication bypass
is enabled, the switch grants the client access to the network by putting the port in the
critical-authentication state in the user-specified critical VLAN. Release 12.2(33)SXJ1 and later
releases support configuration of critical voice and data VLANs.

Note Inaccessible authentication bypass is also referred to as critical authentication or the AAA fail
policy.

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Figure 60-2 shows the authentication process.

Figure 60-2 Authentication Flowchart

Start

Is the client IEEE No IEEE 802.1x authentication Is MAC authentication

802.1x capable? process times out. bypass enabled? 1
Yes Yes No

The switch gets an

EAPOL message, and the
EAPOL message
Start IEEE 802.1x port-based exchange begins. Use MAC authentication
authentication. bypass. 1
Client Client Client MAC Client MAC
identity is identity is address address
invalid valid identity identity
is valid. is invalid.

Assign the port to Assign the port to Is web-based

a restricted VLAN. a VLAN. authentication
enabled? 1
Yes No
Done Done

All
authentication Use web-based
servers are authentication.1
down
All Login Login
authentication passed failed
Use inaccessible servers are
authentication bypass down
(critical authentication)
to assign the critical Assign the port to Assign the port to
port to a VLAN. a VLAN. a guest VLAN. 1

280232
Done Done Done

1 = This occurs if the switch does not detect EAPOL packets from the client.

The switch reauthenticates a client when one of these situations occurs:

• Periodic reauthentication is enabled, and the reauthentication timer expires.
You can configure the reauthentication timer to use a switch-specific value or to be based on values
from the RADIUS server.
After 802.1X authentication using a RADIUS server is configured, the switch uses timers based on
the Session-Timeout RADIUS attribute (Attribute[27]) and the Termination-Action RADIUS
attribute (Attribute [29]).
The Session-Timeout RADIUS attribute (Attribute[27]) specifies the time after which
reauthentication occurs.

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The Termination-Action RADIUS attribute (Attribute [29]) specifies the action to take during
reauthentication. The actions are Initialize and ReAuthenticate. When the Initialize action is set (the
attribute value is DEFAULT), the 802.1X session ends, and connectivity is lost during
reauthentication. When the ReAuthenticate action is set (the attribute value is RADIUS-Request),
the session is not affected during reauthentication.
• You manually reauthenticate the client by entering the dot1x re-authenticate interface type
slot/port privileged EXEC command (Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXH and earlier releases).

Authentication Initiation and Message Exchange

The switch or the client can initiate authentication. If you enable authentication on a port by using the
dot1x pae authenticator and authentication port-control auto interface configuration commands
(dot1x port-control auto command in Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXH and earlier releases), the switch
must initiate authentication when it determines that the port link state transitions from down to up. The
switch then sends an EAP-request/identity frame to the client to request its identity (typically, the switch
sends an initial identity/request frame followed by one or more requests for authentication information).
When the client receives the frame, it responds with an EAP-response/identity frame.
If the client does not receive an EAP-request/identity frame from the switch during bootup, the client
can initiate authentication by sending an EAPOL-start frame, which prompts the switch to request the
client’s identity.

Note If 802.1X is not enabled or supported on the network access device, any EAPOL frames from the client
are dropped. If the client does not receive an EAP-request/identity frame after three attempts to start
authentication, the client transmits frames as if the port is in the authorized state. A port in the authorized
state effectively means that the client has been successfully authenticated. For more information, see the
“Ports in Authorized and Unauthorized States” section on page 60-8.

When the client supplies its identity, the switch begins its role as the intermediary, passing EAP frames
between the client and the authentication server until authentication succeeds or fails. If the
authentication succeeds, the port becomes authorized. If the authentication fails, authentication can be
retried, the port might be assigned to a VLAN that provides limited services, or network access is not
granted. For more information, see the “Ports in Authorized and Unauthorized States” section on
page 60-8.

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The specific exchange of EAP frames depends on the authentication method being used. Figure 60-3
shows a message exchange initiated by the client using the One-Time-Password (OTP) authentication
method with a RADIUS server.

Figure 60-3 Message Exchange

Catalyst switch Authentication

Client or server
Cisco Router (RADIUS)

EAPOL-Start
EAP-Request/Identity
EAP-Response/Identity RADIUS Access-Request
EAP-Request/OTP RADIUS Access-Challenge
EAP-Response/OTP RADIUS Access-Request
EAP-Success RADIUS Access-Accept

Port Authorized

EAPOL-Logoff

79551
Port Unauthorized

If 802.1X authentication times out while waiting for an EAPOL message exchange, and MAC
authentication bypass is enabled, the switch can authorize the client when the switch detects an Ethernet
packet from the client. The switch uses the MAC address of the client as its identity and includes this
information in the RADIUS-access/request frame that is sent to the RADIUS server. After the server
sends the switch the RADIUS-access/accept frame (authorization is successful), the port becomes
authorized. If MAB authorization fails and a guest VLAN is specified, the switch assigns the port to the
guest VLAN. If the switch detects an EAPOL packet while waiting for an Ethernet packet, the switch
stops the MAC authentication bypass process and starts 802.1X authentication.

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Figure 60-4 shows the message exchange during MAC authentication bypass.

Figure 60-4 Message Exchange During MAC Authentication Bypass

Authentication
Client server
Switch (RADIUS)

EAPOL Request/Identity

EAPOL Request/Identity

EAPOL Request/Identity

Ethernet packet RADIUS Access/Request

RADIUS Access/Accept

141681
Ports in Authorized and Unauthorized States
The switch port state determines whether or not the client is granted access to the network. The port
starts in the unauthorized state. While in this state, the port disallows all ingress and egress traffic except
for 802.1X protocol packets. When a client is successfully authenticated, the port transitions to the
authorized state, allowing all traffic for the client to flow normally.
If a client that does not support 802.1X authentication connects to an unauthorized 802.1X port, the
switch requests the client’s identity. In this situation, the client does not respond to the request, the port
remains in the unauthorized state, and the client is not granted access to the network.
In contrast, when an 802.1X-enabled client connects to a port that is not running the 802.1X protocol,
the client initiates the authentication process by sending the EAPOL-start frame. When no response is
received, the client sends the request for a fixed number of times. Because no response is received, the
client begins sending frames as if the port is in the authorized state.
You control the port authorization state by using the authentication port-control interface
configuration command (dot1x port-control auto command in Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXH and
earlier releases) and these keywords:
• force-authorized—Disables 802.1X port-based authentication and causes the port to transition to
the authorized state without any authentication exchange required. The port transmits and receives
normal traffic without 802.1X-based authentication of the client. This is the default setting.
• force-unauthorized—Causes the port to remain in the unauthorized state, ignoring all attempts by
the client to authenticate. The switch cannot provide authentication services to the client through the
interface.
• auto—Enables 802.1X port-based authentication and causes the port to begin in the unauthorized
state, allowing only EAPOL frames to be sent and received through the port. The authentication
process begins when the link state of the port transitions from down to up or when an EAPOL-start
frame is received. The switch requests the identity of the client and begins relaying authentication
messages between the client and the authentication server. Each client attempting to access the
network is uniquely identified by the switch by using the client’s MAC address.

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If the client is successfully authenticated (receives an Accept frame from the authentication server), the
port state changes to authorized, and all frames from the authenticated client are allowed through the
port. If the authentication fails, the port remains in the unauthorized state, but authentication can be
retried. If the authentication server cannot be reached, the switch can retransmit the request. If no
response is received from the server after the specified number of attempts, authentication fails, and
network access is not granted.
When a client logs off, it sends an EAPOL-logoff message, causing the switch port to transition to the
unauthorized state.
If the link state of a port transitions from up to down, or if an EAPOL-logoff frame is received, the port
returns to the unauthorized state.

802.1X Host Modes

The 802.1X port’s host mode determines whether more than one client can be authenticated on the port
and how authentication will be enforced. You can configure an 802.1X port to use any of the four host
modes described in the following sections. In addition, each mode may be modified to allow
pre-authentication open access.
• Single-Host Mode, page 60-9
• Multiple-Hosts Mode, page 60-9
• Multidomain Authentication Mode, page 60-10
• Multiauthentication Mode, page 60-10
• Pre-Authentication Open Access, page 60-11

Single-Host Mode
In single-host mode (see Figure 60-1 on page 60-2), only one client can be connected to the
802.1X-enabled port. The switch detects the client by sending an EAPOL frame when the port link state
changes to the up state. If a client leaves or is replaced with another client, the switch changes the port
link state to down, and the port returns to the unauthorized state.

Multiple-Hosts Mode
In multiple-hosts mode, you can attach multiple hosts to a single 802.1X-enabled port. Figure 60-5
shows 802.1X port-based authentication in a wireless LAN. In this mode, only one of the attached clients
must be authorized for all clients to be granted network access. If the port becomes unauthorized
(reauthentication fails or an EAPOL-logoff message is received), the switch denies network access to all
of the attached clients. In this topology, the wireless access point is responsible for authenticating the
clients attached to it, and it also acts as a client to the switch.
With the multiple-hosts mode enabled, you can use 802.1X authentication to authenticate the port and
you can use port security to manage network access for all MAC addresses, including the client’s MAC
address.

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Figure 60-5 Multiple Host Mode Example

Authentication
server
Access point (RADIUS)

Wireless clients

101227
Multidomain Authentication Mode
Supported in Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI and later releases, multidomain authentication (MDA)
mode allows an IP phone (Cisco or third-party) and a single host behind the IP phone to authenticate
independently, using 802.1X, MAC authentication bypass (MAB), or (for the host only) web-based
authentication. In this application, multidomain refers to two domains, data and voice, and only two
MAC addresses are allowed per port. The switch can place the host in the data VLAN and the IP phone
in the voice VLAN, though they appear on the same switch port. The data VLAN assignment can be
obtained from the vendor-specific attributes (VSAs) received from the authentication, authorization, and
accounting (AAA) server during authentication.
Figure 60-6 shows a typical MDA application with a single host behind an IP phone connected to the
802.1X-enabled port. Because the client is not directly connected to the switch, the switch cannot detect
a loss of port link if the client is disconnected. To prevent the possibility of another device using the
established authentication of the disconnected client, later Cisco IP phones send a Cisco Discovery
Protocol (CDP) host presence type length value (TLV) to notify the switch of changes in the attached
client’s port link state.

Figure 60-6 Multidomain Authentication Mode Example

Authentication
server
Client IP phone Switch (RADIUS)
187640

IP

Multiauthentication Mode
Available in Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI and later releases, multiauthentication (multiauth) mode
allows one 802.1X/MAB client on the voice VLAN and multiple authenticated 802.1X/MAB/webauth
clients on the data VLAN. When a hub or access point is connected to an 802.1X port (as shown in
Figure 60-5), multiauth mode provides enhanced security over the multiple-hosts mode by requiring
authentication of each connected client. For non-802.1X devices, MAB or web-based authentication can
be used as the fallback method for individual host authentications, which allows different hosts to be
authenticated through different methods on a single port.

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Multiauth also supports MDA functionality on the voice VLAN by assigning authenticated devices to
either a data or voice VLAN depending on the data that the VSAs received from the authentication server.
Release 12.2(33)SXJ and later releases support the assignment of a RADIUS server-supplied VLAN in
multiauth mode, by using the existing commands and when these conditions occur:
• The host is the first host authorized on the port, and the RADIUS server supplies VLAN information.
• Subsequent hosts are authorized with a VLAN that matches the operational VLAN.
• A host is authorized on the port with no VLAN assignment, and subsequent hosts either have no
VLAN assignment, or their VLAN information matches the operational VLAN.
• The first host authorized on the port has a group VLAN assignment, and subsequent hosts either
have no VLAN assignment, or their group VLAN matches the group VLAN on the port. Subsequent
hosts must use the same VLAN from the VLAN group as the first host. If a VLAN list is used, all
hosts are subject to the conditions specified in the VLAN list.
• After a VLAN is assigned to a host on the port, subsequent hosts must have matching VLAN
information or be denied access to the port.
• The behavior of the critical-auth VLAN is not changed for multiauth mode. When a host tries to
authenticate and the server is not reachable, all authorized hosts are reinitialized in the configured
VLAN.

Note • Only one voice VLAN is supported on a multiauth port.

• You cannot configure a guest VLAN or an auth-fail VLAN in multiauth mode.

Pre-Authentication Open Access

With Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI and later releases, any of the four host modes may be additionally
configured to allow a device to gain network access before authentication. This pre-authentication open
access is useful in an application such as the Pre-boot eXecution Environment (PXE), where a device
must access the network to download a bootable image containing an authentication client.
Pre-authentication open access is enabled by entering the authentication open command after host
mode configuration, and acts as an extension to the configured host mode. For example, if
pre-authentication open access is enabled with single-host mode, then the port will allow only one MAC
address. When pre-authentication open access is enabled, initial traffic on the port is restricted only by
whatever other access restriction, independent of 802.1X, is configured on the port. If no access
restriction other than 802.1X is configured on the port, then a client device will have full access on the
configured VLAN.

Understanding 802.1X Authentication with DHCP Snooping

With Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXH and later releases, when the Dynamic Host Configuration
Protocol (DHCP) snooping option-82 with data insertion feature is enabled, the switch can insert a
client’s 802.1X authenticated user identity information into the DHCP discovery process, allowing the
DHCP server to assign IP addresses from different IP address pools to different classes of end users. This
feature allows you to secure the IP addresses given to the end users for accounting purposes and to allow
services based on Layer 3 criteria.

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After a successful 802.1X authentication between a supplicant and the RADIUS server, the switch puts
the port in the forwarding state and stores the attributes that it receives from the RADIUS server. While
performing DHCP snooping, the switch acts as a DHCP relay agent, receiving DHCP messages and
regenerating those messages for transmission on another interface. When a client, after 802.1X
authentication, sends a DHCP discovery message, the switch receives the packet. The switch adds to the
packet a RADIUS attributes suboption section containing the stored RADIUS attributes of the client.
The switch then submits the discovery broadcast again. The DHCP server receives the modified DHCP
discovery packet and can, if configured to do so, use the authenticated user identity information when
creating the IP address lease. The mapping of user-to-IP address can be on a one-to-one, one-to-many,
or many-to-many basis. The one-to-many mapping allows the same user to authenticate through the
802.1X hosts on multiple ports.
The switch will automatically insert the authenticated user identity information when 802.1X
authentication and DHCP snooping option-82 with data insertion features are enabled. To configure
DHCP snooping option-82 with data insertion, see the “DHCP Snooping Option-82 Data Insertion”
section on page 54-3.
For information about the data inserted in the RADIUS attributes suboption, see RFC 4014, “Remote
Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) Attributes Suboption for the Dynamic Host Configuration
Protocol (DHCP) Relay Agent Information Option.”

Understanding 802.1X Accounting

The IEEE 802.1X standard defines how users are authorized and authenticated for network access but
does not keep track of network usage. IEEE 802.1X accounting is disabled by default. With
Release 12.2(33)SXH and later releases, you can enable 802.1X accounting to monitor the following
activities on 802.1X-enabled ports:
• User successfully authenticates.
• User logs off.
• Link-down occurs.
• Reauthentication successfully occurs.
• Reauthentication fails.
The switch does not log IEEE 802.1X accounting information. Instead, it sends this information to the
RADIUS server, which must be configured to log accounting messages.
The information sent to the RADIUS server is represented in the form of 802.1X Accounting
Attribute-Value (AV) pairs. These AV pairs provide data for different applications. (For example, a
billing application might require information that is in the Acct-Input-Octets or the Acct-Output-Octets
attributes of a RADIUS packet.)
AV pairs are automatically sent by a switch that is configured for 802.1X accounting. Three types of
RADIUS accounting packets are sent by a switch:
• START–Sent when a new user session starts.
• INTERIM–Sent during an existing session for updates.
• STOP–Sent when a session terminates.

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Table 60-1 lists the AV pairs and indicates when they are sent are sent by the switch.

Table 60-1 Accounting AV Pairs

Attribute Number AV Pair Name START INTERIM STOP

Attribute[1] User-Name Always Always Always
Attribute[4] NAS-IP-Address Always Always Always
Attribute[5] NAS-Port Always Always Always
1
Attribute[8] Framed-IP-Address Never Sometimes Sometimes1
Attribute[25] Class Always Always Always
2
Attribute[26] Vendor-Specific — — —
Attribute[30] Called-Station-ID Always Always Always
Attribute[31] Calling-Station-ID Always Always Always
Attribute[40] Acct-Status-Type Always Always Always
Attribute[41] Acct-Delay-Time Always Always Always
Attribute[42] Acct-Input-Octets Never Never Always
Attribute[43] Acct-Output-Octets Never Never Always
Attribute[44] Acct-Session-ID Always Always Always
Attribute[45] Acct-Authentic Always Always Always
Attribute[46] Acct-Session-Time Never Never Always
Attribute[49] Acct-Terminate-Cause Never Never Always
Attribute[61] NAS-Port-Type Always Always Always
1. The Framed-IP-Address AV pair is sent only if a valid DHCP binding exists for the host in the DHCP
snooping bindings table.
2. Vendor-specific attributes (VSAs) are used by other 802.1X features.

