[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

RE: RFC 3579



Windows 7 does not include a RADIUS client.  So I’m surprised that you are seeing it send RADIUS packets at all, let alone a RADIUS Access-Request including an EAP-Message attribute.

 

If a NAS sends an EAP Identity-Request to an EAP peer, I’d expect the EAP peer to respond with an  EAP Identity-Response.  The NAS can then send an  Access-Request with an EAP-Message attribute containing the contents of the EAP-Response/Identity. 

 

Am I missing something?

 

From: Koehler, Yannick [mailto:yannick.koehler@hp.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 12, 2009 6:01 AM
To: Bernard Aboba; radiusext@ops.ietf.org
Subject: RE: RFC 3579

 

An errata would be useful because even after your reply the RFC seems even more confusing, this part of the RFC no more apply then:

 

   EAP-Start is indicated by sending an EAP-Message attribute with a

   length of 2 (no data).”

 

We saw report that Windows 7 was sending a EAP-Message with length of 2, that is why I am inquiring.  But considering what you just said, the fact that our product sends an identity-request should force them to send an EAP Identity response and not an EAP-start.  I will pursue my investigation to figure out in which situation the Windows 7 act like this.

 

--

Yannick Koehler

 

 

From: Bernard Aboba [mailto:bernard_aboba@hotmail.com]
Sent: November-11-09 8:34 PM
To: radiusext@ops.ietf.org
Cc: Koehler, Yannick
Subject: Re: RFC 3579

 

In the normal case you describe below (where the NAS always starts off with an EAP-Identity Request) there is no need for the NAS to ever send an EAP-Start packet to the RADIUS server.  This is only useful if the Identity exchange might be superfluous and the RADIUS server can just start off with the EAP method Request from the beginning.  There are a very limited number of situations where this would be useful because:

 

a.    The NAS has to route the request to a RADIUS server without a User-Name attribute because there has been no Identity Exchange (e.g. only the Calling-Station-Id might be available to be placed in the User-Name attribute)

b.    The RADIUS server has to be prepared to choose the EAP method based on what is placed in the User-Name attribute, if anything. 

 

There are some limited situations in which this might be useful… but I’m not aware of much deployment experience.

 

The EAP-Start packet is a RADIUS Access-Request packet containing an EAP-Message attribute with a single NUL character.  So the length of the EAP-Message attribute is >=3.

Might make sense to file an errata to clarify.

 

There is no RADIUS attribute to encapsulate EAPoL, only EAP-Message, which is used to encapsulate EAP.   So there is no way to send an EAPoL-Start packet to a RADIUS server within an EAP-Message attribute.  If there is a need to convey EAPoL-Start data (e.g. IEEE 802.1X-REV extensions to EAPoL-Start such as NIDs) then you’d need to define a distinct RADIUS attribute to convey that.

 

 

 

 

 

From: Koehler, Yannick [mailto:yannick.koehler@hp.com]
Sent: Friday, November 06, 2009 2:46 PM
To: Bernard Aboba; pcalhoun@airespace.com
Subject: RFC 3579

 

Hello,

 

  I have read the RFC 3579 and I have some questions and I was hoping to get some answers from you.  In the RFC it says that the EAP-Start may be represented by an EAP-Message of length 2 (no data).  Yet, the specification of this EAP-Message attribute is defined with a length >= 3 and that, even in the RFC 3579.  Also, I do not follow why there is an EAP-Start packet is this the same as EAPOL-Start ?  And if not, why sending such an empty packet to a RADIUS server?  It seems to me like it waste a round-trip.

 

  My understanding of 802.1x nego is something like that:

 

  Client sends EAPOL-Start

                                                                                NAS answer EAP-Identity Request

  Client sends EAP-Identity response

                                                                                NAS sends RADIUS with EAP identity response to RADIUS

                                                                                                                                                                                                RADIUS reply

                                                                                NAS forward answer.

  Client continue exchange.

 

How is the EAP-Start affecting this negotiation and when is it used, and why?  Is there more documentation on this packet?

 

--

Yannick Koehler