What Is 802.1X?

802.1X is a network access control method that requires devices to authenticate before receiving network access.

Instead of using a shared password, each user (or device) authenticates individually.

Route10 acts as the RADIUS authentication server in this process, receiving authentication requests from access points and switches and validating client credentials.

What Route10 Supports

Route10 provides:

• Username/password authentication (EAP-PEAP)
• WPA2/WPA3-Enterprise Wi-Fi authentication
• Wired 802.1X switch authentication
• Optional per-user VLAN assignment

Enable 802.1X Authentication (Auth Settings)

The Route10 RADIUS server (FreeRADIUS) is disabled by default and can be enabled from the Router configuration window under the Auth tab.

To enable:

1. Navigate to Network
2. Open the Route10 config window
3. Navigate to Auth
4. Enable the RADIUS service*
5. Create users for authentication
6. Click Save

*A shared secret is automatically generated the first time the authentication server is enabled.

How Authentication Works

There are three roles in 802.1X:

The client authenticates to the access point or switch, which forwards the authentication request to Route10 for validation.

Next Steps

After enabling Auth (802.1X authentication), configure it for your network using the guides below.

• WPA2/WPA3-Enterprise Wi-Fi Setup
• Wired 802.1X Authentication Setup