You can view the AV pairs that are being sent by the switch by entering the debug radius accounting
privileged EXEC command. For more information about this command, see the Cisco IOS Debug
Command Reference, Release 12.2 at this URL:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/ios/12_2/debug/command/reference/122debug.html
For more information about AV pairs, see RFC 3580, “IEEE 802.1X Remote Authentication Dial In User
Service (RADIUS) Usage Guidelines.”

Understanding 802.1X Authentication with VLAN Assignment

After successful 802.1X authentication of a port, the RADIUS server sends the VLAN assignment to
configure the port. The RADIUS server database maintains the username-to-VLAN mappings, assigning
the VLAN based on the username of the client connected to the port. You can use this feature to limit
network access for certain users.

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When configured on the switch and the RADIUS server, 802.1X authentication with VLAN assignment
has these characteristics:
• If 802.1X authentication is enabled on a port, and if all information from the RADIUS server is
valid, the port is placed in the RADIUS server-assigned VLAN after authentication.
• If the multiple-hosts mode is enabled on an 802.1X port, all hosts on the port are placed in the same
RADIUS server-assigned VLAN as the first authenticated host.
• If the multiauth mode is enabled on an 802.1X port, the VLAN assignment will be ignored.
• If no VLAN number is supplied by the RADIUS server, the port is configured in its access VLAN
after successful authentication. An access VLAN is a VLAN assigned to an access port. All packets
sent from or received on this port belong to this VLAN.
• If 802.1X authentication is enabled but the VLAN information from the RADIUS server is not valid,
the port returns to the unauthorized state and remains in the configured access VLAN. This prevents
ports from appearing unexpectedly in an inappropriate VLAN because of a configuration error.
Configuration errors could include specifying a VLAN for a routed port, a malformed VLAN ID, a
nonexistent or internal (routed port) VLAN ID, or an attempted assignment to a voice VLAN ID.
• If 802.1X authentication is disabled on the port, the port is returned to the configured access VLAN.
When the port is in the force-authorized, force-unauthorized, unauthorized, or shutdown state, the port
is put into the configured access VLAN.
If an 802.1X port is authenticated and put in the RADIUS server-assigned VLAN, any change to the port
access VLAN configuration does not take effect.
The 802.1X authentication with VLAN assignment feature is not supported on trunk ports, dynamic
ports, or with dynamic-access port assignment through a VLAN Membership Policy Server (VMPS).
To configure VLAN assignment, perform this task:

Step 1 Enable AAA authorization by using the network keyword to allow interface configuration from the
RADIUS server.
Step 2 Enable 802.1X authentication.
Step 3 The VLAN assignment feature is automatically enabled when you configure 802.1X authentication on
an access port.
Step 4 Assign vendor-specific tunnel attributes in the RADIUS server. The RADIUS server must return these
attributes to the switch:
• [64] Tunnel-Type = VLAN
• [65] Tunnel-Medium-Type = 802
• [81] Tunnel-Private-Group-ID = VLAN name or VLAN ID
Attribute [64] must contain the value VLAN (type 13). Attribute [65] must contain the value 802 (type
6). Attribute [81] specifies the VLAN name or VLAN ID assigned to the 802.1X-authenticated user.

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Understanding 802.1X Port-Based Authentication

Understanding Multiple VLANs and VLAN User Distribution with VLAN

Assignment
In Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI1 and later releases, the RADIUS-supplied VLAN assignment can
provide load balancing by distributing 802.1X-authenticated users among multiple VLANs.
In earlier releases, the RADIUS server can supply a single VLAN name or ID for the assignment of an
authenticating user. In Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI1 and later releases, the RADIUS server can
supply multiple VLAN names and IDs or the name of a VLAN group that contains multiple VLANs. Use
either of the following two methods to load balance the users between the different VLANs:
• Configure the RADIUS server to send more than one VLAN ID or VLAN name as part of the
response to the authenticating user. The 802.1X VLAN user group feature tracks the users in a
particular VLAN and achieves load balancing by placing newly authenticated users in the least
populated VLAN of the RADIUS-supplied VLAN IDs.
Perform the steps shown in the “Understanding 802.1X Authentication with VLAN Assignment”
section on page 60-13 with the following exception:
Attribute [81] Tunnel-Private-Group-ID specifies multiple VLAN names or VLAN IDs
• Define a VLAN group that contains multiple VLANs. Configure the RADIUS server to supply the
VLAN group name instead of a VLAN ID as part of the response to the authenticating user. If the
supplied VLAN group name is found among the VLAN group names that you have defined, the
newly authenticated user is placed in the least populated VLAN within the VLAN group.
Perform the steps shown in the “Understanding 802.1X Authentication with VLAN Assignment”
section on page 60-13 with the following exception:
Attribute [81] Tunnel-Private-Group-ID specifies a defined VLAN group name
For more information, see the “Configuring VLAN User Distribution” section on page 60-49.

Understanding 802.1X Authentication with Guest VLAN

With Release 12.2(33)SXH and later releases, you can configure a guest VLAN for each 802.1X port on
the switch to provide limited services to non-802.1X-compliant clients, such as for downloading the
802.1X client software. These clients might be upgrading their system for 802.1X authentication, and
some hosts, such as Windows 98 systems, might not be 802.1X-capable.
When you enable a guest VLAN on an 802.1X port, the switch assigns clients to a guest VLAN when
the switch does not receive a response to its EAP request/identity frame or when EAPOL packets are not
sent by the client and no fallback authentication methods are enabled.
In addition, the switch maintains the EAPOL packet history. If an EAPOL packet is detected on the
interface during the lifetime of the link, the switch determines that the device connected to that interface
is an 802.1X-capable supplicant, and the interface will not change to the guest VLAN state. The EAPOL
packet history is cleared if the interface link status goes down.
Use the dot1x guest-vlan supplicant global configuration command to allow an interface to change to
the guest VLAN state regardless of the EAPOL packet history. That is, a host that is not 802.1X-capable
will be assigned to the guest VLAN even if a previous host on that interface was 802.1X-capable.

Note If an EAPOL packet is detected after the interface has changed to the guest VLAN, the interface reverts
to an unauthorized state, and 802.1X authentication restarts.

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Understanding 802.1X Port-Based Authentication

Any number of 802.1X-incapable clients are allowed access when the port is moved to the guest VLAN.
If an 802.1X-capable client joins the same port on which the guest VLAN is configured, the port is put
into the unauthorized state in the user-configured access VLAN, and authentication is restarted.
When operating as an 802.1X guest VLAN, a port functions in multiple-hosts mode regardless of the
configured host mode of the port.
You can configure any active VLAN except an RSPAN VLAN, a private primary PVLAN, or a voice
VLAN as an 802.1X guest VLAN. The guest VLAN feature is not supported on internal VLANs (routed
ports) or trunk ports; it is supported only on access ports.
The switch supports MAC authentication bypass in Release 12.2(33)SXH and later releases. When MAC
authentication bypass is enabled on an 802.1X port, the switch can authorize clients based on the client
MAC address when 802.1X authentication times out while waiting for an EAPOL message exchange.
After detecting a client on an 802.1X port, the switch waits for an Ethernet packet from the client. The
switch sends the authentication server a RADIUS-access/request frame with a username and password
based on the MAC address. If authorization succeeds, the switch grants the client access to the network.
If authorization fails, the switch assigns the port to the guest VLAN if one is specified.
For more information, see the “Understanding 802.1X Authentication with MAC Authentication
Bypass” section on page 60-23 and the “Configuring a Guest VLAN” section on page 60-50.

Understanding 802.1X Authentication with Restricted VLAN

You can configure a restricted VLAN (also referred to as an authentication failed VLAN) for each 802.1X
port on a switch to provide limited services to clients that failed authentication and cannot access the
guest VLAN. These clients are 802.1X-compliant and cannot access another VLAN because they fail
the authentication process. A restricted VLAN allows users without valid credentials in an authentication
server (typically, visitors to an enterprise) to access a limited set of services. The administrator can
control the services available to the restricted VLAN.

Note You can configure a VLAN to be both the guest VLAN and the restricted VLAN if you want to provide
the same services to both types of users.

Without this feature, the client attempts and fails authentication indefinitely, and the port remains in the
spanning-tree blocking state. With this feature, you can configure the port to be in the restricted VLAN
after a specified number of authentication attempts.
The authenticator counts the failed authentication attempts for the client. The failed attempt count
increments when the RADIUS server replies with either an Access-Reject EAP failure or an empty
response without an EAP packet. When this count exceeds the configured maximum number of
authentication attempts, the port moves to the restricted VLAN, the failed attempt counter resets, and
subsequent EAPOL-start messages from the failed client are ignored.
Users who fail authentication remain in the restricted VLAN until the next switch-initiated
reauthentication attempt. A port in the restricted VLAN tries to reauthenticate at configured intervals
(the default is 60 seconds). If reauthentication fails, the port remains in the restricted VLAN. If
reauthentication is successful, the port moves either to the configured VLAN or to a VLAN sent by the
RADIUS server. You can disable reauthentication. If you do this, the only way to restart the
authentication process is for the port to receive a link down or EAP logoff event. We recommend that
you keep reauthentication enabled if a client might connect through a hub. When a client disconnects
from the hub, the port might not receive the link down or EAP logoff event.

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Understanding 802.1X Port-Based Authentication

When operating as an 802.1X restricted VLAN, a port functions in single-host mode regardless of the
configured host mode of the port. Only the client that failed authentication is allowed access on the port.
An exception is that a port configured in MDA mode can still authenticate a voice supplicant from the
restricted VLAN.
You can configure any active VLAN except an RSPAN VLAN or a voice VLAN as an 802.1X restricted
VLAN. The restricted VLAN feature is not supported on routed or trunk ports; it is supported only on
access ports.
This feature works with port security. As soon as the port is authorized, a MAC address is provided to
port security. If port security does not permit the MAC address or if the maximum secure address count
is reached, the port becomes unauthorized and error disabled.
Other port security features such as dynamic ARP Inspection, DHCP snooping, and IP source guard can
be configured independently on a restricted VLAN.
For more information, see the “Configuring a Restricted VLAN” section on page 60-51.

Understanding 802.1X Authentication with Inaccessible Authentication Bypass

With Release 12.2(33)SXH and later releases, when the switch cannot reach the configured RADIUS
servers and hosts cannot be authenticated, you can configure the switch to allow network access to the
hosts connected to critical ports. A critical port is enabled for the inaccessible authentication bypass
feature, also referred to as critical authentication or the AAA fail policy.
When this feature is enabled, the switch checks the status of the configured RADIUS servers whenever
the switch tries to authenticate a host connected to a critical port. If a server is available, the switch can
authenticate the host. However, if all the RADIUS servers are unavailable, the switch grants network
access to the host and puts the port in the critical-authentication state, which is a special case of the
authentication state.
The behavior of the inaccessible authentication bypass feature depends on the authorization state of the
port:
• If the port is unauthorized when a host connected to a critical port tries to authenticate and all servers
are unavailable, the switch puts the port in the critical-authentication state in the user-specified
critical VLAN.
• If the port is already authorized and reauthentication occurs, the switch puts the critical port in the
critical-authentication state in the current VLAN, which might be the one previously assigned by
the RADIUS server.
• If the RADIUS server becomes unavailable during an authentication exchange, the current
exchanges times out, and the switch puts the critical port in the critical-authentication state during
the next authentication attempt.
When a RADIUS server that can authenticate the host is available, all critical ports in the
critical-authentication state are automatically reauthenticated.

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Understanding 802.1X Port-Based Authentication

Inaccessible authentication bypass interacts with these features:

• Guest VLAN—Inaccessible authentication bypass is compatible with guest VLAN. When a guest
VLAN is enabled on 8021.x port, the features interact as follows:
– If at least one RADIUS server is available, the switch assigns a client to a guest VLAN when
the switch does not receive a response to its EAP request/identity frame or when EAPOL
packets are not sent by the client.
– If all the RADIUS servers are not available and the client is connected to a critical port, the
switch authenticates the client and puts the critical port in the critical-authentication state in the
user-specified critical VLAN.
– If all the RADIUS servers are not available and the client is not connected to a critical port, the
switch might not assign clients to the guest VLAN if one is configured.
– If all the RADIUS servers are not available and if a client is connected to a critical port and was
previously assigned to a guest VLAN, the switch keeps the port in the guest VLAN.
• Restricted VLAN—If the port is already authorized in a restricted VLAN and the RADIUS servers
are unavailable, the switch puts the critical port in the critical-authentication state in the restricted
VLAN.
• 802.1X accounting—Accounting is not affected if the RADIUS servers are unavailable.
• Private VLAN—You can configure inaccessible authentication bypass on a private VLAN host port.
The access VLAN must be a secondary private VLAN.
• Voice VLAN—Inaccessible authentication bypass is compatible with voice VLAN, but the
RADIUS-configured or user-specified access VLAN and the voice VLAN must be different.
• Remote Switched Port Analyzer (RSPAN)—Do not configure an RSPAN VLAN as the
RADIUS-configured or user-specified access VLAN for inaccessible authentication bypass.

Understanding 802.1X Authentication with Voice VLAN Ports

A Multi-VLAN Access Port (MVAP) is a port that belong to two VLANs. A voice VLAN port is an
MVAP that allows separating a port’s voice traffic and data traffic on different VLANs. A voice VLAN
port is associated with two VLAN identifiers:
• Voice VLAN identifier (VVID) to carry voice traffic to and from the IP phone. The VVID is used to
configure the IP phone connected to the port.
• Port VLAN identifier (PVID) to carry the data traffic to and from the workstation connected to the
switch through the IP phone. The PVID is the native VLAN of the port.
In releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXH, a switch in single-host mode accepted traffic from a single
host, and voice traffic was not allowed. In multiple-hosts mode, the switch did not accept voice traffic
until the client was authenticated on the primary VLAN, which makes the IP phone inoperable until the
user logged in.
With Release 12.2(33)SXH and later releases, the IP phone uses the VVID for its voice traffic, regardless
of the authorization state of the port. This allows the phone to work independently of 802.1X
authentication.
In single-host mode, only the IP phone is allowed on the voice VLAN. In multiple-hosts mode,
additional clients can send traffic on the voice VLAN after a supplicant is authenticated on the PVID.
When multiple-hosts mode is enabled, the supplicant authentication affects both the PVID and the
VVID.

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Understanding 802.1X Port-Based Authentication

In order to recognize an IP phone, the switch will allow CDP traffic on a port regardless of the
authorization state of the port. A voice VLAN port becomes active when there is a link, and the device
MAC address appears after the first CDP message from the IP phone. Cisco IP phones do not relay CDP
messages from other devices. As a result, if several IP phones are connected in series, the switch
recognizes only the one directly connected to it. When 802.1X authentication is enabled on a voice
VLAN port, the switch drops packets from unrecognized IP phones more than one hop away.
When 802.1X authentication is enabled on a port, you cannot configure a port VLAN that is equal to a
voice VLAN.

Note If you enable 802.1X authentication on an access port on which a voice VLAN is configured and to
which a Cisco IP phone is connected, the Cisco IP phone loses connectivity to the switch for up to 30
seconds.

For voice VLAN configuration information, see Chapter 15, “Configuring Cisco IP Phone Support.”

Understanding 802.1X Authentication Critical Voice VLAN Support

With normal network connectivity, when an IP phone successfully authenticates on a port, the
authentication server puts the phone into the voice domain. If the authentication server becomes
unreachable, IP phones cannot authenticate. In multidomain authentication (MDA) mode or
multiauthentication mode, you can configure the critical voice VLAN support feature to put phone traffic
into the configured voice VLAN of the port (see the “Enabling Critical Voice VLAN Support” section
on page 60-56).

Understanding 802.1X Authentication with Port Security

With Release 12.2(33)SXH and later releases, you can configure an 802.1X port with port security in
either single-host or multiple-hosts mode. (You also must configure port security on the port by using
the switchport port-security interface configuration command.) When you enable port security and
802.1X authentication on a port, 802.1X authentication authenticates the port, and port security manages
network access for all MAC addresses, including that of the client. You can then limit the number or
group of clients that can access the network through an 802.1X port.
These are some examples of the interaction between 802.1X authentication and port security on the
switch:
• When a client is authenticated, and the port security table is not full, the client MAC address is added
to the port security list of secure hosts. The port then proceeds to come up normally.
When a client is authenticated and manually configured for port security, it is guaranteed an entry
in the secure host table.
A security violation occurs if the client is authenticated, but the port security table is full. This can
happen if the maximum number of secure hosts has been statically configured or if the client ages
out of the secure host table. If the client address is aged, its place in the secure host table can be
taken by another host.
If a security violation is caused by any host, the port becomes error-disabled and immediately shuts
down.
The port security violation modes determine the action for security violations. For more
information, see the “Configuring the Port Security Violation Mode on a Port” section on page 62-6.

