Operating rules and notes

  • The switch supports concurrent 802.1X, web and MAC authentication operation on a port (with up to 32 clients allowed). However, concurrent operation of web and MAC authentication with other types of authentication on the same port is not supported. That is, the following authentication types are mutually exclusive on a given port:

    • Web-based and/or MAC authentication (with or without 802.1X)

    • MAC lockdown

    • MAC lockout

    • Port-Security

  • Order of Precedence for Port Access Management (highest to lowest):

    1. MAC lockout

    2. MAC lockdown or Port Security

    3. Port-based Access Control (802.1X) or web-based authentication or MAC authentication


    [NOTE: ]

    NOTE: When configuring a port for web-based or MAC authentication, be sure that a higher precedent port access management feature is not enabled on the port. For example, be sure that Port Security is disabled on a port before configuring the port for web-based or MAC authentication. If Port Security is enabled on the port this misconfiguration does not allow web-based or MAC authentication to occur.


  • VLANs: If your LAN does not use multiple VLANs, then you do not need to configure VLAN assignments in your RADIUS server or consider using either authorized or unauthorized VLANs. If your LAN does use multiple VLANs, then some of the following factors can apply to your use of web-based authentication and MAC-authentication.

    • Web-based authentication and MAC-authentication operate only with port-based VLANs. Operation with protocol VLANs is not supported, and clients do not have access to protocol VLANs during web-based authentication and MAC authentication sessions.

    • A port can belong to one, untagged VLAN during any client session. Where multiple authenticated clients can simultaneously use the same port, they must all be capable of operating on the same VLAN.

    • During an authenticated client session, the following hierarchy determines a port's VLAN membership:

      1. If there is a RADIUS-assigned VLAN, then, for the duration of the client session, the port belongs to this VLAN and temporarily drops all other VLAN memberships.

      2. If there is no RADIUS-assigned VLAN, then, for the duration of the client session, the port belongs to the authorized VLAN (if configured) and temporarily drops all other VLAN memberships.

      3. If neither 1 or 2, above, apply, but the port is an untagged member of a statically configured, port-based VLAN, then the port remains in this VLAN.

      4. If neither 1, 2, or 3, above, apply, then the client session does not have access to any statically configured, untagged VLANs and client access is blocked.

    • After an authorized client session begins on a given port, the port's VLAN membership does not change. If other clients on the same port become authenticated with a different VLAN assignment than the first client, the port blocks access to these other clients until the first client session ends.

    • The optional "authorized" VLAN (auth-vid) and "unauthorized" VLAN (unauth-vid) you can configure for web-based or MAC authentication must be statically configured VLANs on the switch. Also, if you configure one or both of these options, any services you want clients in either category to access must be available on those VLANs.

  • Where a given port's configuration includes an unauthorized client VLAN assignment, the port will allow an unauthenticated client session only while there are no requests for an authenticated client session on that port. In this case, if there is a successful request for authentication from an authorized client, the switch terminates the unauthorized-client session and begins the authorized-client session.

  • When a port on the switch is configured for web-based or MAC authentication and is supporting a current session with another device, rebooting the switch invokes a re-authentication of the connection.

  • When a port on the switch is configured as a web-based or MAC authenticator, it blocks access to a client that does not provide the proper authentication credentials. If the port configuration includes an optional, unauthorized VLAN (unauth-vid), the port is temporarily placed in the unauthorized VLAN if there are no other authorized clients currently using the port with a different VLAN assignment. If an authorized client is using the port with a different VLAN or if there is no unauthorized VLAN configured, the unauthorized client does not receive access to the network.

  • Web-based or MAC authentication and LACP cannot both be enabled on the same port.

    Web-based/MAC authentication and LACP are not supported at the same time on a port. The switch automatically disables LACP on ports configured for web or MAC authentication.

  • Use the show port-access web-based command to display session status, port-access configuration settings, and statistics for web-based authentication sessions.

  • When spanning tree is enabled on a switch that uses 802.1X, web-based authentication, or MAC authentication, loops can go undetected. For example, spanning tree packets that are looped back to an edge port will not be processed because they have a different broadcast/multicast MAC address from the client-authenticated MAC address. To ensure that client-authenticated edge ports get blocked when loops occur, you should enable loop protection on those ports. See "Multiple instance spanning-tree operation" in the Advanced Traffic Management Guide for your switch.