Dynamic removal of authentication limits
In some situations, it is desirable to configure RADIUS attributes for downstream supplicant devices that allow dynamic removal of the 802.1X, MAC, and web-based authentication limits on the associated port of the authenticator switch. This eliminates the need to manually reconfigure ports associated with downstream 802.1X-capable devices, and MAC relay devices such as IP phones, on the authenticator switches. When the RADIUS authentication ages out, the authentication limits are dynamically restored. This enhancement allows a common port policy to be configured on all access ports by creating new RADIUS vendor-specific attributes (VSAs) that will dynamically override the authentication limits. The changes are always applied to the port on the authenticator switch associated with the supplicant being authenticated.
All the changes requested by the VSAs must be valid for the switch configuration. For example, if either MAC or web-based port access is configured while 802.1X port access is in client mode, a RADIUS client with a VSA to change the 802.1X port access to port-based mode is not allowed. 802.1X in port-based mode is not allowed with MAC or web-based port access types. However, if the authenticating client has VSAs to disable MAC and web-based authentication in conjunction with changing 802.1X to port-based mode, then client authentication is allowed.