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Understanding 802.1X Port-Based Authentication

• When you manually remove an 802.1X client address from the port security table by using the no
switchport port-security mac-address mac-address interface configuration command, you should
reauthenticate the 802.1X client by using the dot1x re-authenticate interface type slot/port
privileged EXEC command.
• When an 802.1X client logs off, the port changes to an unauthenticated state, and all dynamic entries
in the secure host table are cleared, including the entry for the client. Normal authentication then
takes place.
• If the port is administratively shut down, the port becomes unauthenticated, and all dynamic entries
are removed from the secure host table.
• Port security and a voice VLAN can be configured simultaneously on an 802.1X port that is in either
single-host or multiple-hosts mode. Port security applies to both the voice VLAN identifier (VVID)
and the port VLAN identifier (PVID).
For more information about enabling port security on your switch, see the “Configuring Port Security”
section on page 62-5.

Understanding 802.1X Authentication with ACL Assignments and Redirect URLs

With Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI and later releases, per-host policies such as ACLs and redirect
URLs can be downloaded to the switch from the authentication server (AS) in a RADIUS Access-Accept
packet at the end of an 802.1X, MAB, or web-based authentication exchange.
Per-host policies are activated during authentication as follows:
• Downloadable ACLs (DACLs) are defined in the Cisco Secure ACS and downloaded from the ACS
to the switch using VSAs.
• Filter-ID ACLs are defined on the switch, and only the ACL name is downloaded from the AS to the
switch using the RADIUS Filter-ID attribute. Filter-ID ACLs are supported in Cisco IOS Release
12.2(33)SXI2 and later releases.
• A redirection URL and an ACL name are downloaded from the ACS to the switch using VSAs. The
redirection ACL is defined on the switch.
For information about configuring per-host policies, see the “Configuring the Switch for DACLs or
Redirect URLs” section on page 60-60.

Downloadable ACLs Using the Cisco Secure ACS

Following a successful host authentication, the Cisco Secure ACS can use a VSA to download an ACL
to the switch. The switch combines the DACL with the default ACL on the port to which the host has
connected. Because the DACL definition resides on the authentication server, this feature allows for
centralized policy management.
Two methods are provided in the Cisco Secure ACS for configuring DACLs:
• Downloadable IP ACL
Downloading of the DACL is enabled by selecting Assign IP ACL in the ACS configuration, and the
DACL is defined in the Downloadable IP ACL Content menu of the ACS. There is no restriction on
the size of the DACL.
• Per-user ACL

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Understanding 802.1X Port-Based Authentication

In Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI2 and later releases, the ACS can use the
CiscoSecure-Defined-ACL [009\001 cisco-av-pair] VSAs to deliver the DACL. Because the entire
DACL is delivered in a single RADIUS packet, the maximum size is limited by the 4096-byte
maximum size for a RADIUS packet. The DACL must be defined on the ACS using the following
format:
protocol:inacl#sequence_number=ace
as shown in this example:
ip:inacl#10=permit ip any 67.2.2.0 0.0.0.255

These guidelines apply when using DACLs:

• The source address for all ACEs must be defined as ANY.
• When the 802.1X host mode of the port is MDA or multiauth, the DACL will be modified to use the
authenticated host’s IP address as the source address. When the host mode is either single-host or
multiple-host, the source address will be configured as ANY, and the downloaded ACLs or redirects
will apply to all devices on the port.
• If no DACLs are provided during the authentication of a host, the static default ACL configured on
the port will be applied to the host. On a voice VLAN port, only the static default ACL of the port
will be applied to the phone.

Filter-ID ACLs
In Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI2 and later releases, following a successful host authentication, the
authentication server can use the RADIUS Filter-ID attribute (Attribute[11]) rather than a VSA to deliver
only the name of an extended ACL to the switch in the following format:
acl_name.in
The suffix “.in” indicates that the ACL should be applied in the inbound direction.
In this method, the ACL must be already defined on the switch. The switch matches the Filter-ID
attribute value to a locally configured ACL that has the same name or number as the Filter-ID (for
example, Filter-ID=101.in will match the extended numbered ACL 101, and Filter-ID= guest.in will
match the extended named ACL “guest”). The specified ACL is then applied to the port. Because the
ACL definition resides on the switch, this feature allows for local variation in a policy.
These guidelines apply when using Filter-ID ACLs:
• The guidelines for using DACLs also apply to Filter-ID ACLs.
• The Filter-ID attribute may be a number (100 to 199, or 2000 to 2699) or a name.

Redirect URLs
Following a successful host authentication, the Cisco Secure ACS can use a VSA to download
information to the switch for intercepting and redirecting HTTP or HTTPS requests from the
authenticated host. The ACS downloads a redirection ACL and URL. When an HTTP or HTTPS request
from the host matches the downloaded ACL, the host’s web browser is redirected to the downloaded
redirection URL.
The ACS uses these cisco-av-pair VSAs to configure the redirection:
• url-redirect-acl

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Understanding 802.1X Port-Based Authentication

This AV pair contains the name or number of an ACL that specifies the HTTP or HTTPS traffic to
be redirected. The ACL must be defined on the switch, and the source address must be defined as
ANY. Traffic that matches a permit entry in the redirect ACL will be redirected.
• url-redirect
This AV pair contains the HTTP or HTTPS URL to which the web browser will be redirected.

Static Sharing of ACLs

When a number of interfaces have the same PACL and VLAN-based features, you can use the mls acl
tcam share-acl global configuration command to enable the static sharing feature. With static sharing,
only one copy of the PACL and inherited VLAN-based feature ACLs is stored in the TCAM for all ports
using the same ACL set, freeing TCAM space for more ACLs. With static sharing enabled, the switch
will automatically evaluate all configured or enabled interfaces for static sharing when any of these
events occur:
• When the mls acl tcam share-acl command is entered.
• When an interface is configured.
• When a state change occurs on an interface.
When enabling static sharing, consider the following guidelines and restrictions:
• Static sharing is not supported for interfaces enabled with IPv6.
• Static sharing is not supported with PFC3A-based supervisor engines or earlier, or in systems
running in PFC3A mode or lower.
• Static sharing is supported only on switch ports in access mode with NAC or 802.1X DACL features
configured.
• Static sharing is not supported on switch ports enabled with QOS, with the exception of
VLAN-based QoS.
• When 802.1X is used with DACL, we recommend entering the platform hardware acl
downloadable setup static command to avoid triggering a static sharing evaluation when the port
is dynamically configured by the authentication server response. The static sharing evaluation may
adversely affect the port/host linkup time.
• 802.1X interfaces with fallback authentication as active cannot form a static sharing group with
interfaces on which fallback is not enabled or is not active.

Understanding 802.1X Authentication with Port Descriptors

With Release 12.2(33)SXI and later releases, you can associate descriptive text with an 802.1X client’s
authentication information by configuring the Cisco vendor-specific attribute (VSA)
aaa:supplicant-name on the RADIUS server. During a successful 802.1X authentication of the client
on the port, the switch will receive the descriptive information from the RADIUS server as part of the

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Access-Accept packet and will display the information when the show interface users command is
entered for the port. If the port is in a mode supporting multiple authenticated hosts, identity information
for all the authenticated hosts will be displayed with the port description.

Understanding 802.1X Authentication with MAC Authentication Bypass

With Release 12.2(33)SXH and later releases, you can configure the switch to authorize clients based on
the client MAC address (see Figure 60-4 on page 60-8) by using the MAC authentication bypass feature.
For example, you can enable this feature on 802.1X ports connected to devices such as printers.
If 802.1X authentication times out while waiting for an EAPOL response from the client, the switch tries
to authorize the client by using MAC authentication bypass.
When the MAC authentication bypass feature is enabled on an 802.1X port, the switch uses the MAC
address as the client identity. The authentication server has a database of client MAC addresses that are
allowed network access. After detecting a client on an 802.1X port, the switch waits for an Ethernet
packet from the client. The switch sends the authentication server a RADIUS-access/request frame with
a username and password based on the MAC address. If authorization succeeds, the switch grants the
client access to the network. If authorization fails, the switch assigns the port to the guest VLAN if one
is configured.
If an EAPOL packet is detected on the interface during the lifetime of the link, the switch determines
that the device connected to that interface is an 802.1X-capable supplicant and uses 802.1X
authentication (not MAC authentication bypass) to authorize the interface. EAPOL history is cleared if
the interface link status goes down.
If the switch already authorized a port by using MAC authentication bypass and detects an 802.1X
supplicant, the switch does not unauthorize the client connected to the port. When reauthentication
occurs, the switch uses 802.1X authentication as the preferred reauthentication process if the previous
session ended because the Termination-Action RADIUS attribute value is DEFAULT.
Clients that were authorized with MAC authentication bypass can be reauthenticated. The
reauthentication process is the same as that for clients that were authenticated with 802.1X. During
reauthentication, the port remains in the previously assigned VLAN. If reauthentication is successful,
the switch keeps the port in the same VLAN. If reauthentication fails, the switch assigns the port to the
guest VLAN, if one is configured.
If reauthentication is based on the Session-Timeout RADIUS attribute (Attribute[27]) and the
Termination-Action RADIUS attribute (Attribute [29]) and if the Termination-Action RADIUS attribute
(Attribute [29]) action is Initialize, (the attribute value is DEFAULT), the MAC authentication bypass
session ends, and connectivity is lost during reauthentication. If MAC authentication bypass is enabled
and the 802.1X authentication times out, the switch uses the MAC authentication bypass feature to
initiate reauthorization. For more information about these AV pairs, see RFC 3580, “IEEE 802.1X
Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS) Usage Guidelines.”
MAC authentication bypass interacts with the features:
• 802.1X authentication—You can enable MAC authentication bypass only if 802.1X authentication
is enabled on the port.
• Guest VLAN—If a client has an invalid MAC address identity, the switch assigns the client to a
guest VLAN if one is configured.
• Restricted VLAN—This feature is not supported when the client connected to an 802.lx port is
authenticated with MAC authentication bypass.
• Port security—See the “Understanding 802.1X Authentication with Port Security” section on
page 60-19.

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Understanding 802.1X Port-Based Authentication

• Voice VLAN—See the “Understanding 802.1X Authentication with Voice VLAN Ports” section on
page 60-18.
• VLAN Membership Policy Server (VMPS)— 802.1X and VMPS are mutually exclusive.
• Private VLAN—You can assign a client to a private VLAN.
• Network admission control (NAC) Layer 2 IP validation—This feature takes effect after an 802.1X
port is authenticated with MAC authentication bypass, including hosts in the exception list.

Understanding Network Admission Control Layer 2 IEEE 802.1X Validation

Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXH and later releases support Network Admission Control (NAC) Layer 2
IEEE 802.1X validation, which checks the antivirus condition or posture of endpoint systems or clients
before granting the devices network access. NAC Layer 2 IEEE 802.1X validation performs policy
enforcement by assigning the authenticated port into a specified VLAN, which provides segmentation
and quarantine of poorly postured hosts at Layer 2.
Configuring NAC Layer 2 IEEE 802.1X validation is similar to configuring 802.1X port-based
authentication except that you must configure a posture token on the RADIUS server. You can view the
NAC posture token, which shows the posture of the client, by using the show dot1x privileged EXEC
command. For information about configuring NAC Layer 2 IEEE 802.1X validation, see the
“Configuring NAC Layer 2 IEEE 802.1X Validation” section on page 60-58.
For more information about NAC, see the Network Admission Control Software Configuration Guide.

NAC Agentless Audit Support

With Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI and later releases, MAB support is added for the Cisco NAC Audit
Architecture, which uses an external audit server to check the antivirus posture of clients that do not run
a Cisco Trust Agent (CTA) and cannot respond to NAC queries. To audit and report an agentless client’s
antivirus posture, the NAC audit server must possess the client’s IP address and a unique session
identifier for the client’s connection to the switch. To support the NAC audit architecture for agentless
clients, the switch must snoop the client’s IP address, create and assign a unique session identifier for
the agentless client, and pass this information to the RADIUS server for sharing with the NAC audit
server.
Because MAB operates at Layer 2, the MAB authenticator does not normally know the IP address of the
supplicant, and the supplicant might not have an IP address when it first contacts the authenticator. A
supplicant that requires a DHCP-assigned IP address must be allowed access to a DHCP server before
authentication. You must enable ARP and DHCP snooping on the switch to allow the MAB authenticator
to learn the IP address of the supplicant. To allow the IP address and unique session identifier
information to be shared with the NAC audit server, you must enable the sending of certain RADIUS
attributes. See the “Configuring NAC Agentless Audit Support” section on page 60-59.
The client IP address and unique session identifier are shared in RADIUS Access-Requests and
Access-Accepts using the following RADIUS cisco-av-pair vendor-specific attributes (VSAs):
• Cisco-AVPair=“identity-request=ip-address”
ip-address is the client IP address obtained by the switch through ARP or DHCP snooping.
• Cisco-AVPair=“audit-session-id=audit session id string”
audit session id string is a UTF-8 encoding of a unique 96-bit identifier derived by the switch from
the network access server (NAS) IP address, a session count, and the session start timestamp.

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Understanding 802.1X Port-Based Authentication

Understanding RADIUS Change of Authorization

With Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI4 and later releases, the switch can accept and execute unsolicited
Change of Authorization (CoA) messages from the authentication server (AS). CoA is an extension to
the RADIUS protocol that allows the AS to make dynamic and unsolicited changes to the authorization
information of an active session hosted by a network access device, such as a switch. For more
information about CoA, see RFC 5176.
The Catalyst 6500 series switch supports per-session and per-policy CoA commands relating to 802.1X,
MAB, and web-based authentication sessions.

Per-Session CoA
Using per-session CoA commands, the AS can cause the switch to terminate a session or to force a
reauthentication of the session. To terminate a session, the AS can instruct the switch to perform one of
the following actions:
• End the session—The AS sends a CoA Disconnect-Request (see RFC 5176), causing the switch to
delete all state information about the session.
• Shut down the port—The AS sends the following VSA to force an administrative shutdown of the
port:
Cisco-AVPair=“subscriber:command=disable-host-port”
• Bounce the port—The AS sends the following VSA to force the switch link to be taken down, then
up again:
Cisco-AVPair=“subscriber:command=bounce-host-port”
By default, the switch accepts and executes per-session CoA commands, but you can configure the
switch to ignore CoA shutdown or bounce commands directed at specific ports.
The AS sends the following VSA to force a reauthentication of the session:
Cisco-AVPair=“subscriber:command=re-authenticate”

Per-Policy CoA
Using per-policy CoA commands, the AS can instruct the switch to update the contents of a DACL or a
Filter-ID ACL, and apply the updated policy information to all sessions that currently have the affected
ACL applied.

Understanding 802.1X Authentication with Wake-on-LAN

With Release 12.2(33)SXH and later releases, the 802.1X authentication with wake-on-LAN (WoL)
feature allows dormant PCs to be powered up when the switch receives a specific Ethernet frame, known
as the magic packet. You can use this feature in environments where administrators need to connect to
systems that have been powered down.
When a host that uses WoL is attached through an 802.1X port and the host powers off, the 802.1X port
becomes unauthorized. The port can only receive and send EAPOL packets, and WoL magic packets
cannot reach the host. When the PC is powered off, it is not authorized, and the switch port is not opened.

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Understanding 802.1X Port-Based Authentication

When the switch uses 802.1X authentication with WoL, the switch forwards traffic to unauthorized
802.1X ports, including magic packets. While the port is unauthorized, the switch continues to block
ingress traffic other than EAPOL packets. The host can receive packets but cannot send packets to other
devices in the network.

Note If PortFast is not enabled on the port, the port is forced to the bidirectional state.

When you configure a port as unidirectional by using the authentication control-direction in interface
configuration command (dot1x control-direction in command in Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXH and
earlier releases), the port changes to the spanning-tree forwarding state. The port can send packets to the
host but cannot receive packets from the host.
When you configure a port as bidirectional by using the authentication control-direction both
interface configuration command (dot1x control-direction both command in Cisco IOS Release
12.2(33)SXH and earlier releases), the port is access-controlled in both directions. The port does not
receive packets from or send packets to the host.

