ISE Secure Wired Access Prescriptive Deployment Guide

8/11/23, 2:47 PM ISE Secure Wired Access Prescriptive Deployment Guide - Cisco Community
Community
Duo Security forums now LIVE! Get answers to all your Duo Security questions. Learn
more
This board  Search Security Knowledge Base Create a new article
Cisco Community > Technology and Support > Security 

> Security Knowledge Base Options
> ISE Secure Wired Access Prescriptive Deployment Guide
 255253  25  186
ISE Secure Wired Access Prescriptive Deployment Guide
hariholla Cisco Employee


on ‎01-21-2021 12:41 PM - edited on ‎07-19-2023 03:10 PM by thomas
Cisco ISE Secure Wired

Access Prescriptive
https://community.cisco.com/t5/security-knowledge-base/ise-secure-wired-access-prescriptive-deployment-guide/ta-p/3641515 1/186
Deployment Guide
Authors: Hariprasad Holla (until June 2018), Mahesh Nagireddy (until Dec 2018)
For an offline or printed copy of this document, simply choose ⋮ Options >
Printer Friendly Page. You may then Print, Print to PDF or copy and paste to
any other document format you like.
Table of Contents
Cisco ISE Secure Wired Access Prescriptive Deployment Guide
Table of Contents
Introduction
About Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
What is Covered in This Document?
What is Not Covered in This Document?
About This Guide
Define
ISE Deployment Components
Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA)
Design
Design Considerations
End-Point Considerations
Network Device Considerations
Cisco Meraki Switching
Catalyst Identity-Based Networking Services (IBNS) 1.0 vs. 2.0

Phased Deployments
ISE Deployment Considerations
Deploy
Preparing for Identity-Based Network Access
Preparing ISE for Identity-Based Network Access
Preparing a Switch for Identity-Based Network Access
Validating Basic Settings
Monitoring Authentications with Open Access
Integrating ISE with Active Directory
Configure the Switch for Monitor Mode
Configuring Microsoft Windows and Apple OS X Devices for 802.1X
Monitoring Authentication Sessions
Configuring and Understanding the IBNS 2.0 Policy
Additional Best-Practice Configurations for IBNS 2.0
Migrating from Monitor Mode
Pre-Authentication and Post-Authentication Access Control with Low Impact
Switch Configuration for Low Impact Mode
Downloadable ACL Authorization
Validating ACL Authorization/Low-Impact Mode
Role-Based Critical Authorization
Cisco IOS Changes for Role-Based Critical Authorization
ISE Authorization with User Role
Validating Role-Based Critical Authorization
Differentiated Authentication with IBNS 2.0
Switch Configuration for Differentiated Authentication
ISE Authorization Profile for Differentiated dACL
Identity-Based Network Access in IPv6 Wired Networks
IPv6 Network Readiness
Cisco IOS Identity Configurations for IPv6
Low-Impact Mode with IPv6 Per-User ACL
Deploying 802.1X for High Security (Closed Mode)
Switch Configuration for Closed Mode
Authoring Access Policies on ISE
Closed Mode in Action
802.1X for Cisco IP Phones
Basic Call Manager and Network Settings
IP Phone Authentication with MIC
IP Phone Authentication with LSC
NEAT with Interface Templates
Overview
NEAT with Macros/Interface-Template

Configuring NEAT with Interface templates
Validating NEAT
Operate
Operating ISE
Operating the ISE Session Table
ISE AAA Reports
Troubleshooting
Cisco IOS Troubleshooting
ISE Troubleshooting
Introduction
About Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

Figure1: Cisco Identity Services Engine

Cisco ISE is a leading, identity-based network access control and policy enforcement
system. It is a common policy engine for controlling end-point access and network
device administration for enterprises. ISE allows an administrator to centrally control
access policies for wired, wireless, and VPN end points in a network.
ISE builds contexts about endpoints, including users and groups (Who), device type
(What), access time (When), access location (Where), access type
(Wired/Wireless/VPN) (How), threats, and vulnerabilities. By sharing vital contextual
data with technology partner integrations and the implementation of the Cisco
TrustSec® policy for software-defined segmentation, ISE transforms a network from a
conduit for data into a security enforcer that accelerates the time-to-detection and
time-to-resolution of network threats.
What is Covered in This Document?

