1-13 
z  The RADIUS server has the switch perform 802.1x re-authentication of users. The RADIUS server 
sends the switch an Access-Accept packet with the Termination-Action attribute field of 1. Upon 
receiving the packet, the switch re-authenticates the user periodically.  
z  You enable 802.1x re-authentication on the switch. With 802.1x re-authentication enabled, the 
switch re-authenticates users periodically.  
 
 
802.1x re-authentication will fail if a CAMS server is used and configured to perform authentication but 
not accounting. This is because a CAMS server establishes a user session after it begins to perform 
accounting. Therefore, to enable 802.1x re-authentication, do not configure the accounting none 
command in the domain. This restriction does not apply to other types of servers.  
 
Introduction to 802.1x Configuration 
802.1x provides a solution for authenticating users. To implement this solution, you need to execute 
802.1x-related commands. You also need to configure AAA schemes on switches and specify the 
authentication scheme (RADIUS or local authentication scheme). 
Figure 1-11 802.1x configuration 
ISP domain
configuration
AAA scheme
Local
authentication
RADIUS
scheme
802.1x 
configuration
ISP domain
configuration
AAA scheme
Local
authentication
RADIUS
scheme
802.1x 
configuration
 
 
z  802.1x users use domain names to associate with the  ISP domains configured on switches  
z  Configure the AAA scheme (a local authentication scheme or a RADIUS scheme) to be adopted in 
the ISP domain. 
z  If you specify to use a local authentication scheme, you need to configure the user names and 
passwords manually on the switch. Users can pass the authentication through 802.1x client if they 
provide user names and passwords that match those configured on the switch. 
z  If you specify to adopt the RADIUS scheme, the supplicant systems are authenticated by a remote 
RADIUS server. In this case, you need to configure user names and passwords on the RADIUS 
server and perform RADIUS client-related configuration on the switches. 
z  You can also specify to adopt the RADIUS authentication scheme, with a local authentication 
scheme as a backup. In this case, the local authentication scheme is adopted when the RADIUS 
server fails. 
Refer to the AAA Operation for detailed information about AAA scheme configuration.