EAP and 802.1x

[aksher]

What's the difference between EAP and 802.1x.My understanding is during 802.1x authentication phase with RADIUS/TACACS the client sends EAP messages to the switch.Correct me if am wrong.

[jafrazie]

EAP is a transport protocol used to carry arbitrary authentication information .. not the authentication method itself. It can run over several link layers (PPP, 802, etc.).

802.1X is an encapsulation definition for EAP over IEEE 802 media used for transporting authentication messages (EAP) between supplicant (user/PC) and authenticator (switch or access point).

Summary: EAP messages are inside 802.1X frames, and the same EAP messages would be inside a RADIUS packet.

Hope this helps,

[ozan.ocal]

Hello Everyone,

We are using Cisco Secure 4.0 for AAA and we would like to deploy 802.1x for authenticating the MAC addresses connecting to the switch.

Is it possible to use the same username and password for 802.1x and as well as for the normal user authentication ? Any pointers ?