Understanding MAC Move

Release 12.2(33)SXI4 and later releases support the Mac move feature. When a MAC address is
authenticated on one switch port, that address is not allowed on another authentication manager-enabled
port of the switch. If the switch detects that same MAC address on another authentication
manager-enabled port, the address is not allowed.
There are situations where a MAC address might need to move from one port to another on the same
switch. For example, when there is another device (for example a hub or an IP phone) between an
authenticated host and a switch port, you might want to disconnect the host from the device and connect
it directly to another port on the same switch.
You can globally enable MAC move so the device is reauthenticated on the new port. When a host moves
to a second port, the session on the first port is deleted, and the host is reauthenticated on the new port.
When a MAC address moves from one port to another, the switch terminates the authenticated session
on the original port and initiates a new authentication sequence on the new port. Port security behavior
remains the same when you configure MAC move.

Note • MAC move is supported in all host modes. (The authenticated host can move to any port on the
switch, no matter which host mode is enabled on the that port.)
• MAC move is supported with port security.
• The MAC move feature applies to both voice and data hosts.
• In open authentication mode, a MAC address is immediately moved from the original port to the
new port, with no requirement for authorization on the new port.

For more information see the “Enabling MAC Move” section on page 60-71.

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Understanding MAC Replace

Release 12.2(33)SXI4 and later releases support the Mac replace feature. The MAC replace feature can
be configured to address the violation that occurs when a host attempts to connect to a port where another
host was previously authenticated.

Note • The Mac replace feature is not supported on ports in multiauth mode, because violations are not
triggered in that mode.
• The Mac replace feature is not supported on ports in multiple host mode, because in that mode, only
the first host requires authentication.

If you configure the authentication violation interface configuration command with the replace
keyword, the authentication process on a port in multi-domain mode is:
• A new MAC address is received on a port with an existing authenticated MAC address.
• The authentication manager replaces the MAC address of the current data host on the port with the
new MAC address.
• The authentication manager initiates the authentication process for the new MAC address.
• If the authentication manager determines that the new host is a voice host, the original voice host is
removed.
If a port is in open authentication mode, any new MAC address is immediately added to the MAC address
table.
For more information see the “Enabling MAC Replace” section on page 60-71.

Understanding 802.1x Supplicant and Authenticator Switches with

Network Edge Access Topology (NEAT)
Release 12.2(33)SXJ and later releases support the Network Edge Access Topology (NEAT) feature.
NEAT extends identity to areas outside the wiring closet (such as conference rooms). This allows any
type of device to authenticate on the port.
• 802.1x switch supplicant: You can configure a switch to act as a supplicant to another switch by
using the 802.1x supplicant feature. This configuration is helpful in a scenario, where, for example,
a switch is outside a wiring closet and is connected to an upstream switch through a trunk port. A
switch configured with the 802.1x switch supplicant feature authenticates with the upstream switch
for secure connectivity.
Once the supplicant switch authenticates successfully the port mode changes from access to trunk.
• If the access VLAN is configured on the authenticator switch, it becomes the native VLAN for the
trunk port after successful authentication.
You can enable MDA or multiauth mode on the authenticator switch interface that connects to one more
supplicant switches. On the authenticator switch interface, multihost mode is not supported and in MDA
mode voice client is not supported.

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Understanding 802.1X Port-Based Authentication

Use the dot1x supplicant force-multicast global configuration command on the supplicant switch for
Network Edge Access Topology (NEAT) to work in all host modes.
• Host Authorization: Ensures that only traffic from authorized hosts (connecting to the switch with
supplicant) is allowed on the network. The switches use Client Information Signalling Protocol
(CISP) to send the MAC addresses connecting to the supplicant switch to the authenticator switch,
as shown in Figure 60-7.
• Auto enablement: Automatically enables trunk configuration on the authenticator switch, allowing
user traffic from multiple VLANs coming from supplicant switches. Configure the cisco-av-pair as
device-traffic-class=switch at the ACS. (You can configure this under the group or the user settings.)

Figure 60-7 Authenticator and Supplicant Switch using CISP

4
2 3

205718
1 Workstations (clients) 2 Supplicant switch (outside wiring closet)
3 Authenticator switch 4 Access control server (ACS)
5 Trunk port

When configuring NEAT and CISP, follow these guidelines and restrictions:
• You can configure NEAT ports with the same configurations as the other authentication ports. When
the supplicant switch authenticates, the port mode is changed from access to trunk based on the
switch vendor-specific attributes (VSAs). (device-traffic-class=switch).
• The VSA changes the authenticator switch port mode from access to trunk and enables 802.1x trunk
encapsulation and the access VLAN if any would be converted to a native trunk VLAN. VSA does
not change any of the port configurations on the supplicant
For more information, see the “Configuring an Authenticator and a Supplicant Switch with NEAT”
section on page 60-64.

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802.1X Authentication Feature Configuration Guidelines

802.1X Authentication Feature Configuration Guidelines

This section has configuration guidelines for these features:
• 802.1X Authentication, page 60-29
• 802.1X Host Mode, page 60-31
• VLAN Assignment, Guest VLAN, Restricted VLAN, and Inaccessible Authentication Bypass,
page 60-31
• MAC Authentication Bypass, page 60-32
• Web-Based Authentication, page 60-33

802.1X Authentication

When configuring 802.1X authentication, note the following guidelines:

• In releases where CSCtg01609 is not resolved, on ports with the authentication port-control auto
command or the dot1x pae supplicant command configured, you cannot successfully enter the
no switchport command. In releases where CSCtg01609 is resolved, on ports with any
authentication, dot1x, or mab command configured, you cannot successfully enter the
no switchport command.

Note Enter the default interface type slot/port command to revert to the default port configuration.

• When 802.1X authentication is enabled, ports are authenticated before any other Layer 2 or Layer 3
features are enabled.
• If you try to change the mode of an 802.1X-enabled port (for example, from access to trunk), an
error message appears, and the port mode is not changed.
• With Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXH and later releases, you can configure port security and 802.1X
port-based authentication on the same port. We do not recommend configuring both together.
• If the VLAN to which an 802.1X-enabled port is assigned changes, this change is transparent and
does not affect the switch. For example, this change occurs if a port is assigned to a RADIUS
server-assigned VLAN and is then assigned to a different VLAN after reauthentication.
If the VLAN to which an 802.1X port is assigned to shut down, disabled, or removed, the port
becomes unauthorized. For example, the port is unauthorized after the access VLAN to which a port
is assigned shuts down or is removed.

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802.1X Authentication Feature Configuration Guidelines

• The 802.1X protocol is supported on Layer 2 static-access ports, voice VLAN ports, and Layer 3
routed ports, but it is not supported on these port types:
– Trunk ports:
With Release 12.2(33)SXJ and later releases, you can enter the commands to enable 802.1X
authentication on a trunk port or change the mode of an 802.1X-enabled port to trunk, but
802.1X authentication works only on trunk ports configured to support a switch supplicant
(SSw). Configure 802.1X authentication on trunk ports only to support NEAT (CSCtx16322).
With releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXJ, if you try to enable 802.1X authentication on a
trunk port, an error message appears, and 802.1X authentication is not enabled. If you try to
change the mode of an 802.1X-enabled port to trunk, an error message appears, and the port
mode is not changed.
– Dynamic ports—A port in dynamic mode can negotiate with its neighbor to become a trunk
port. If you try to enable 802.1X authentication on a dynamic port, an error message appears,
and 802.1X authentication is not enabled. If you try to change the mode of an 802.1X-enabled
port to dynamic, an error message appears, and the port mode is not changed.
– Dynamic-access ports—If you try to enable 802.1X authentication on a dynamic-access (VLAN
Query Protocol [VQP]) port, an error message appears, and 802.1X authentication is not
enabled. If you try to change an 802.1X-enabled port to dynamic VLAN assignment, an error
message appears, and the VLAN configuration is not changed.
– EtherChannel port—Do not configure a port that is an active or a not-yet-active member of an
EtherChannel as an 802.1X port. If you try to enable 802.1X authentication on an EtherChannel
port, an error message appears, and 802.1X authentication is not enabled.

Note In software releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXH, if 802.1X authentication is

enabled on a not-yet active port of an EtherChannel, the port does not join the
EtherChannel.

– Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN) and Remote SPAN (RSPAN) destination ports—You can
enable 802.1X authentication on a port that is a SPAN or RSPAN destination port. However,
802.1X authentication is disabled until the port is removed as a SPAN or RSPAN destination
port. You can enable 802.1X authentication on a SPAN or RSPAN source port.

Note In software releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXH, 802.1X authentication is not
supported on voice VLAN ports.

• Before globally enabling 802.1X authentication on a switch by entering the dot1x

system-auth-control global configuration command, remove the EtherChannel configuration from
the interfaces on which 802.1X authentication and EtherChannel are configured.
• Because all traffic from unauthenticated hosts is forwarded to the switch processor, we recommend
that you apply rate limiting to this traffic.

Note If you use dot1x with DHCP snooping, you must either enable DHCP snooping for both the data and
voice VLANS, or neither. If data is only configured, due to a hardware limitation with the TCAM and
multiple features interacting, the voice vlan will never broadcast the DHCP discover across the VLAN.

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802.1X Authentication Feature Configuration Guidelines

802.1X Host Mode

When configuring any host mode, note the following guidelines:
• In most cases when the host mode is changed on a port, any existing 802.1X authentications on that
port are deleted. Exceptions are when changing from the single-host mode to any other mode, and
when changing from multidomain mode to multiauth mode. In these two cases, existing 802.1X
authentications are retained.
• If you enter the authentication open interface configuration command in Cisco IOS Release
12.2(33)SXI and later releases, any new MAC address detected on the port will be allowed
unrestricted Layer 2 access to the network even before any authentication has succeeded. If you use
this command, you should use static default ACLs to restrict Layer 3 traffic. For additional details,
see the “Pre-Authentication Open Access” section on page 60-11.
When configuring multiple-hosts mode, note the following guideline:
• If the multiple-hosts port becomes unauthorized (reauthentication fails or an EAPOL-logoff
message is received), all attached clients are denied access to the network.
When configuring MDA host mode, note the following guideline:
• A third-party IP phone’s MAC address will initially be assigned to the data VLAN. When tagged
voice packets are observed, the device will be removed from the data VLAN and placed on the voice
VLAN.
When configuring multiauth host mode, note the following guidelines:
• If one client on a multiauth port becomes unauthorized (reauthentication fails or an EAPOL-logoff
message is received from that client), the authorization status of the other attached clients is not
changed.
• RADIUS-assigned VLANs are not supported on multiauth ports, which can have only one data
VLAN. If the authentication server sends VLAN-related attributes, the authentication will succeed
but the VLAN assignment will be ignored.
• Although multiple hosts are allowed on the data VLAN, only one host is allowed on the voice
VLAN. When one IP phone has been authenticated, further IP phones on the same port will be
denied authentication.
• A multiauth port does not support a guest VLAN, authentication-fail VLAN, or with releases earlier
than Release 12.2(33)SXJ1, a critical VLAN.

VLAN Assignment, Guest VLAN, Restricted VLAN, and Inaccessible

Authentication Bypass
When configuring VLAN assignment, guest VLAN, restricted VLAN, and inaccessible authentication
bypass, note the following guidelines:
• When 802.1X authentication is enabled on a port, you cannot configure a port VLAN that is equal
to a voice VLAN.
• The 802.1X authentication with VLAN assignment feature is not supported on trunk ports, dynamic
ports, or with dynamic-access port assignment through a VMPS.
• You can configure any VLAN except an RSPAN VLAN, a private primary PVLAN, or a voice
VLAN as an 802.1X guest VLAN. The guest VLAN feature is not supported on internal VLANs
(routed ports) or trunk ports; it is supported only on access ports.

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802.1X Authentication Feature Configuration Guidelines

• After you configure a guest VLAN for an 802.1X port to which a DHCP client is connected, you
might need to get a host IP address from a DHCP server. You can change the settings for restarting
the 802.1X authentication process on the switch before the DHCP process on the client times out
and tries to get a host IP address from the DHCP server. Decrease the settings for the 802.1X
authentication process (dot1x timeout quiet-period and dot1x timeout tx-period interface
configuration commands). The amount to decrease the settings depends on the connected 802.1X
client type.
• When configuring the 802.1X VLAN user distribution feature, follow these guidelines:
– A maximum of 100 VLAN groups can be configured, and a maximum of 4094 VLANs can be
mapped to a VLAN group.
– A VLAN can be mapped to more than one VLAN group.
– A guest VLAN, a critical VLAN, or a restricted VLAN can be mapped to a VLAN group.
– A VLAN group name cannot be specified as a guest VLAN, a critical VLAN, or a restricted
VLAN.
– You can modify a VLAN group by adding or removing a VLAN, but at least one VLAN must
be mapped to the VLAN group. If you remove the last VLAN from the VLAN group, the VLAN
group is deleted.
– Removing an existing VLAN from the VLAN group name does not revoke the authentication
status of the ports in the VLAN, but the mappings are removed from the existing VLAN group.
– Deleting an existing VLAN group name does not revoke the authentication status of the ports
in any VLAN within the group, but the VLAN mappings to the VLAN group are removed.
• When configuring the inaccessible authentication bypass feature, follow these guidelines:
– The inaccessible authentication bypass feature is supported on 802.1X ports in single-host
mode, multiple-hosts mode, and MDA mode.
– If the client is running Windows XP and the port to which the client is connected is in the
critical-authentication state, Windows XP might report that the interface is not authenticated.
– If the Windows XP client is configured for DHCP and has an IP address from the DHCP server,
receiving an EAP-Success message on a critical port might not reinitiate the DHCP
configuration process.
– You can configure the inaccessible authentication bypass feature and the critical VLAN on an
802.1X port. If the switch tries to reauthenticate a critical port in a critical VLAN and all the
RADIUS servers are unavailable, the switch changes the port state to the critical authentication
state and the port remains in the critical VLAN.
– You can configure the inaccessible bypass feature and port security on the same port.
• You can configure any VLAN except an RSPAN VLAN or a voice VLAN as an 802.1X restricted
VLAN. The restricted VLAN feature is not supported on internal VLANs (routed ports) or trunk
ports; it is supported only on access ports.

MAC Authentication Bypass

When configuring MAC authentication bypass, note the following guidelines:
• Unless otherwise stated, the MAC authentication bypass guidelines are the same as the 802.1X
authentication guidelines. For more information, see the “802.1X Authentication” section on
page 60-29.

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Configuring 802.1X Port-Based Authentication

• If you disable MAC authentication bypass from a port after the port has been authorized with its
MAC address, the session will be removed.
• When MAC authentication bypass with EAP has been enabled on an interface, it is not disabled by
a subsequent default interface command on the interface.
• If the port is in the unauthorized state and the client MAC address is not the authentication-server
database, the port remains in the unauthorized state. However, if the client MAC address is added to
the database, the switch can use MAC authentication bypass to reauthorize the port.
• If the port is in the authorized state, the port remains in this state until reauthorization occurs.
• To use MAC authentication bypass on a routed port, make sure that MAC address learning is enabled
on the port.
• In Release 12.2(33)SXH and later releases, you can optionally configure a timeout period for hosts
that are connected by MAC authentication bypass but are inactive. The range is 1 to 65535 seconds,
but should be set to a value less than the reauthentication timeout. You must enable port security
before configuring a timeout value. For more information, see the “Configuring Port Security”
section on page 62-5.

Web-Based Authentication
When configuring web-based authentication, note the following guidelines:
• Fallback to web-based authentication is configured on switch ports in access mode. Ports in trunk
mode are not supported.
• Fallback to web-based authentication is not supported on EtherChannels or EtherChannel members.
• Although fallback to web-based authentication is an interface-specific configuration, the web-based
authentication fallback behavior is defined in a global fallback profile. If the global fallback
configuration changes, the new profile will not be used until the next instance of authentication
fallback.
For detailed information on configuring web-based authentication, see Chapter 61, “Configuring
Web-Based Authentication.”