This document aims to provide guidance to Cisco ISE customers who want to protect
their wired network access, which is being designed with the Cisco Catalyst switch
platforms. For implementation with Cisco Meraki network devices, see How To:
Integrate Meraki Networks with ISE.
The configuration examples listed in this document are working configurations that
have been validated on a Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series switch running Cisco IOS XE
Version 16.9.1 with Network Essential License and Cisco ISE Version 2.4.
Figure2: Endpoint onboarding Physical network topology
The following are the IOS XE features and deployment variations described in this
document:
Cisco Identity-Based Networking Services (IBNS) 1.0 and 2.0

Monitor, Low-Impact, and Closed Deployment Modes
Critical Access Control List
Identity-Based Wired Access in IPv6 Networks
1X on Cisco IP Phone
What is Not Covered in This Document?

Although this deployment guide is about securing wired network access, Cisco
Meraki access switches or third-party access switches are not covered in this
document. For more information about these, see the ISE Design and Integration
Guides page.This guide does not cover other wired access features, such as Wired
Guest Access, Network Edge Authentication Topology (NEAT) and EasyConnect.
About This Guide

This guide is intended to provide technical guidance to design, deploy, and operate
Cisco ISE for wired network access control. It focuses on the Cisco Catalyst access
switch configurations to handle various endpoint onboarding scenarios. The document
also provides best-practice configurations for a typical enterprise environment.
Figure3: ISE for Wired Implementation Flow
This document contains four major sections:
The Define section defines problem areas and provides information about how to plan for
deployment, and other considerations.
The Design section shows how to design a secure, wired access network.
The Deploy section provides information about various configuration and best practices.
The Operate section shows how to manage a wired access network controlled by Cisco ISE.

Define
This section provides an high level overview of Wired access control solution,
different authentication methods available during the endpoint onboarding process,
problem areas to focus on and various authorization options.
ISE Deployment Components

A typical ISE-based network access control solution comprises four components,
endpoints, network devices, Cisco ISE, and external services.
Figure4: ISE solution components
Endpoints need network access and the network devices provide network access to
endpoints, based on instructions from ISE. ISE can optionally leverage external
services to understand more about the corresponding endpoints for policy decisions.
When it comes to rolling out an identity-based network, because these four parts of
the network are involved, various teams and individuals need to be engaged. Various
ISE use cases, such as Guest access, BYOD, Posture, and so on require endpoints
communicating to ISE via network devices.

Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA)
The core of IBNS is the idea of users and devices authenticating to ISE, and ISE
applying the appropriate network access authorization, using protocols such as EAP
and RADIUS. Network devices covey an endpoint’s session status to ISE via RADIUS
accounting messages. ISE gains visibility into the details of all the assets connecting
to the network and their location. An ISE administrator can permit or deny access to a
specific user or device or a specific group of assets either on the fly or based on ISE
policy configurations.
Authentication Methodologies
IEEE 802.1X
Figure5: 802.1x Authentication Workflow
The 802.1x standard defines a client/server-based access control and authentication

protocol that prevents unauthorized clients from connecting to a LAN through publicly
accessible ports unless they are properly authenticated. The authentication server
authenticates each client connected to a switch port before making available the
services offered by the switch or the LAN. The supplicants on the endpoints use
Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) to pass credentials, such as passwords or
certificates, to ISE. EAP payloads are typically transported over 802.1X in Ethernet
networks (EAP over LAN or simply EAPoL) and over RADIUS in IP networks. ISE
evaluates an endpoint’s identity and instructs the corresponding network device about
whether to open the port or not, the VLAN or ACL or both VLAN and ACL that are to
be applied for that endpoint’s access session.
MAC Authentication Bypass (MAB)

Figure6: MAB Authentication Workflow
MAB enables port-based access control using the MAC address of an endpoint. A
MAB-enabled port on the switch can be dynamically enabled or disabled based on
the MAC address of the device that connects to it. The MAC addresses of endpoints
must be whitelisted in a database that is present in ISE or in an external location in
order to grant network access to known endpoints. MAB is not truly an authentication
method; it functions more as an authentication bypass when an endpoint is unable to
perform 802.1X authentication. While MAB can protect networks from unauthorized
access, it is not a secure alternative to 802.1X because MAC addresses can be
spoofed easily.
Web Authentication

Figure7: Web Authentication Workflow
Web authentications are typically used to onboard guest users for internet access.
Cisco platforms provide a couple of options, Local Web Authentication (LWA) and
Central Web Authentication (CWA). In the former, web pages are hosted in network
devices such as a switch or a wireless LAN controller, and in the latter, all web portals
are hosted centrally on ISE. CWA, which is the preferred method, is typically a MAB
session with URL-redirect authorization on the switch port. Until the corresponding
endpoint is authenticated successfully, web traffic from the endpoint is redirected to
ISE via a login portal for end users to enter their credentials. Upon successful
authentication, ISE initiates a Change-of-Authorization (CoA) to permit additional
access.
EasyConnect

