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Understanding Server-Fail Persistent Cache

Understand Server-Fail Persistent Cache

The Server-Fail Persistent Cache enhances the resilience of 802.1X authenticated sessions during authentication server outages. By retaining cached authentication information across device reboots, it ensures continuous network access during power disruptions or server connectivity issues. This mechanism is particularly beneficial for MAC authenticated sessions, where persistent storage of session attributes mitigates potential service interruptions. You can enable this functionality through specific CLI commands, maintaining session data integrity with periodic file updates and checksum validation. Designed to operate seamlessly across various platforms, this feature integrates without impacting performance or scalability while upholding stringent security protocols.

Benefits of Server-Fail Persistent Cache

  • The cache ensures continuous network access by retaining authentication information during server outages, allowing devices to maintain connectivity even when the authentication server is unreachable.

  • It preserves session attributes across device reboots, preventing service interruptions caused by power disruptions and ensuring seamless network operation.

  • The feature enhances data integrity by using checksum validation, guarding against corrupted session data and maintaining reliable network sessions.

  • It operates effectively on various platforms without impacting performance or scalability, providing a robust solution across different hardware environments.

Overview

The Server-Fail Persistent Cache is engineered to bolster the resilience of 802.1X authenticated sessions, particularly when authentication servers are unreachable. You can activate this feature to ensure that devices retain their session attributes even if they undergo a reboot due to power interruptions. This capability is crucial for maintaining uninterrupted network connectivity, as the cache preserves the authentication data required for MAC authenticated sessions, circumventing the need for immediate server interaction. The persistent storage mechanism writes authenticated session information to a file periodically, safeguarding it with checksum validation to prevent the use of corrupted data.

To enable the Server-Fail Persistent Cache feature, input the following command within the CLI: set protocol dot1x authenticator cache persistent. This command activates the persistent cache, allowing session attributes to be retained across device reboots. If you decide to revert to the default behavior, use set protocol dot1x authenticator cache non-persistent to disable caching. Additionally, configure the server reachability query period by using set protocols dot1x authenticator radius-reachability query-period seconds, where seconds specifies the interval between reachability checks. These configurations ensure that your network remains robust and responsive to server outages, providing seamless connectivity for authenticated clients.