Configuring 802.1X Port-Based Authentication

These sections describe how to configure 802.1X port-based authentication:
• Default 802.1X Port-Based Authentication Configuration, page 60-34
• 802.1X Authentication Feature Configuration Guidelines, page 60-29
• Enabling 802.1X Authentication, page 60-36
• Configuring Switch-to-RADIUS-Server Communication, page 60-38
• Configuring 802.1X Authenticator Host Mode, page 60-39
• Enabling Fallback Authentication, page 60-40
• Enabling Periodic Reauthentication, page 60-42
• Manually Reauthenticating the Client Connected to a Port, page 60-43
• Initializing Authentication for the Client Connected to a Port, page 60-44
• Removing 802.1X Client Information, page 60-44

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Configuring 802.1X Port-Based Authentication

• Clearing Authentication Sessions, page 60-45

• Changing 802.1X Timeouts, page 60-45
• Setting the Switch-to-Client Frame Retransmission Number, page 60-47
• Setting the Reauthentication Number, page 60-47
• Configuring IEEE 802.1X Accounting, page 60-48
• Configuring a Guest VLAN, page 60-50
• Configuring a Restricted VLAN, page 60-51
• Configuring the Inaccessible Authentication Bypass Feature, page 60-53
• Enabling Critical Voice VLAN Support, page 60-56
• Configuring MAC Authentication Bypass, page 60-57
• Configuring NAC Layer 2 IEEE 802.1X Validation, page 60-58
• Configuring NAC Agentless Audit Support, page 60-59
• Configuring the Switch for DACLs or Redirect URLs, page 60-60
• Configuring a Port to Ignore CoA Commands, page 60-62
• Configuring 802.1X Authentication with WoL, page 60-62
• Disabling 802.1X Authentication on the Port, page 60-63
• Resetting the 802.1X Configuration to the Default Values, page 60-63
• Displaying 802.1X Status, page 60-66
• Displaying Authentication Methods and Status, page 60-67
• Displaying MAC Authentication Bypass Status, page 60-70
• Enabling MAC Move, page 60-71
• Enabling MAC Replace, page 60-71
• Configuring an Authenticator and a Supplicant Switch with NEAT, page 60-64

Default 802.1X Port-Based Authentication Configuration

Table 60-2 shows the default 802.1X configuration.

Table 60-2 Default 802.1X Configuration

Feature Default Setting

Switch 802.1X enable state Disabled.
Per-port 802.1X enable state Disabled (force-authorized).
The port sends and receives normal traffic without
802.1X-based authentication of the client.
AAA Disabled.

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Table 60-2 Default 802.1X Configuration (continued)

Feature Default Setting

RADIUS server
• IP address • None specified.
• UDP authentication port • 1812.
• Key • None specified.
Host mode Single-host mode.
Control direction Bidirectional control.
Periodic reauthentication Disabled.
Number of seconds between 3600 seconds.
reauthentication attempts
Reauthentication number 2 times (number of times that the switch restarts the
authentication process before the port changes to the
unauthorized state).
Quiet period 60 seconds (number of seconds that the switch remains in
the quiet state following a failed authentication exchange
with the client).
Retransmission time 30 seconds (number of seconds that the switch should
wait for a response to an EAP request/identity frame
from the client before retransmitting the request).
Maximum retransmission number 2 times (number of times that the switch will send an
EAP-request/identity frame before restarting the
authentication process).
Client timeout period 30 seconds (when relaying a request from the
authentication server to the client, the amount of time the
switch waits for a response before retransmitting the
request to the client).
Authentication server timeout period 30 seconds (when relaying a response from the client to
the authentication server, the amount of time the switch
waits for a reply before retransmitting the response to the
server).
Inactivity timeout Disabled.
Guest VLAN None specified.
Inaccessible authentication bypass Disabled.
Restricted VLAN None specified.
Authenticator (switch) mode None specified.
MAC authentication bypass Disabled.
Note When MAC authentication bypass with EAP has
been enabled on an interface, it is not disabled by
a subsequent default interface command on the
interface.

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Enabling 802.1X Authentication

To enable 802.1X port-based authentication, you must enable AAA and specify the authentication
method list.
A method list describes the sequence and authentication methods to be queried to authenticate a user.
The software uses the first method listed to authenticate users; if that method fails to respond, the
software selects the next authentication method in the method list. This process continues until there is
successful communication with a listed authentication method or until all defined methods are
exhausted. If authentication fails at any point in this cycle, the authentication process stops, and no other
authentication methods are attempted.
To allow VLAN assignment, you must enable AAA authorization to configure the switch for all
network-related service requests.
The 802.1X AAA process is as follows:
1. A user connects to a port on the switch.
2. Authentication is performed.
3. VLAN assignment is enabled, as appropriate, based on the RADIUS server configuration.
4. The switch sends a start message to an accounting server.
5. Reauthentication is performed, as necessary.
6. The switch sends an interim accounting update to the accounting server that is based on the result
of reauthentication.
7. The user disconnects from the port.
8. The switch sends a stop message to the accounting server.
To configure 802.1X port-based authentication, perform this task:

Command Purpose
Step 1 Router(config)# aaa new-model Enables AAA.
Step 2 Router(config)# aaa authentication dot1x Creates an 802.1X port-based authentication method list.
{default} method1 [method2...]
To create a default list that is used when a named list is
not specified in the aaa authentication command, use the
default keyword followed by the method that is to be
used in default situations. The default method list is
automatically applied to all ports.
For method1, enter the group radius keywords to use the
list of all RADIUS servers for authentication.
Though other keywords are visible in the command-line
help string, only the group radius keywords are
supported.
Step 3 Router(config)# dot1x system-auth-control Globally enables 802.1X port-based authentication.
Step 4 Router(config)# aaa authorization network (Optional) Configures the switch to use user-RADIUS
{default} group radius authorization for all network-related service requests
such as VLAN assignment.
Step 5 Router(config)# radius-server host ip-address Specifies the IP address of the RADIUS server.

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Command Purpose
Step 6 Router(config)# radius-server key string Specifies the authentication and encryption key used
between the switch and the RADIUS daemon running on
the RADIUS server.
Step 7 Router(config)# mls acl tcam static-share (Optional) Enables static sharing, which allows more
efficient use of the TCAM when a number of interfaces
have the same PACL and VLAN-based features.
Step 8 Router(config)# interface type1 slot/port Enters interface configuration mode and specifies the
interface to be enabled for 802.1X authentication.
Step 9 Router(config-if)# switchport mode access Sets the port to access mode only if you configured the
RADIUS server in previous steps.
Step 10 Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases: Enables port-based authentication on the interface.
Router(config-if)# authentication port-control
auto
The no form of the command disables port-based
authentication on the interface.
For feature interaction information, see the “802.1X
Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI: Authentication Feature Configuration Guidelines”
Router(config-if)# dot1x port-control auto section on page 60-29.
Step 11 Router(config-if)# dot1x pae authenticator Enables 802.1X authentication on the interface.
Step 12 Router(config)# end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 13 Router# show dot1x all Verifies your entries.
Check the Status column in the 802.1X Port Summary
section of the display. An enabled status means the
port-control value is set either to auto or to
force-unauthorized.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

This example shows how to enable AAA and 802.1X on Fast Ethernet port 5/1:
Router(config)# aaa new-model
Router(config)# aaa authentication dot1x default group radius
Router(config)# dot1x system-auth-control
Router(config)# mls acl tcam static-share
Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# authentication port-control auto
Router(config-if)# dot1x pae authenticator
Router(config-if)# end

This example shows how to verify the configuration:

Router# show dot1x all

Sysauthcontrol Enabled
Dot1x Protocol Version 2

Dot1x Info for GigabitEthernet1/7

-----------------------------------
PAE = AUTHENTICATOR
PortControl = AUTO
ControlDirection = Both
HostMode = SINGLE_HOST
QuietPeriod = 60
ServerTimeout = 30
SuppTimeout = 30

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ReAuthMax = 2
MaxReq = 2
TxPeriod = 30

Configuring Switch-to-RADIUS-Server Communication

RADIUS security servers are identified by any of the following:
• Host name
• Host IP address
• Host name and specific UDP port numbers
• IP address and specific UDP port numbers
The combination of the IP address and UDP port number creates a unique identifier, which enables
RADIUS requests to be sent to multiple UDP ports on a server at the same IP address. If two different
host entries on the same RADIUS server are configured for the same service (for example,
authentication) the second host entry configured acts as the failover backup to the first one. The RADIUS
host entries are tried in the order that they were configured.
To configure the RADIUS server parameters, perform this task:

Command Purpose
Step 1 Router(config)# ip radius source-interface Specifies that the RADIUS packets have the IP address of
interface_name the indicated interface.
Step 2 Router(config)# radius-server host {hostname | Configures the RADIUS server host name or IP address
ip_address} on the switch.
If you want to use multiple RADIUS servers, reenter this
command.
Step 3 Router(config)# radius-server key string Configures the authorization and encryption key used
between the switch and the RADIUS daemon running on
the RADIUS server.

When you configure the RADIUS server parameters, note the following information:
• For hostname or ip_address, specify the host name or IP address of the remote RADIUS server.
• Specify the key string on a separate command line.
• For key string, specify the authentication and encryption key used between the switch and the
RADIUS daemon running on the RADIUS server. The key is a text string that must match the
encryption key used on the RADIUS server.
• When you specify the key string, spaces within and at the end of the key are used. If you use spaces
in the key, do not enclose the key in quotation marks unless the quotation marks are part of the key.
This key must match the encryption used on the RADIUS daemon.
• You can globally configure the timeout, retransmission, and encryption key values for all RADIUS
servers by using the radius-server host global configuration command. If you want to configure
these options on a per-server basis, use the radius-server timeout, radius-server retransmit, and
the radius-server key global configuration commands. For more information, see the Cisco IOS
Security Configuration Guide, Release 12.2, publication at this URL:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/ios/12_2/security/configuration/guide/fsecur_c.html

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and the Cisco IOS Security Command Reference, Release 12.2, publication at this URL:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/ios/12_2/security/command/reference/fsecur_r.html

Note You also need to configure some settings on the RADIUS server. These settings include the IP address
of the switch and the key string to be shared by both the server and the switch. For more information,
see the RADIUS server documentation.

This example shows how to configure the RADIUS server parameters on the switch:
Router(config)# ip radius source-interface Vlan80
Router(config)# radius-server host 172.l20.39.46
Router(config)# radius-server key rad123

Configuring 802.1X Authenticator Host Mode

An 802.1X-enabled port can grant access to a single client or multiple clients as described in the “802.1X
Host Modes” section on page 60-9.
To configure the host mode of an 802.1X-authorized port, perform this task:

Command Purpose
1
Step 1 Router(config)# interface type slot/port Specifies the port to be configured, and enters interface
configuration mode.
Step 2 Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases: Enables port-based authentication on the interface.
Router(config-if)# authentication port-control
auto
The no form of the command disables port-based
authentication on the interface.
For feature interaction information, see the “802.1X
Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI: Authentication Feature Configuration Guidelines”
Router(config-if)# dot1x port-control auto section on page 60-29.
Step 3 Router(config-if)# dot1x pae authenticator Enables 802.1X authentication on the interface.
Step 4 Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases: Allows a single authenticated host (client) on an
Router(config-if)# authentication host-mode authorized port.
single-host
Router(config-if)# authentication host-mode Allows multiple clients on an authorized port when one
multi-host client is authenticated.
Router(config-if)# authentication host-mode Allows a single IP phone and a single data client to
multi-domain independently authenticate on an authorized port.
Router(config-if)# authentication host-mode Allows a single IP phone and multiple data clients to
multi-auth independently authenticate on an authorized port.
Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI:
Router(config-if)# dot1x host-mode {single-host |
multi-host}
Step 5 Router(config-if)# authentication open (Optional) With Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later
releases, enables pre-authentication open access.
Step 6 Router(config-if)# end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
1
Step 7 Router# show dot1x interface type slot/port Verifies your entries.

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1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

This example shows how to enable 802.1X on Fast Ethernet interface 5/1 and to allow multiple hosts:

Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases:

Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# authentication port-control auto
Router(config-if)# dot1x pae authenticator
Router(config-if)# authentication host-mode multi-host

Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI:

Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# dot1x port-control auto
Router(config-if)# dot1x host-mode multi-host

Enabling Fallback Authentication

On a port in multiauth mode, either or both of MAB and web-based authentication can be configured as
fallback authentication methods for non-802.1X hosts (those that do not respond to EAPOL). You can
configure the order and priority of the authentication methods.
For detailed configuration information for MAB, see the “Configuring MAC Authentication Bypass”
section on page 60-57.
For detailed configuration information for web-based authentication, see Chapter 61, “Configuring
Web-Based Authentication.”
In Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI and later releases, to enable fallback authentication, perform this
task:

Command Purpose
Step 1 Router(config)# ip admission name rule-name proxy Configures an authentication rule for web-based
http authentication.
Step 2 Router(config)# fallback profile profile-name Creates a fallback profile for web-based authentication.
Step 3 Router(config-fallback-profile)# ip access-group Specifies the default ACL to apply to network traffic
rule-name in before web-based authentication.
Step 4 Router(config-fallback-profile)# ip admission Associates an IP admission rule with the profile, and
name rule-name specifies that a client connecting by web-based
authentication uses this rule.
Step 5 Router(config-fallback-profile)# exit Returns to global configuration mode.
1
Step 6 Router(config)# interface type slot/port Specifies the port to be configured, and enters interface
configuration mode.
Step 7 Router(config-if)# authentication port-control Enables authentication on the port.
auto
Step 8 Router(config-if)# authentication order method1 (Optional) Specifies the fallback order of authentication
[method2] [method3] methods to be used. The three values of method, in the
default order, are dot1x, mab, and webauth. The
specified order also determines the relative priority of the
methods for reathentication, from highest to lowest.

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Command Purpose
Step 9 Router(config-if)# authentication priority (Optional) Overrides the relative priority of
method1 [method2] [method3] authentication methods to be used. The three values of
method, in the default order of priority, are dot1x, mab,
and webauth.
Step 10 Router(config-if)# authentication event fail Specifies that the next configured authentication method
action next-method will be used if authentication fails.
Step 11 Router(config-if)# mab [eap] Enables MAC authentication bypass. The optional eap
keyword specifies that the EAP extension is used during
RADIUS authentication.
Step 12 Router(config-if)# authentication fallback Enables web-based authentication using the specified
profile-name profile.
Step 13 Router(config-if)# authentication violation (Optional) Configures the disposition of the port if a
[shutdown | restrict] security violation occurs. The default action is to shut
down the port. If the restrict keyword is configured, the
port will not be shutdown, but trap entries will be
installed for the violating MAC address, and traffic from
that MAC address will be dropped.
Step 14 Router(config-if)# authentication timer (Optional) Configures the inactivity timeout value for
inactivity {seconds | server} MAB and 802.1X. By default, inactivity aging is disabled
for a port.
• seconds—Specifies inactivity timeout period. The
range is from 1 to 65535 seconds.
• server—Specifies that the inactivity timeout period
value will be obtained from the authentication server.
Step 15 Router(config-if)# authentication timer restart (Optional) Specifies a period after which the
seconds authentication process will restart in an attempt to
authenticate an unauthorized port.
• seconds—Specifies the restart period. The range is
from 1 to 65535 seconds.
Step 16 Router(config-if)# exit Returns to global configuration mode.
Step 17 Router(config)# ip device tracking Enables the IP device tracking table, which is required for
web-based authentication.
Step 18 Router(config)# ip device tracking (Optional) Configures these parameters for the IP device
[probe {count count | delay delay_interval | tracking table:
interval interval}]
• count—Number of times that the switch sends the
ARP probe. The range is 1 to 5. The default is 3.
• delay_interval (implemented in releases where
CSCtn27420 is resolved)—Number of seconds that
the switch delays sending an ARP probe, triggered
by link-up and ARP probe generation by the tracked
device. The range is 1 to 120 seconds. The default is
0 seconds.
• interval—Number of seconds that the switch waits
for a response before resending the ARP probe. The
range is 30 to 300 seconds. The default is 30 seconds.

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Command Purpose
Step 19 Router(config)# exit Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 20 Router# show dot1x interface type1 slot/port Verifies your entries.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

This example shows how to enable 802.1X fallback to MAB, and then to enable web-based
authentication, on an 802.1X-enabled port:

Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases:

Router(config)# ip admission name rule1 proxy http
Router(config)# fallback profile fallback1
Router(config-fallback-profile)# ip access-group default-policy in
Router(config-fallback-profile)# ip admission rule1
Router(config-fallback-profile)# exit
Router(config)# interface gigabit1/1
Router(config-if)# switchport mode access
Router(config-if)# authentication port-control auto
Router(config-if)# dot1x pae authenticator
Router(config-if)# authentication order dot1x mab webauth
Router(config-if)# mab eap
Router(config-if)# authentication fallback fallback1
Router(config-if)# exit
Router(config)# ip device tracking
Router(config)# exit

Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI:

Router(config)# ip admission name rule1 proxy http
Router(config)# fallback profile fallback1
Router(config-fallback-profile)# ip access-group default-policy in
Router(config-fallback-profile)# ip admission rule1
Router(config-fallback-profile)# exit
Router(config)# interface gigabit1/1
Router(config-if)# switchport mode access
Router(config-if)# dot1x port-control auto
Router(config-if)# dot1x fallback fallback1
Router(config-if)# exit
Router(config)# ip device tracking
Router(config)# exit

Enabling Periodic Reauthentication

With Release 12.2(33)SXH and later releases, you can enable periodic 802.1X client reauthentication
and specify how often it occurs. You can specify the reauthentication period manually or you can use the
session-timeout period specified by the RADIUS server. If you enable reauthentication without
specifying a time period, the number of seconds between reauthentication attempts is 3600.

