Wired 802.1X authentication in campus networks

802.1X is a port based authentication method that can control a device's connectivity to a network through the use of a username/passphrase challenge. This allows a device’s connection and resulting activity to easily be attributed to a particular person. The University of New England has been successfully using 802.1X EAPOL for over 3 years. Wired 802.1X authentication is available on all edge ports across 4 campuses consisting of 196 switch stacks. With the use of Enterasys SecureStack switches and NACs, role based authentication and edge port policy have also been implemented with relative ease. The use of this technology provides UNE network administrators with real time monitoring and control of network access. This has also made the deployment of wired access to the Eduroam network an almost trivial task. This paper will discuss how this technology was implemented, some problems encountered with 802.1X and their solutions, and how it can be used to enhance network access control.