MAC Authentication Profile

The Unified Profile MAC Authentication Profile Screen displays all configured Wireless MAC Authentication Profiles and used to create, clone, edit, and delete MAC Authentication Profiles. A MAC Profile can be created and included in an Access Authentication Profile that can be assigned to wireless devices on the network.

MAC-based authentication authenticates devices based on their physical Media Access Control (MAC) address. While not the most secure and scalable method, MAC-based authentication implicitly provides an addition layer of security authentication devices. MAC-based authentication is often used to authenticate and allow network access through certain devices while denying access to the rest. For example, if clients are allowed access to the network via station A, then one method of authenticating station A is MAC-based. Clients may be required to authenticate themselves using other methods depending on the network privileges required.

Creating a MAC Authentication Profile

Click on the Create icon. Configure the Profile as described below, then click on the Create button.

MAC Authentication Profile

• Profile Name - User-configured name for the profile.
• Max Authentication Failures - The number of times a client can fail to authenticate before it is blocklisted. A value of zero disables blocklisting. (Range = 0 - 10, Default = 0)
• Delimeter - The Delimiter used in the MAC string:
  • Colon - Specifies the format XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
  • Dash - Specifies the format XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX
  • None - Specifies the format XXXXXXXXXXXX (Default)
• Case - The case (Upper or Lower) used in the MAC string. (Default = Lower).

Cloning a MAC Authentication Profile

To save time in creating a MAC Authentication Profile, you can copy and modify an existing profile. Select the profile you want to copy and click on the Copy icon. Enter a Profile Name, configure the settings you want to change, then click on the Copy button to save the changes to the server.

Editing a MAC Authentication Profile

Select the Profile in the MAC Authentication Profile Screen and click on the Edit icon to bring up the Edit MAC Authentication Profile Screen. Edit the fields as described above then click on the Save button to save the changes to the server. Note that you cannot edit the profile name. To edit the name, copy the profile and configure a new name.

Deleting a MAC Authentication Profile

To delete a profile(s), select the profile(s) in the table and click on the Delete icon, then click OK at the confirmation prompt. If the profile is associated with an Access Authentication Profile, you will be presented with warning prompt that you must remove the MAC Authentication Profile(s) from the Access Authentication Profile before it can be deleted. Remove the MAC Authentication Profile(s) from the Access Authentication Profile, and then delete the profile(s).