2-4
Figure 2-3 EAPOL frame format
z PAE Ethernet type: Protocol type. It takes the value 0x888E.
z Protocol version: Version of the EAPOL protocol supported by the EAPOL frame sender.
z Type: Type of the EAPOL frame. Table 2-1 lists the types that the device currently supports.
Table 2-1 Types of EAPOL frames
Type Description
EAP-Packet (a value of 0x00)
Frame for carrying authentication information, present between
a device and the authentication server.
A frame of this type is repackaged and transferred by RADIUS
to get through complex networks to reach the authentication
server.
EAPOL-Start (a value of 0x01)
Frame for initiating authentication, present between a client
and a device.
EAPOL-Logoff (a value of 0x02)
Frame for logoff request, present between a client and a
device.
z Length: Length of the data, that is, length of the Packet body field, in bytes. If the value of this field
is 0, no subsequent data field is present.
z Packet body: Content of the packet. The format of this field varies with the value of the Type field.
EAP Packet Format
An EAPOL frame of the type of EAP-Packet carries an EAP packet in its Packet body field. The format
of the EAP packet is shown in
Figure 2-4.
Figure 2-4 EAP packet format
z Code: Type of the EAP packet, which can be Request, Response, Success, or Failure.
An EAP packet of the type of Success or Failure has no Data field, and has a length of 4.
An EAP packet of the type of Request or Response has a Data field in the format shown in
Figure 2-5.
The Type field indicates the EAP authentication type. A value of 1 represents Identity, indicating that