Wireless Networks, Ch 3, Pt 1

In the 802.1X authentication triangle, which component acts as the security guard that forwards authentication requests but does not make the final decision?

• Supplicant

• Authenticator

• Authentication Server

• NAC Policy Engine

During the initialization stage of 802.1X, why is the port kept in an unauthorized state?

• To block all traffic until encryption keys are exchanged

• To only allow authentication traffic until the user is validated

• To prevent IP address assignment from DHCP

• To test the client’s posture before allowing access

Which protocol framework does 802.1X rely on to carry credentials from the supplicant to the authentication server?

• IPsec

• TLS

• EAP

• GRE

A user enters valid credentials on a supplicant device, but the authenticator is not defined as a RADIUS client. What happens?

• Access granted with limited privileges

• Access granted with guest VLAN assignment

• Authentication request ignored and connection fails

• Authentication forwarded but not logged

What is the purpose of a RADIUS shared secret?

• To encrypt all user data after authentication

• To prevent man-in-the-middle attacks during TLS handshake

• To encrypt sensitive fields in RADIUS messages (e.g., password)

• To validate Active Directory group membership

In Microsoft NPS, which policy element defines the criteria an incoming request must match before the policy applies?

• Constraints

• Conditions

• Settings

• Attributes

Which attribute would a RADIUS server use to assign a fixed IP address to a user?

• Idle-Timeout

• Session-Timeout

• Framed-IP-Address

• Vendor-Specific Attribute

An enterprise wants employees from HR to be automatically placed in VLAN 40 when they log in. Which RADIUS feature enables this?

• Idle-Timeout

• Dynamic VLAN assignment

• Vendor-Specific Attributes

• Framed-Route

Which vendor-specific attribute might Cisco use to enforce per-user firewall rules?

• Downloadable ACL

• Role-based profile

• Bandwidth limit

• Session-Timeout

A guest logs into Wi-Fi at midnight. The RADIUS server applies stricter firewall rules based on the time of day. Which NPS policy element defines this rule?

• Condition

• Constraint

• Setting

• Attribute