The 7210 SAS supports port-based network access control for Ethernet ports only. Every Ethernet port can be configured to operate in one of three different operation modes, controlled by the port-control parameter:
force-auth
Disables 802.1x authentication and causes the port to transition to the authorized state without requiring any authentication exchange. The port transmits and receives normal traffic without requiring 802.1x-based host authentication. This is the default setting.
force-unauth
Causes the port to remain in the unauthorized state, ignoring all attempts by the hosts to authenticate. The switch cannot provide authentication services to the host through the interface.
auto
Enables 802.1x authentication. The port starts in the unauthorized state, allowing only EAPOL frames to be sent and received through the port. Both the router and the host can initiate an authentication procedure, described as follows. The port will remain in an unauthorized state (no traffic except EAPOL frames is allowed) until the first client is authenticated successfully. After this, traffic is allowed on the port for all connected hosts.