802.1x

802.1x should not be confused with the 802.11x as these two are totally different things. The 802.11x is the family of the protocols which are used for the proper functioning of the wireless LAN or wireless network, while the 802.1x is an IEEE standard for the port based network access control or PNAC. The 802.1x is a part of the 802.1 group of networking protocols. The main role or the job of this protocol is to provide an authentication mechanism to devices wishing to attach to a LAN or WLAN.

The authentication mechanism of the 802.1x protocol includes three different parties. The first one is a supplicant, the second one is an authenticator and the third one is an authentication server. The suppliant here is the device or the client that wishes to connect to the LAN or WLAN device. The authenticator is the network device, that is, a device connected to the network which receives the connection request from the supplement, for example, it could be a Ethernet switch or a wireless access point. The authenticator server is a host running software supporting the RADIUS and EAP protocols.

Among these three the most important part is played by the authenticator as it acts as the wall between the network and the client thus protecting the information from falling in the hands of the client until the supplicant is able to give correct information which is used to authenticate the supplicant. The role of the authenticator server is to basically authenticate the supplicant and implement a set of rules of that particular supplicant. These rules can vary from one supplicant to another, depending upon the type of the leverage the administration is giving to one client.

Therefore, in short the 802.1x protocol is the protocol used to ensure that any unauthorized person does not enter the network and that all the communication takes place between the authorized user and authorized device.