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To enable periodic reauthentication of the client and to configure the number of seconds between
reauthentication attempts, perform this task:

Command Purpose
Step 1 Router(config)# interface type1 slot/port Specifies the port to be configured, and enters interface
configuration mode.
Step 2 Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases: Enables periodic reauthentication of the client, which is
Router(config-if)# authentication periodic disabled by default.

Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI:

Router(config-if)# dot1x reauthentication
Step 3 Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases: Specifies the number of seconds between
Router(config-if)# authentication timer reauthentication attempts using these keywords:
reauthenticate [seconds | server]
• seconds—Sets the number of seconds from
1 to 65535; the default is 3600 seconds.
Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI: • server—Sets the number of seconds based on the
Router(config-if)# dot1x timeout reauth-period value of the Session-Timeout RADIUS attribute
[seconds | server] (Attribute[27]) and the Termination-Action RADIUS
attribute (Attribute [29]).
This command affects the operation of the switch only if
periodic reauthentication is enabled.
Step 4 Router(config-if)# end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 5 Router# show dot1x interface type slot/port Verifies your entries.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

This example shows how to enable periodic reauthentication and set the number of seconds between
reauthentication attempts to 4000:

Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases:

Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# authentication periodic
Router(config-if)# authentication timer reauthenticate 4000

Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI:

Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# dot1x reauthentication
Router(config-if)# dot1x timeout reauth-period 4000

Manually Reauthenticating the Client Connected to a Port

Note Reauthentication does not disturb the status of an already authorized port.

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To manually reauthenticate the client connected to a port, perform this task:

Command Purpose
Step 1 Router# dot1x re-authenticate interface Manually reauthenticates the client connected to a port.
type1 slot/port
Step 2 Router# show dot1x all Verifies your entries.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

This example shows how to manually reauthenticate the client connected to Fast Ethernet port 5/1:
Router# dot1x re-authenticate interface fastethernet 5/1

Initializing Authentication for the Client Connected to a Port

Note Initializing authentication disables any existing authentication before authenticating the client connected
to the port.

To initialize the authentication for the client connected to a port, perform this task:

Command Purpose
Step 1 Router# dot1x initialize Initializes the authentication for the client connected to a
interface type1 slot/port port.
Step 2 Router# show dot1x all Verifies your entries.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

This example shows how to initialize the authentication for the client connected to Fast Ethernet
port 5/1:
Router# dot1x initialize interface fastethernet 5/1

Removing 802.1X Client Information

To completely delete all existing supplicants from an interface or from all the interfaces on the switch,
perform this task:

Command Purpose
1
Step 1 Router# clear dot1x interface type slot/port Removes 802.1X client information for the client
connected to the specified port.
Router# clear dot1x all Removes 802.1X client information for all clients
connected to all ports.
Step 2 Router# show dot1x all Verifies your entries.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

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This example shows how to remove 802.1X client information for the client connected to Fast Ethernet
port 5/1:
Router# clear dot1x interface fastethernet 5/1

Clearing Authentication Sessions

To clear all or selected authentication sessions, perform this task:

Command Purpose
Router# clear authentication sessions Clears current authentication sessions. With no options
[handle handle] [interface interface] specified, all current active sessions will be cleared. The
[mac mac] [method method]
keywords can be added and combined to clear specific
sessions or subset of sessions.

This example shows how to clear all MAB authentication sessions connected to Fast Ethernet port 5/1:
Router# clear authentication sessions interface fastethernet 5/1 method mab

Changing 802.1X Timeouts

You can change several 802.1X timeout attributes using the dot1x timeout {attribute} seconds
command form in the interface configuration mode. This section shows in detail how to change the quiet
period timeout, followed by descriptions of how to change other 802.1X timeouts using the same
command form.

Setting the Quiet Period

When the switch cannot authenticate the client, the switch remains idle for a set period of time and then
tries again. The dot1x timeout quiet-period interface configuration command controls the idle period.
A failed authentication of the client might occur because the client provided an invalid password. You
can provide a faster response time to the user by entering a number smaller than the default.
To change the quiet period, perform this task:

Command Purpose
1
Step 1 Router(config)# interface type slot/port Specifies the port to be configured, and enters interface
configuration mode.
Step 2 Router(config-if)# dot1x timeout quiet-period Sets the number of seconds that the switch remains in the
seconds quiet state following a failed authentication exchange
with the client.
The range is 0 to 65535 seconds; the default is 60.
Step 3 Router(config-if)# end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 4 Router# show dot1x all Verifies your entries.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

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This example shows how to set the quiet period on the switch to 30 seconds:
Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# dot1x timeout quiet-period 30

This example shows how to restore the default quiet period on the switch:
Router(config-if)# no dot1x timeout quiet-period

Setting the Switch-to-Client Retransmission Time

The client responds to the EAP-request/identity frame from the switch with an EAP-response/identity
frame. If the switch does not receive this response, it waits a set period of time (known as the
retransmission time), and then retransmits the frame.

Note You should change the default value of this command only to adjust for unusual circumstances such as
unreliable links or specific operational problems with certain clients and authentication servers.

To change the amount of time that the switch switch waits for a response to an EAP-request/identity
frame from the client before retransmitting the request, use the dot1x timeout tx-period seconds
command in the interface configuration mode. The range is 1 to 65535 seconds; the default is 30. To
return to the default retransmission time, use the no dot1x timeout tx-period command.
This example shows how to set 60 as the number of seconds that the switch waits for a response to an
EAP-request/identity frame from the client before retransmitting the request:
Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# dot1x timeout tx-period 60

Setting the Switch-to-Client Retransmission Time for EAP-Request Frames

The client notifies the switch that it received the EAP-request frame. If the switch does not receive this
notification, the switch waits a set period of time, and then retransmits the frame.
To set the amount of time that the switch waits for notification, use the dot1x timeout supp-timeout
seconds command in the interface configuration mode. The range is 1 to 65535 seconds; the default is
30. To return to the default retransmission time, use the no dot1x supp-timeout command.
This example shows how to set the switch-to-client retransmission time for the EAP-request frame to
25 seconds:
Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# dot1x timeout supp-timeout 25

Setting the Switch-to-Authentication-Server Retransmission Time for Layer 4 Packets

The authentication server notifies the switch each time it receives a Layer 4 packet. If the switch does
not receive a notification after sending a packet, the switch waits a set period of time and then retransmits
the packet.
To set the value for the retransmission of Layer 4 packets from the switch to the authentication server,
use the dot1x timeout server-timeout seconds command in the interface configuration mode. The range
is 1 to 65535 seconds; the default is 30. To return to the default retransmission time, use the no dot1x
server-timeout command.
This example shows how to set the switch-to-authentication-server retransmission time for Layer 4
packets to 25 seconds:

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Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1

Router(config-if)# dot1x timeout server-timeout 25

Setting the Switch-to-Client Frame Retransmission Number

In addition to changing the switch-to-client retransmission time, you can change the number of times
that the switch sends an EAP-request/identity frame (assuming no response is received) to the client
before restarting the authentication process.

Note You should change the default value of this command only to adjust for unusual circumstances such as
unreliable links or specific operational problems with certain clients and authentication servers.

To set the switch-to-client frame retransmission number, perform this task:

Command Purpose
Step 1 Router(config)# interface type1 slot/port Specifies the port to be configured, and enters interface
configuration mode.
Step 2 Router(config-if)# dot1x max-req count Sets the number of times that the switch sends an
EAP-request/identity frame to the client before restarting
the authentication process. The range is 1 to 10; the
default is 2.
Step 3 Router(config-if)# end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 4 Router# show dot1x all Verifies your entries.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

This example shows how to set 5 as the number of times that the switch sends an EAP-request/identity
request before restarting the authentication process:
Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# dot1x max-req 5

Setting the Reauthentication Number

You can also change the number of times that the switch restarts the authentication process before the
port changes to the unauthorized state.

Note You should change the default value of this command only to adjust for unusual circumstances such as
unreliable links or specific operational problems with certain clients and authentication servers.

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To set the reauthentication number, perform this task:

Command Purpose
Step 1 Router(config)# interface type1 slot/port Specifies the port to be configured, and enters interface
configuration mode.
Step 2 Router(config-if)# dot1x max-reauth-req count Sets the number of times that the switch restarts the
authentication process before the port changes to the
unauthorized state. The range is 0 to 10; the default is 2.
Step 3 Router(config-if)# end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 4 Router# show dot1x all Verifies your entries.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

This example shows how to set 4 as the number of times that the switch restarts the authentication
process before the port changes to the unauthorized state:
Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# dot1x max-reauth-req 4

Configuring IEEE 802.1X Accounting

Enabling AAA system accounting with 802.1X accounting allows system reload events to be sent to the
accounting RADIUS server for logging. The server then can determine that all active 802.1X sessions
are closed.
Because RADIUS uses the unreliable UDP transport protocol, accounting messages might be lost due to
poor network conditions. If the switch does not receive the accounting response message from the
RADIUS server after a configurable number of retransmissions of an accounting request, this system
message appears:
Accounting message %s for session %s failed to receive Accounting Response.

When the stop message is not sent successfully, this message appears:
00:09:55: %RADIUS-3-NOACCOUNTINGRESPONSE: Accounting message Start for session
172.20.50.145 sam 11/06/03 07:01:16 11000002 failed to receive Accounting Response.

Note You must configure the RADIUS server to perform accounting tasks, such as logging start, stop, and
interim-update messages and time stamps. To turn on these functions, enable logging of
“Update/Watchdog packets from this AAA client” in your RADIUS server Network Configuration tab.
Next, enable “CVS RADIUS Accounting” in your RADIUS server System Configuration tab.

To configure 802.1X accounting after AAA is enabled on your switch, perform this task:

Command Purpose
Step 1 Router(config)# aaa accounting dot1x default Enables 802.1X accounting using the list of all RADIUS
start-stop group radius servers.
Step 2 Router(config)# aaa accounting system default (Optional) Enables system accounting (using the list of
start-stop group radius all RADIUS servers) and generates system accounting
reload event messages when the switch reloads.

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Command Purpose
Step 3 Router(config)# end Returns to privileged EXEc mode.
Step 4 Router# show running-config Verifies your entries.

Use the show radius statistics privileged EXEC command to display the number of RADIUS messages
that do not receive the accounting response message.
This example shows how to configure 802.1X accounting. The first command configures the RADIUS
server, specifying 1813 as the UDP port for accounting:
Router(config)# radius-server host 172.120.39.46 auth-port 1812 acct-port 1813 key rad123
Router(config)# aaa accounting dot1x default start-stop group radius
Router(config)# aaa accounting system default start-stop group radius

Configuring VLAN User Distribution

With Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI1 and later releases, you can define a VLAN group that contains
multiple VLANs. For VLAN load balancing, you can then configure the RADIUS server to supply a
VLAN group name as part of the response to a user during 802.1X authentication. If the supplied VLAN
group name is found among the VLAN group names that you have defined, the newly authenticated user
is placed in the least populated VLAN within the VLAN group.
To configure a VLAN group, perform this task:

Command Purpose
Step 1 Router(config)# vlan group group-name vlan-list Creates a VLAN group or adds VLANs to an existing
vlan-list VLAN group.
• group-name—The name of the VLAN group. The
name may contain up to 32 characters and must begin
with a letter.
• vlan-list vlan-list—The VLANs that belong to the
VLAN group. Group members can be specified as a
single VLAN ID, a list of VLAN IDs, or a VLAN ID
range. Multiple entries are separated by a hyphen (-)
or a comma (,).
Step 2 Router(config)# no vlan group group-name (Optional) Removes the members specified by vlan-list
vlan-list vlan-list from a VLAN group.
Note When no VLANs remain in the VLAN group, the
VLAN group is deleted.
Step 3 Router# show vlan group [group-name group-name] Displays the VLANs and VLAN ranges that are members
of the specified VLAN group or of all VLAN groups.

This example shows how to map VLANs 7 through 9 and 11 to a VLAN group:
Router(config)# vlan group ganymede vlan-list 7-9,11

This example shows how to remove VLAN 7 from a VLAN group:

Router(config)# no vlan group ganymede vlan-list 7

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Configuring 802.1X Port-Based Authentication

Configuring a Guest VLAN

With Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXH and later releases, when you configure a guest VLAN, clients that
are not 802.1X-capable are put into the guest VLAN when the server does not receive a response to its
EAP request/identity frame. Clients that are 802.1X-capable but that fail authentication are not granted
network access. When operating as a guest VLAN, a port functions in multiple-hosts mode regardless of
the configured host mode of the port.
To configure a guest VLAN, perform this task:

Command Purpose
1
Step 1 Router(config)# interface type slot/port Specifies the port to be configured, and enters interface
configuration mode.
Step 2 Router(config-if)# switchport mode access Sets the port to access mode.

or or
Router(config-if)# switchport mode private-vlan Configures the port as a private VLAN host port.
host
The guest VLAN is not supported on routed or trunk
ports.
Step 3 Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases: Enables authentication on the port.
Router(config-if)# authentication port-control
auto

Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI:

Router(config-if)# dot1x port-control auto
Step 4 Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases: Specifies an active VLAN as a guest VLAN. The range is
Router(config-if)# authentication event 1 to 4094.
no-response action authorize vlan vlan-id
You can configure any active VLAN except an internal
VLAN (routed port), an RSPAN VLAN, a private
Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI: primary PVLAN, or a voice VLAN as a guest VLAN.
Router(config-if)# dot1x guest-vlan vlan-id
Step 5 Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases: Specifies whether the port authentication method is
Router(config-if)# dot1x pae authenticator 802.1X or MAC address bypass.

or In Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXH and earlier releases,

this command is not needed, and the method will be
Router(config-if)# mab
802.1X.
Step 6 Router(config-if)# end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 7 Router# show dot1x interface type slot/port Verifies your entries.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

This example shows how to enable VLAN 2 as an 802.1X guest VLAN:

Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases:

Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# authentication port-control auto
Router(config-if)# authentication event no-response action authorize vlan 2
Router(config-if)# dot1x pae authenticator

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Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI:

Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# dot1x port-control auto
Router(config-if)# dot1x guest-vlan 2

This example shows how to set 3 seconds as the client notification timeout on the switch, to set 15 as the
number of seconds that the switch waits for a response to an EAP-request/identity frame from the client
before resending the request, and to enable VLAN 2 as an 802.1X guest VLAN when an 802.1X port is
connected to a DHCP client:

Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases:

Router(config-if)# dot1x timeout supp-timeout 3
Router(config-if)# dot1x timeout tx-period 15
Router(config-if)# authentication event no-response action authorize vlan 2
Router(config-if)# dot1x pae authenticator

Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI:

Router(config-if)# dot1x timeout supp-timeout 3
Router(config-if)# dot1x timeout tx-period 15
Router(config-if)# dot1x guest-vlan 2

Configuring a Restricted VLAN

When you configure a restricted VLAN on a switch, clients that are 802.1X-compliant are moved into
the restricted VLAN when the authentication server does not receive a valid username and password.
When operating as a restricted VLAN, a port functions in single-host mode regardless of the configured
host mode of the port.
To configure a restricted VLAN, perform this task:

Command Purpose
1
Step 1 Router(config)# interface type slot/port Specifies the port to be configured, and enters interface
configuration mode.
Step 2 Router(config-if)# switchport mode access Sets the port to access mode.
or
Router(config-if)# switchport mode private-vlan or
host
Configures the port as a private-VLAN host port.
Step 3 Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases: Enables port-based authentication on the port.
Router(config-if)# authentication port-control
auto

Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI:

Router(config-if)# dot1x port-control auto

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Command Purpose
Step 4 Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases: Specifies an active VLAN as a restricted VLAN. The
Router(config-if)# authentication event fail range for vlan-id is 1 to 4094.
[retry retries] action authorize vlan vlan-id
(Optional) The retry keyword specifies a number of
authentication attempts to allow before a port moves to
Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI: the restricted VLAN.
Router(config-if)# dot1x auth-fail vlan vlan-id You can configure any active VLAN except an internal
VLAN (routed port), an RSPAN VLAN, a private
primary PVLAN, or a voice VLAN as a restricted VLAN.
Step 5 Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI: (Optional) The max-attempts keyword specifies a
Router(config-if)# dot1x auth-fail max-attempts number of authentication attempts to allow before a port
max-attempts moves to the restricted VLAN.
Step 6 Router(config-if)# end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 7 Router# show dot1x interface type slot/port Verifies your entries.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

To disable and remove the restricted VLAN, use the no form of the authentication event fail command
or the dot1x auth-fail command. The port returns to the unauthorized state.
You can configure the maximum number of authentication attempts allowed before a user is assigned to
the restricted VLAN.
• In Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI and later releases, you can set the number of attempts by using
the retry keyword in the authentication event fail [retry retries] action authorize vlan command.
The range of retries (allowable authentication attempts) is 1 to 5. The default is 2 attempts.
• In Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXH, you can set the number of attempts by using the dot1x auth-fail
max-attempts max-attempts interface configuration command. The range of max-attempts
(allowable authentication attempts) is 1 to 3. The default is 3 attempts.
This example shows how to enable VLAN 2 as a restricted VLAN, with assignment of a host after 3
failed attempts:

Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases:

Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# authentication port-control auto
Router(config-if)# authentication event fail retry 3 action authorize vlan 2
Router(config-if)# dot1x pae authenticator

Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI:

Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# dot1x port-control auto
Router(config-if)# dot1x auth-fail vlan 2
Router(config-if)# dot1x auth-fail max-attempts 3

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Configuring the Inaccessible Authentication Bypass Feature

You can configure the inaccessible bypass feature, also referred to as critical authentication or the AAA
fail policy.
To configure the port as a critical port and enable the inaccessible authentication bypass feature, perform
this task:

Command Purpose
Step 1 Router(config)# radius-server dead-criteria time (Optional) Sets the conditions that are used to decide
time tries tries when a RADIUS server is considered unavailable or
dead.
The range for time is from 1 to 120 seconds. The switch
dynamically determines the default seconds value that is
10 to 60 seconds.
The range for tries is from 1 to 100. The switch
dynamically determines the default tries parameter that is
10 to 100.
Step 2 Router(config)# radius-server deadtime minutes (Optional) Sets the number of minutes that a RADIUS
server is not sent requests. The range is from 0 to 1440
minutes (24 hours). The default is 0 minutes.

