ZyXEL Communications P-660HW-T v2 - Manual (Page 327)

P-660HW-T v2 User’s Guide
Appendix K Wireless LANs 327
Types of RADIUS Messages
The following types of RADIUS messages are exchanged between the access point and the
RADIUS server for user authentication:
• Access-Request
Sent by an access point requesting authentication.
• Access-Reject
Sent by a RADIUS server rejecting access.
• Access-Accept
Sent by a RADIUS server allowing access.
• Access-Challenge
Sent by a RADIUS server requesting more information in order to allow access. The
access point sends a proper response from the user and then sends another Access-
Request message.
The following types of RADIUS messages are exchanged between the access point and the
RADIUS server for user accounting:
• Accounting-Request
Sent by the access point requesting accounting.
• Accounting-Response
Sent by the RADIUS server to indicate that it has started or stopped accounting.
In order to ensure network security, the access point and the RADIUS server use a shared
secret key, which is a password, they both know. The key is not sent over the network. In
addition to the shared key, password information exchanged is also encrypted to protect the
network from unauthorized access.
Types of Authentication
This section discusses some popular authentication types: EAP-MD5, EAP-TLS, EAP-
TTLS, PEAP and LEAP.
The type of authentication you use depends on the RADIUS server or the AP. Consult your
network administrator for more information.