Organizations deploying wireless networks are using 802.1X to authenticate users before allowing them on the wireless network. During the 802.1X authentication process, the user’s PC sends the user’s credentials to the wireless access point, which are forwarded over the RADIUS protocol to the authentication server validating the user’s access to the wireless network. It is important that organizations deploy reliable, scalable, and secure RADIUS services because a service failure will prevent users from accessing the network.

General-purpose servers and other ad hoc methods of deploying RADIUS are costly, difficult to maintain and do not provide built-in means for providing high availability and for distributing RADIUS services throughout an extended enterprise. The reliability of network access in an extended enterprise, with centralized RADIUS services, is impacted by not only the RADIUS server but also by the intervening WAN among remote sites and the central RADIUS server. A failure of either the RADIUS server or the WAN will prevent some or all users in remote branch offices from accessing the network. An Infoblox hardened appliance running the Network Services for Authentication package provides a reliable, centrally managed, and scalable platform for providing survivable 802.1X authentication throughout an extended enterprise. Some specific benefits include:

Local Survivability for 802.1X authentication in the Remote Branch Offices

• Remote Infoblox appliances contain the user credentials and continue to deliver services even if the central site is unreachable
• The Infoblox Replication Agent for Active Directory automatically synchronizes user credentials from Microsoft Active Directory to the Infoblox grid

Reliability

• Hardware-based high availability (HA) for RADIUS, TFTP, NTP, and other network services delivers service resiliency between paired appliances
• Enhanced Policy Editor provides control over the networks and applications that a particular user can access
• If the appliance at the remote site fails but the WAN link is still available, the wireless access points at the remote site can be configured to automatically fail over to a central RADIUS server

Security

• Hardened and dedicated appliances enhance security with no open ports and no general-purpose operating system
• Enhanced policy editor provides control over the networks and applications that a particular user can access
• Communication among appliances is secured using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)-encrypted VPNs for protection against management compromise