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Command Purpose
Step 3 Router(config)# radius-server host ip-address (Optional) Configures the RADIUS server parameters by
[acct-port udp-port] [auth-port udp-port] [key using these keywords:
string] [test username name [idle-time time]
[ignore-acct-port] [ignore-auth-port]] • acct-port udp-port—Specifies the UDP port for the
RADIUS accounting server. The range for the UDP
port number is from 0 to 65536. The default is 1646.
• auth-port udp-port—Specifies the UDP port for the
RADIUS authentication server. The range for the
UDP port number is from 0 to 65536. The default is
1645.
Note You should configure the UDP port for the
RADIUS accounting server and the UDP port for
the RADIUS authentication server to nondefault
values.

• key string—Specifies the authentication and

encryption key for all RADIUS communication
between the switch and the RADIUS daemon.
Note You can also configure the authentication and
encryption key by using the radius-server key {0
string | 7 string | string} global configuration
command.

• test username name—Enables automated testing of

the RADIUS server status, and specify the username
to be used.
• idle-time time—Sets the interval of time in minutes
after which the switch sends test packets to the
server. The range is from 1 to 35791 minutes. The
default is 60 minutes (1 hour).
• ignore-acct-port—Disables testing on the RADIUS
server accounting port.
• ignore-auth-port—Disables testing on the RADIUS
server authentication port.
Step 4 Router(config)# dot1x critical eapol (Optional) Specifies that the switch sends an
EAPOL-Success message when the switch successfully
authenticates the critical port.
Step 5 Router(config)# interface type1 slot/port Specifies the port to be configured, and enters interface
configuration mode.
Step 6 Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases: (Optional) Sets the recovery delay period during which
Router(config-if)# authentication critical the switch waits to reinitialize a critical port when a
recovery delay milliseconds RADIUS server that was unavailable becomes available.
The range is from 1 to 10000 milliseconds. The default is
1000 milliseconds (a port can be reinitialized every
Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI:
second).
Router(config)# dot1x critical recovery delay
milliseconds

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Configuring 802.1X Port-Based Authentication

Command Purpose
Step 7 Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases: Enables the inaccessible authentication bypass feature,
Router(config-if)# authentication event server authorizing ports on the specified VLAN when the AAA
dead action authorize [vlan vlan-id] server is unreachable. If no VLAN is specified, the access
VLAN will be used.
Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI: Note The vlan keyword is only available on a switch
Router(config-if)# dot1x critical [vlan vlan-id] port.
Step 8 Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases: Configures the inaccessible authentication bypass
Router(config-if)# authentication event server recovery feature, specifying that the recovery action is to
alive action reinitialize authenticate the port when an authentication server
becomes available.
Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI:
Router(config-if)# dot1x critical recovery action
reinitialize
Step 9 Router(config-if)# end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 10 Router# show dot1x [interface type slot/port] Verifies your entries.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

To return to the RADIUS server default settings, use the no radius-server dead-criteria, the no
radius-server deadtime, and the no radius-server host global configuration commands. To return to
the default settings of inaccessible authentication bypass, use the no dot1x critical eapol global
configuration command. To disable inaccessible authentication bypass, use the no authentication event
server dead action authorize (or no dot1x critical) interface configuration command.
This example shows how to configure the inaccessible authentication bypass feature:

Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases:

Router(config)# radius-server dead-criteria time 30 tries 20
Router(config)# radius-server deadtime 60
Router(config)# radius-server host 1.1.1.2 acct-port 1550 auth-port 1560 key abc1234 test
username user1 idle-time 30
Router(config)# dot1x critical eapol
Router(config)# authentication critical recovery delay 2000
Router(config)# interface gigabitethernet 1/1
Router(config-if)# authentication event server dead action authorize vlan 123
Router(config-if)# authentication event server alive action reinitialize

Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI:

Router(config)# radius-server dead-criteria time 30 tries 20
Router(config)# radius-server deadtime 60
Router(config)# radius-server host 1.1.1.2 acct-port 1550 auth-port 1560 key abc1234 test
username user1 idle-time 30
Router(config)# dot1x critical eapol
Router(config)# dot1x critical recovery delay 2000
Router(config)# interface gigabitethernet 1/1
Router(config-if)# dot1x critical vlan 123
Router(config-if)# dot1x critical recovery action reinitialize

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Enabling Critical Voice VLAN Support

Release 12.2(33)SXJ1 and later releases support the critical voice VLAN support feature (see the
“Understanding 802.1X Authentication Critical Voice VLAN Support” section on page 60-19).
• Enabling Critical Voice VLAN Support in Multidomain Authentication Mode, page 60-56
• Enabling Critical Voice VLAN Support in Multiauthentication Mode, page 60-57

Note When enabling critical voice VLAN support, follow these guidelines and restrictions:
• Use different VLANs for voice and data.
• The voice VLAN must be configured on the switch (see “Configuring Voice Traffic Support” section
on page 15-5).

Enabling Critical Voice VLAN Support in Multidomain Authentication Mode

To enable critical voice VLAN support in multidomain authentication (MDA) mode, perform this task:

Command Purpose
1
Step 1 Router(config)# interface type slot/port Specifies the port to be configured, and enters interface
configuration mode.
Step 2 Router(config-if)# authentication event Configures a critical data VLAN.
server dead action reinitialize vlan
critical_data_vlan_id Note Only required if the authentication event server dead
action authorize vlan critical_data_vlan_id command
is not configured on the port (see the “Configuring the
Inaccessible Authentication Bypass Feature” section on
page 60-53).
Step 3 Router(config-if)# authentication event Enables the critical voice VLAN support feature, which puts
server dead action authorize voice phone traffic into the configured voice VLAN of a port if the
authentication server becomes unreachable.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

This example shows how to enable the critical voice VLAN support feature in MDA mode when the
authentication event server dead action authorize vlan critical_data_vlan_id command is also
configured on the port as part of the inaccessible authentication bypass feature:
Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# authentication event server dead action authorize voice

This example shows how to enable the critical voice VLAN support feature in MDA mode when
inaccessible authentication bypass is not configured on the port:
Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# authentication event server dead action reinitialize vlan 10
Router(config-if)# authentication event server dead action authorize voice

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Enabling Critical Voice VLAN Support in Multiauthentication Mode

To enable critical voice VLAN support in multiauthentication mode, perform this task:

Command Purpose
1
Step 1 Router(config)# interface type slot/port Specifies the port to be configured, and enters interface
configuration mode.
Step 2 Router(config-if)# authentication event server Configures a critical data VLAN.
dead action reinitialize vlan
critical_data_vlan_id
Step 3 Router(config-if)# authentication event server Enables the critical voice VLAN support feature, which
dead action authorize voice puts phone traffic into the configured voice VLAN of a
port if the authentication server becomes unreachable.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

This example shows how to enable the critical voice VLAN support feature in multiauthentication mode:
Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# authentication event server dead action reinitialize vlan 10
Router(config-if)# authentication event server dead action authorize voice

Configuring MAC Authentication Bypass

To configure MAC authentication bypass on an interface, perform this task:

Command Purpose
1
Step 1 Router(config)# interface type slot/port Specifies the port to be configured, and enters interface
configuration mode.
Step 2 Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases: Enables 802.1X authentication on the port.
Router(config-if)# authentication port-control
{auto | force-authorized | force-unauthorized}
The keywords have these meanings:
• auto—Allows only EAPOL traffic until successful
authentication.
Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI:
• force-authorized—Allows all traffic, requires no
Router(config-if)# dot1x port-control {auto |
force-authorized | force-unauthorized} authentication.
• force-unauthorized—Allows no traffic.
Step 3 Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases: Enables MAC authentication bypass on the interface.
Router(config-if)# mab [eap]
(Optional) Use the eap keyword to configure the switch
to use EAP for authorization.
Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI:
Router(config-if)# dot1x mac-auth-bypass [eap]
Step 4 Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases: (Optional) Disables the use of EAP for authorization if
Router(config-if)# no mab eap EAP was previously configured using the mab eap or the
dot1x mac-auth-bypass eap command.

Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI:

Router(config-if)# no dot1x mac-auth-bypass eap

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Command Purpose
Step 5 Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases: (Optional) Disables MAC authentication bypass on the
Router(config-if)# no mab interface.
Note When MAC authentication bypass with EAP has
Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI: been enabled on an interface, it is not disabled by
a subsequent default interface command on the
Router(config-if)# no dot1x mac-auth-bypass
interface.
Step 6 Router(config-if)# end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 7 Router# show dot1x interface type slot/port Verifies your entries.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

Note To use MAC authentication bypass on a routed port, ensure that MAC address learning is enabled on the
port.

This example shows how to enable MAC authentication bypass on a port:

Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases:

Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# authentication port-control auto
Router(config-if)# mab

Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI:

Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# dot1x port-control auto
Router(config-if)# dot1x mac-auth-bypass

Configuring NAC Layer 2 IEEE 802.1X Validation

With Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXH and later releases, you can configure NAC Layer 2 IEEE 802.1X
validation, which is also referred to as 802.1X authentication with a RADIUS server. NAC Layer 2
IEEE 802.1X configuration is the same as 802.1X configuration with the additional step of configuring
the RADIUS server with a posture token and VLAN assignment.
To configure NAC Layer 2 IEEE 802.1X validation, perform this task:

Command Purpose
1
Step 1 Router(config)# interface type slot/port Specifies the port to be configured, and enters interface
configuration mode.
Step 2 Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases: Enables port-based authentication on the interface.
Router(config-if)# authentication port-control
auto
The no form of the command disables port-based
authentication on the interface.
For feature interaction information, see the “802.1X
Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI: Authentication Feature Configuration Guidelines”
Router(config-if)# dot1x port-control auto section on page 60-29.

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Command Purpose
Step 3 Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases: Enables periodic reauthentication of the client, which is
Router(config-if)# authentication periodic disabled by default.

Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI:

Router(config-if)# dot1x reauthentication
Step 4 Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases: Specifies the number of seconds between
Router(config-if)# authentication timer reauthentication attempts using these keywords:
reauthenticate [seconds | server]
• seconds—Sets the number of seconds from
1 to 65535; the default is 3600 seconds.
Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI: • server—Sets the number of seconds based on the
Router(config-if)# dot1x timeout reauth-period value of the Session-Timeout RADIUS attribute
[seconds | server] (Attribute[27]) and the Termination-Action RADIUS
attribute (Attribute [29]).
This command affects the operation of the switch only if
periodic reauthentication is enabled.
Step 5 Router(config-if)# end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 6 Router# show dot1x interface type slot/port Verifies your 802.1X authentication configuration. Verify
that a NAC posture token is displayed with the 802.1X
authentication configuration.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

This example shows how to configure NAC Layer 2 IEEE 802.1X validation:

Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases:

Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config)# authentication port-control auto
Router(config-if)# authentication periodic
Router(config-if)# authentication timer reauthenticate server

Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI:

Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config)# dot1x port-control auto
Router(config-if)# dot1x reauthentication
Router(config-if)# dot1x timeout reauth-period server

Configuring NAC Agentless Audit Support

To support the NAC audit architecture for agentless clients, the switch must snoop an authenticating
802.1X client’s IP address, create and assign a unique session identifier for the agentless client, and pass
this information to the RADIUS server for sharing with the NAC audit server. To allow the switch to
obtain and share this information, you must enable ARP and DHCP snooping on the switch and you must
enable the sending of certain RADIUS attributes.

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To configure the RADIUS and tracking settings to support NAC agentless audit, perform this task:

Command Purpose
Step 1 Router(config)# radius-server attribute 8 Configures the switch to send the Framed-IP-Address
include-in-access-req RADIUS attribute (Attribute[8]) in access-request or
accounting-request packets.
Step 2 Router(config)# radius-server vsa send Configures the network access server to recognize and
authentication use vendor-specific attributes (VSAs) (specifically
audit-session-id) in RADIUS Access-Requests generated
by the switch during the authentication phase.
Step 3 Router(config)# radius-server vsa send accounting Allows VSAs to be included in subsequent RADIUS
Accounting-Requests.
Step 4 Router(config)# ip device tracking Enables the IP device tracking table.
Step 5 Router(config)# ip device tracking (Optional) Configures these parameters for the IP device
[probe {count count | delay delay_interval | tracking table:
interval interval}]
• count—Number of times that the switch sends the
ARP probe. The range is 1 to 5. The default is 3.
• delay_interval (implemented in releases where
CSCtn27420 is resolved)—Number of seconds that
the switch delays sending an ARP probe, triggered
by link-up and ARP probe generation by the tracked
device. The range is 1 to 120 seconds. The default is
0 seconds.
• interval—Number of seconds that the switch waits
for a response before resending the ARP probe. The
range is 30 to 300 seconds. The default is 30 seconds.

Configuring the Switch for DACLs or Redirect URLs

To configure switch ports to accept DACLs or redirect URLs from the RADIUS server during
authentication of an attached host, perform this task:

Command Purpose
Step 1 Router# config terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2 Router(config)# radius-server vsa send Configures the network access server to recognize and
authentication use vendor-specific attributes (VSAs) in RADIUS
Access-Requests generated by the switch during the
authentication phase.
Note This step is necessary only with redirect URLs or
when DACLs are downloaded using VSAs rather
than the Filter-ID attribute.
Step 3 Router(config)# ip device tracking Enables the IP device tracking table.

