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Example: Configuring MAC RADIUS Authentication on an MX Series Router

Starting with Junos OS Release 14.2 to permit hosts that are not 802.1X-enabled to access the LAN, you can configure MAC RADIUS authentication on the router interfaces to which the non-802.1X-enabled hosts are connected. When MAC RADIUS authentication is configured, the router will attempt to authenticate the host with the RADIUS server using the host’s MAC address.

This example describes how to configure MAC RADIUS authentication for two non-802.1X-enabled hosts:

Requirements

This example uses the following hardware and software components:

  • Junos OS Release 14.2 or later for MX240, MX480, or MX960 routers running in enhanced LAN mode.

  • An MX Series router acting as an authenticator port access entity (PAE). The ports on the authenticator PAE form a control gate that blocks all traffic to and from supplicants until they are authenticated.

  • A RADIUS authentication server. The authentication server acts as the backend database and contains credential information for hosts (supplicants) that have permission to connect to the network.

Before you connect the server to the router, be sure you have:

  • Configured enhanced LAN mode on the router.

  • Performed basic bridging and VLAN configuration on the router.

  • Configured users on the RADIUS authentication server.

Overview and Topology

IEEE 802.1X Port-Based Network Access Control (PNAC) authenticates and permits devices access to a LAN if the devices can communicate with the router using the 802.1X protocol (are 802.1X-enabled). To permit non-802.1X-enabled end devices to access the LAN, you can configure MAC RADIUS authentication on the interfaces to which the end devices are connected. When the MAC address of the end device appears on the interface, the router consults the RADIUS server to check whether it is a permitted MAC address. If the MAC address of the end device is configured as permitted on the RADIUS server, the router opens LAN access to the end device.

You can configure both MAC RADIUS authentication and 802.1X authentication methods on an interface configured for multiple supplicants. Additionally, if an interface is only connected to a non-802.1X-enabled host, you can enable MAC RADIUS and not enable 802.1X authentication using the mac-radius restrict option, and thus avoid the delay that occurs while the router determines that the device is does not respond to EAP messages.

Two printers are connected to an MX Series router over interfaces, ge-0/0/19 and ge-0/0/20.

Table 1 shows the components in the example for MAC RADIUS authentication.

Table 1: Components of the MAC RADIUS Authentication Configuration Topology
Property Settings

Router hardware

Ports (ge-0/0/0 through ge-0/0/23)

VLAN name

sales

Connections to printers

ge-0/0/19, MAC address 00040ffdacfe

ge-0/0/20, MAC address 0004aecd235f

RADIUS server

Connected to the router on interface ge-0/0/10

The printer with the MAC address 00040ffdacfe is connected to access interface ge-0/0/19. A second printer with the MAC address 0004aecd235f is connected to access interface ge-0/0/20. In this example, both interfaces are configured for MAC RADIUS authentication on the router, and the MAC addresses (without colons) of both printers are configured on the RADIUS server. Interface ge-0/0/20 is configured to eliminate the normal delay while the router attempts 802.1X authentication; MAC RADIUS authentication is enabled and 802.1X authentication is disabled using the mac radius restrict option.

Topology

Configuration

Procedure

CLI Quick Configuration

To quickly configure MAC RADIUS authentication, copy the following commands and paste them into the router terminal window:

Note:

You must also configure the two MAC addresses as usernames and passwords on the RADIUS server, as is done in step 2 of the Step-by-Step Procedure.

Step-by-Step Procedure

Configure MAC RADIUS authentication on the router and on the RADIUS server:

  1. On the router, configure the interfaces to which the printers are attached for MAC RADIUS authentication, and configure the restrict option on interface ge-0/0/20, so that only MAC RADIUS authentication is used:

  2. On the RADIUS server, configure the MAC addresses 00040ffdacfe and 0004aecd235f as usernames and passwords:

Results

Display the results of the configuration on the router:

Verification

Verify that the supplicants are authenticated:

Verifying That the Supplicants Are Authenticated

Purpose

After supplicants are configured for MAC RADIUS authentication on the router and on the RADIUS server, verify that they are authenticated and display the method of authentication:

Action

Display information about 802.1X-configured interfaces ge-0/0/19 and ge-0/0/20:

Meaning

The sample output from the show dot1x interface detail command displays the MAC address of the connected end device in the Supplicant field. On interface ge-0/0/19, the MAC address is 00:04:0f:fd:ac:fe, which is the MAC address of the first printer configured for MAC RADIUS authentication. The Authentication method field displays the authentication method as MAC Radius. On interface ge-0/0/20, the MAC address is 00:04:ae:cd:23:5f, which is the MAC address of the second printer configured for MAC RADIUS authentication. The Authentication method field displays the authentication method as MAC Radius.

Change History Table

Feature support is determined by the platform and release you are using. Use Feature Explorer to determine if a feature is supported on your platform.

Release
Description
14.2
Starting with Junos OS Release 14.2 to permit hosts that are not 802.1X-enabled to access the LAN, you can configure MAC RADIUS authentication on the router interfaces to which the non-802.1X-enabled hosts are connected.