Allied Telesis AT-8100 Series - Manual (Page 1068)

Chapter 71: 802.1x Port-based Network Access Control
1068
Operating Modes for Authenticator Ports
Authenticator ports have three modes:
 Single-host mode
 Multi-host mode
 Multi-supplicant mode
Single-Host Mode An authenticator port set to the single-host mode permits only one
supplicant to log on and forwards only the traffic of that supplicant. After
one supplicant has logged on, the port discards packets from any other
supplicant.
In Figure 190, port 1.0.6 is an authenticator port set to the single-host
mode. It permits only one supplicant to log on and forwards the traffic of
just that supplicant.
Figure 190. Single-Host Mode
Multi-Host Mode This mode permits multiple supplicants on an authenticator port. An
authenticator host forwards packets from all supplicants once one
supplicant has successfully logged on. This mode is typically used in
situations where you want to add 802.1x port-based network access
control to a switch port that is supporting multiple supplicants, but do not
want to create individual accounts for all the supplicants on the RADIUS
server.
This is referred to as “piggy-backing.” After one supplicant has
successfully logged on, the port permits the other supplicants to piggy-
back onto the initial supplicant’s log on, so that they can forward packets
through the port without being authenticated.