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Command Purpose
Step 4 Router(config)# ip device tracking (Optional) Configures these parameters for the IP device
[probe {count count | delay delay_interval | tracking table:
interval interval}]
• count—Number of times that the switch sends the
ARP probe. The range is 1 to 5. The default is 3.
• delay_interval (implemented in releases where
CSCtn27420 is resolved)—Number of seconds that
the switch delays sending an ARP probe, triggered
by link-up and ARP probe generation by the tracked
device. The range is 1 to 120 seconds. The default is
0 seconds.
• interval—Number of seconds that the switch waits
for a response before resending the ARP probe. The
range is 30 to 300 seconds. The default is 30 seconds.
Step 5 Router(config)# ip access-list extended dacl-name Configures an ACL that will be referenced by the VSA or
Filter-ID attribute.
Note This step is not necessary for DACLs defined on
the RADIUS server and downloaded using VSAs.
Step 6 Router(config-std-nacl)# {permit | deny} ... Defines the ACL.
Note The source address must be ANY.
Step 7 Router(config-std-nacl)# exit Returns to global configuration mode.
Step 8 Router(config)# ip access-list extended acl-name Configures a default ACL for the ports.
Step 9 Router(config-std-nacl)# {permit | deny} ... Defines the ACL.
Step 10 Router(config-std-nacl)# exit Returns to global configuration mode.
Step 11 Router(config)# interface type1 slot/port Specifies the port to be configured, and enters interface
configuration mode.
Step 12 Router(config-if)# ip access-group acl-name in Applies the default static ACL on the interface.
Step 13 Router(config-if)# exit Returns to global configuration mode.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

This example shows how to configure a switch for a downloadable policy:

Router# config terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
Router(config)# radius-server vsa send authentication
Router(config)# ip device tracking
Router(config)# ip access-list extended my_dacl
Router(config-ext-nacl)# permit tcp any host 10.2.3.4
Router(config-ext-nacl)# exit
Router(config)# ip access-list extended default_acl
Router(config-ext-nacl)# permit ip any any
Router(config-ext-nacl)# exit
Router(config)# interface fastEthernet 2/13
Router(config-if)# ip access-group default_acl in
Router(config-if)# exit

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Configuring a Port to Ignore CoA Commands

To configure the switch to disregard a CoA command to shut down or bounce a specific port, perform
this task:

Command Purpose
1
Step 1 Router(config)# interface type slot/port Specifies the port to be configured, and enters interface
configuration mode.
Step 2 Router(config-if)# [no] authentication command Configures the switch to ignore any CoA command
disable-port ignore requesting that this port be administratively shut-down.
Router(config-if)# [no] authentication command Configures the switch to ignore any CoA command
bounce-port ignore requesting that this port be held down for a period of
time.
Step 3 Router(config-if)# exit Returns to global configuration mode.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

Configuring 802.1X Authentication with WoL

Note Wake-on-LAN (WoL) is supported in multiauthentication (multiauth) mode only in releases where
CSCti92970 is resolved.

To enable 802.1X authentication with WoL, perform this task:

Command Purpose
1
Step 1 Router(config)# interface type slot/port Specifies the port to be configured, and enters interface
configuration mode.
Step 2 Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases: Enables 802.1X authentication with WoL on the port, and
Router(config-if)# authentication uses these keywords to configure the port as bidirectional
control-direction {both | in} or unidirectional.
• both—Sets the port as bidirectional. The port cannot
Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI: receive packets from or send packets to the host. By
Router(config-if)# dot1x control-direction {both default, the port is bidirectional.
| in} • in—Sets the port as unidirectional. The port can send
packets to the host but cannot receive packets from
the host.
Step 3 Router(config-if)# end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 4 Router# show dot1x interface type slot/port Verifies your entries.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

To disable 802.1X authentication with WoL, use the no authentication control-direction (or the no
dot1x control-direction) interface configuration command.

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This example shows how to enable 802.1X authentication with WoL and set the port as bidirectional:

Cisco IOS Release 12.2(33)SXI or later releases:

Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# authentication control-direction both

Releases earlier than Release 12.2(33)SXI:

Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# dot1x control-direction both

Disabling 802.1X Authentication on the Port

You can disable 802.1X authentication on the port by using the no dot1x pae interface configuration
command.
To disable 802.1X authentication on the port, perform this task:

Command Purpose
1
Step 1 Router(config)# interface type slot/port Specifies the port to be configured, and enters interface
configuration mode.
Step 2 Router(config-if)# no dot1x pae authenticator Disables 802.1X authentication on the port.
Step 3 Router(config-if)# end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 4 Router# show dot1x interface type slot/port Verifies your entries.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

To configure the port as an 802.1X port access entity (PAE) authenticator, which enables 802.1X on the
port but does not allow clients connected to the port to be authorized, use the dot1x pae authenticator
interface configuration command.
This example shows how to disable 802.1X authentication on the port:
Router(config)# interface fastethernet 5/1
Router(config-if)# no dot1x pae authenticator

Resetting the 802.1X Configuration to the Default Values

To reset the 802.1X configuration to the default values, perform this task:

Command Purpose
1
Step 1 Router(config)# interface type slot/port Specifies the port to be configured, and enters interface
configuration mode.
Step 2 Router(config-if)# dot1x default Resets the configurable 802.1X parameters to the default
values.
Step 3 Router(config-if)# end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 4 Router# show dot1x all Verifies your entries.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

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This example shows how to reset a port’s 802.1X authentication settings to the default values:

Router(config)# interface gigabitethernet 3/27

Router(config-if)# dot1x default

Configuring an Authenticator and a Supplicant Switch with NEAT

Release 12.2(33)SXJ and later releases support Network Edge Access Topology (NEAT), which requires
one switch to be configured as a supplicant and to be connected to an authenticator switch.
For overview information, see the “Understanding 802.1x Supplicant and Authenticator Switches with
Network Edge Access Topology (NEAT)” section on page 60-27.

Note The cisco-av-pairs value must be configured as “device-traffic-class=switch” on the ACS, which sets the
interface as a trunk after the supplicant is successfully authenticated.

To configure a switch as an authenticator, perform this task:

Command Purpose
Step 1 Router# configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2 Router(config)# cisp enable Enables CISP.
Step 3 Router(config)# interface interface-id Specifies the port to be configured, and enters
interface configuration mode.
Step 4 Router(config-if)# switchport mode access Sets the port mode to access.
Step 5 Router(config-if)# authentication port-control auto Sets the port-authentication mode to auto.
Step 6 Router(config-if)# dot1x pae authenticator Configures the interface as a port access entity (PAE)
authenticator.
Step 7 Router(config-if)# spanning-tree portfast Enables PortFast on an access port connected to a
single workstation or server.
Step 8 Router(config-if)# end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 9 Router# show running-config interface interface-id Verifies your configuration.
Step 10 Router# copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Saves your entries in the configuration file.

This example shows how to configure a switch as an 802.1x authenticator:

Router# configure terminal
Router(config)# cisp enable
Router(config)# interface gigabitethernet1/1
Router(config-if)# switchport mode access
Router(config-if)# authentication port-control auto
Router(config-if)# dot1x pae authenticator
Router(config-if)# spanning-tree portfast trunk

To configure a switch as a supplicant, perform this task:

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Command Purpose
Step 1 Router# configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2 Router(config)# cisp enable Enables CISP.
Step 3 Router(config)# dot1x credentials profile Creates 802.1x credentials profile. This must be attached
to the port that is configured as supplicant.
Step 4 Router(config)# username suppswitch Creates a username.
Step 5 Router(config)# password password Creates a password for the new username.
Step 6 Router(config)# dot1x supplicant force-multicast Forces the switch to send only multicast EAPOL packets
when it receives either unicast or multicast packets,
which allows NEAT to work on the supplicant switch in
all host modes.
Step 7 Router(config)# interface interface-id Specifies the port to be configured, and enters interface
configuration mode.
Step 8 Router(config-if)# switchport trunk encapsulation Sets the port to trunk mode.
dot1q
Step 9 Router(config-if)# switchport mode trunk Configures the interface as a VLAN trunk port.
Step 10 Router(config-if)# dot1x pae supplicant Configures the interface as a port access entity (PAE)
supplicant.
Step 11 Router(config-if)# dot1x credentials profile-name Attaches the 802.1x credentials profile to the interface.
Step 12 Router(config-if)# end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 13 Router# show running-config interface Verifies your configuration.
interface-id
Step 14 Router# copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Saves your entries in the configuration file.

This example shows how to configure a switch as a supplicant:

Router# configure terminal
Router(config)# cisp enable
Router(config)# dot1x credentials test
Router(config)# username suppswitch
Router(config)# password myswitch
Router(config)# dot1x supplicant force-multicast
Router(config)# interface gigabitethernet1/1
Router(config-if)# switchport trunk encapsulation dot1q
Router(config-if)# switchport mode trunk
Router(config-if)# dot1x pae supplicant
Router(config-if)# dot1x credentials test
Router(config-if)# end

Displaying Authentication Status and Information

This section describes the show commands used to display authentication status and information.
• Displaying 802.1X Status, page 60-66
• Displaying Authentication Methods and Status, page 60-67
• Displaying MAC Authentication Bypass Status, page 60-70
For detailed information about the fields in these displays, see the Cisco IOS Master Command List.

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Displaying 802.1X Status

To display the global 802.1X administrative and operational status for the switch or the 802.1X settings
for individual ports, perform this task:

Command Purpose
Router# show dot1x [all | interface Displays the global 802.1X administrative and
type1 slot/port] operational status for the switch.
(Optional) Use the all keyword to display the global
802.1X status and the 802.1X settings for all interfaces
using 802.1X authentication.
(Optional) Use the interface keyword to display the
802.1X settings for a specific interface.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

This example shows how to view only the global 802.1X status:

Router# show dot1x

Sysauthcontrol Disabled
Dot1x Protocol Version 2
Critical Recovery Delay 100
Critical EAPOL Disabled

Router#

This example shows how to view the global 802.1X status and the 802.1X settings for all interfaces using
802.1X authentication:

Router# show dot1x all

Sysauthcontrol Disabled
Dot1x Protocol Version 2
Critical Recovery Delay 100
Critical EAPOL Disabled

Dot1x Info for GigabitEthernet3/27

-----------------------------------
PAE = AUTHENTICATOR
PortControl = FORCE_AUTHORIZED
ControlDirection = Both
HostMode = SINGLE_HOST
ReAuthentication = Disabled
QuietPeriod = 60
ServerTimeout = 30
SuppTimeout = 30
ReAuthPeriod = 3600 (Locally configured)
ReAuthMax = 2
MaxReq = 2
TxPeriod = 30
RateLimitPeriod = 0

Router#

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Displaying Authentication Methods and Status

To display the authentication methods and status, perform any of these tasks:

Command Purpose
Router# show authentication registrations Displays details of all registered methods.
Router# show authentication interface interface Displays authentication information for a specific
interface
Router# show authentication method method Lists current authentication sessions that were authorized
using the specified method.
Router# show authentication sessions Displays information about current authentication
[handle handle] [interface interface] sessions. With no options specified, all current active
[mac mac] [method method] [session-id session-id]
sessions will be listed. The keywords can be added and
combined to display detailed information about specific
sessions or subset of sessions.

Table 60-3 shows the possible states of the authentication session.

Table 60-3 Authentication Session States

State Description
Idle The session has been initialized and no methods have run
yet.
Running A method is running for this session.
No methods No method has provided a result for this session.
Authc Success A method has provided a successful authentication result
for the session.
Authc Failed A method has provided a failed authentication result for
the session.
Authz Success All features have been successfully applied for this
session.
Authz Failed A feature has failed to be applied for this session.

Table 60-4 shows the possible states of the authentication methods.

Table 60-4 Authentication Method States

State Description
Not run The method has not run for this session
Running The method is running for this session.
Failed over The method has failed and the next method is expected to
provide a result.

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Table 60-4 Authentication Method States (continued)

State Description
Success The method has provided a successful authentication
result for the session.
Authc Failed The method has provided a failed authentication result
for the session.

This example shows how to display the registered authentication methods:

Router# show authentication registrations
Auth Methods registered with the Auth Manager:
Handle Priority Name
3 0 dot1x
2 1 mab
1 2 webauth

This example shows how to display the authentication details for a given interface:
Router# show authentication interface g1/23
Client list:
MAC Address Domain Status Handle Interface
0123.4567.abcd DATA Authz Success 0xE0000000 GigabitEthernet1/23

Available methods list:

Handle Priority Name
3 0 dot1x
2 1 mab
Runnable methods list:
Handle Priority Name
2 0 mab
3 1 dot1x

This example shows how to display all authentication sessions on the switch:
Router# show authentication sessions

Interface MAC Address Method Domain Status Session ID

Gi1/48 0015.63b0.f676 dot1x DATA Authz Success 0A3462B1000000102983C05C
Gi1/5 000f.23c4.a401 mab DATA Authz Success 0A3462B10000000D24F80B58
Gi1/5 0014.bf5d.d26d dot1x DATA Authz Success 0A3462B10000000E29811B94

This example shows how to display sessions authorized using a specified authentication method:
Router# show authentication method dot1x
Interface MAC Address Method Domain Status Session ID
Gi1/48 0015.63b0.f676 dot1x DATA Authz Success 0A3462B1000000102983C05C
Gi1/5 0014.bf5d.d26d dot1x DATA Authz Success 0A3462B10000000E29811B94

This example shows how to display all authentication sessions on an interface:

Router# show authentication sessions interface f1/47

Interface: FastEthernet1/47
MAC Address: Unknown
IP Address: Unknown
Status: Authz Success
Domain: DATA
Oper host mode: multi-host
Oper control dir: both
Authorized By: Guest Vlan
Vlan Policy: 20

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Session timeout: N/A

Idle timeout: N/A
Common Session ID: 0A3462C8000000000002763C
Acct Session ID: 0x00000002
Handle: 0x25000000

Runnable methods list:

Method State
mab Failed over
dot1x Failed over

----------------------------------------

Interface: FastEthernet1/47
MAC Address: 0005.5e7c.da05
IP Address: Unknown
User-Name: 00055e7cda05
Status: Authz Success
Domain: VOICE
Oper host mode: multi-domain
Oper control dir: both
Authorized By: Authentication Server
Session timeout: N/A
Idle timeout: N/A
Common Session ID: 0A3462C8000000010002A238
Acct Session ID: 0x00000003
Handle: 0x91000001

Runnable methods list:

Method State
mab Authc Success
dot1x Not run

This example shows how to display the authentication session for a specified session ID:
Router# show authentication sessions session-id 0B0101C70000004F2ED55218

Interface: GigabitEthernet9/2
MAC Address: 0000.0000.0011
IP Address: 20.0.0.7
Username: johndoe
Status: Authz Success
Domain: DATA
Oper host mode: multi-host
Oper control dir: both
Authorized By: Critical Auth
Vlan policy: N/A
Session timeout: N/A
Idle timeout: N/A
Common Session ID: 0B0101C70000004F2ED55218
Acct Session ID: 0x00000003
Handle: 0x91000001

Runnable methods list:

Method State
mab Authc Success
dot1x Not run

This example shows how to display all clients authorized by the specified authentication method:
Router# show authentication sessions method mab

No Auth Manager contexts match supplied criteria

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Router# show authentication sessions method dot1x

Interface MAC Address Domain Status Session ID

Gi9/2 0000.0000.0011 DATA Authz Success 0B0101C70000004F2ED55218

Displaying MAC Authentication Bypass Status

To display the MAB status, perform this task:

Command Purpose
1
Router# show mab {all | interface type slot/port} Displays MAB authentication details for all interfaces or
[detail] for a specific interface.
1. type = fastethernet, gigabitethernet, or tengigabitethernet

Table 60-5 shows the possible states of the MAB authentication state machine.

Table 60-5 MAB States

State Description
INITIALIZE The authorization session is initialized.
ACQUIRING The session is obtaining the client MAC address.
AUTHORIZING The session is waiting for MAC-based authorization.
TERMINATE The authorization session result has been obtained.

This example shows how to display the brief MAB status for a single interface:
Router# show mab interface fa1/1

MAB details for FastEthernet1/1

-------------------------------------
Mac-Auth-Bypass = Enabled
Inactivity Timeout = None

This example shows how to display the detailed MAB status for a single interface:
Router# show mab interface fa1/1 detail

MAB details for FastEthernet1/1

-------------------------------------
Mac-Auth-Bypass = Enabled
Inactivity Timeout = None

MAB Client List

---------------
Client MAC = 000f.23c4.a401
MAB SM state = TERMINATE
Auth Status = AUTHORIZED

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Enabling MAC Move

Release 12.2(33)SXI4 and later releases support the Mac move feature. To globally enable MAC move
on the switch, perform this task:

Command Purpose
Step 1 Router# configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2 Router(config)# authentication mac-move permit Enables MAC move on the switch.
Step 3 Router(config)# end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 4 Router# show running-config (Optional) Verifies your entries.
Step 5 Router# copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Saves your entries in the configuration file.

This example shows how to globally enable MAC move on a switch:

Router(config)# authentication mac-move permit

Enabling MAC Replace

Release 12.2(33)SXI4 and later releases support the Mac replace feature. To enable MAC replace on an
interface, perform this task:

Command Purpose
Step 1 Router# configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2 Router(config)# interface interface-id Specifies the port to be configured, and enter interface
configuration mode.
Step 3 Router(config-if)# authentication violation Uses the replace keyword to enable MAC replace on the
{protect | replace | restrict | shutdown} interface. The port removes the current session and
initiates authentication with the new host.
The other keywords have these effects:
• protect: the port drops packets with unexpected
MAC addresses without generating a system
message.
• restrict: violating packets are dropped by the CPU
and a system message is generated.
• shutdown: the port is error disabled when it receives
an unexpected MAC address.
Step 4 Router(config)# end Returns to privileged EXEc mode.
Step 5 Router# show running-config Verifies your entries.
Step 6 Router# copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Saves your entries in the configuration file.

This example shows how to enable MAC replace on an interface:

Router(config)# interface gigabitethernet2/2
Router(config-if)# authentication violation replace

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