Figure8: EasyConnect Authentication Workflow
The Cisco ISE EasyConnect feature enables enterprises to implement identity-based

network access without the need for 802.1X. No supplicants or supplicant
configurations are needed on endpoints. An EasyConnect session, which is similar to
the CWA flow, starts with a MAC authentication bypass. ISE learns about an
endpoint’s location, MAC address, and IP addresses via an initial MAB session. This
initial MAB session is authorized with limited access from ISE to enable a Windows
Active Directory-managed endpoint to perform a Windows domain login. Upon
successful domain login, the user ID to IP address mapping from the Active Directory
(AD) domain controller is retrieved to ISE and merged with the initial MAB session.
After the user ID and its AD group membership is resolved, ISE changes the
authorization to permit additional access.
A Comparison of the Different Authentication Methods

Figure9: Complexity analysis of Authentication methods
Of the various authentication options discussed until now, IEEE 802.1X is the most
secure and flexible authentication method. There are several EAP methods that allow
a variety of credential types to be handled, depending on the endpoint and the
environment type. Although the Web Authentication and EasyConnect options provide
the necessary user ID context for visibility and access control, they are constrained to
specific types of endpoints, for example, Web Authentication requires user interaction
and a device with a compatible web browser and EasyConnect works only for
Windows Active Directory-managed endpoints. Finally, MAB is less secure
authentication method and fall back mechanism for IEEE 802.1X, but is the easiest
option to configure basic level of controlled access.
Authorization Options
An ISE authorization policy is composed of authorization rules defined for a specific
users and group of users to permit, deny or provide limited access to network
resources. Authorization profiles let you choose the attributes to be returned when a
RADIUS request is accepted or rejected with RADIUS ACCESS-ACCEPT and
ACCESS-REJECT access type commands. Limited access authorization may vary
from environment to environment. The question to be asked is, what should be
limited, and how?
Figure10: ISE Enforcement authorization attributes
Dynamic VLAN Assignment

One of the traditional means of limiting network access is by placing endpoints in
different VLANs based on their role. Endpoints in specific VLANs can be access
controlled by policies that are defined at Layer 3 boundaries, such as on routers or
firewalls. ISE can authorize endpoints to specific VLANs using a VLAN name or a
VLAN number. Also, in platforms such as Cisco Catalyst 2960X, 3650 Series, 3850
Series, and 9300 Series, VLANs can be applied on a per-MAC address basis.
 Best Practice: When doing dynamic VLAN assignment, we recommend
using VLAN names rather than numbers. This will make your ISE
authorization easier to read, understand and maintain. When you have a
large switch, it is better to let the switch locally determine the actual VLAN
number assigned with a name.
IP Access Control Lists (ACLs)

ACLs can be used to control network access at the port level. They can either be
downloaded to the network from ISE, or be configured locally on a switch and be
referenced by ISE during authorization. Named ACL authorization can be carried out
with a RADIUS-standard attribute called Filter-ID, using the ACL name. For ACL
downloads, either a Per-User ACL or a Downloadable ACL (dACL) can be used. Both
these ACL download options use Cisco custom RADIUS Attribute Value Pairs (AVPs).
While Per-User ACLs have a 4000-character limit, dACLs do not. However, the
practical recommendation for dACLs are 64 Access Control Entries (ACEs).
Security Group Tags (SGTs)

SGTs offer an efficient alternative to VLAN-based segmentation. Just like VLAN
authorization, assigning an SGT alone to an endpoint does not control access.
Instead, after SGT assignments, endpoints must be subject to egress enforcement
policies based on SGTs. Note that although in most cases, identity-based access is
necessary for SGT-based segmentation, this document does not cover tag-based
segmentation in any detail.
URL Redirection
An access switch can redirect endpoints to specific URLs that are authorized by ISE
for redirection. Typically, URL redirection is towards the ISE nodes so that the
endpoints can carry out web authentication with ISE. However, endpoints can be
subject to custom URLs as part of RADIUS authorization from ISE. Custom AVPs are
used for URL redirection in an identity-based network.
Session-Aware Networking
ISE along with Cisco Catalyst switches implement session-aware networking which
offers consistent way to configure features across technologies, easy deployment and
features customization along with robust policy control engine . Under this, a session
identifier is attached to an endpoint’s network access session (wired or wireless), and
session ID is used for all reporting purposes such as show commands, MIBs, and
RADIUS messages and allows users to distinguish messages for one session to other
sessions. This common session ID is used consistently across all authentication
methods and features applied to a session.
Figure11: ISE Session-Aware Networking
When an endpoint connects to network, the network device generates a unique

session identifier that is a combination of the network device IP address, the session
count on the network device, and the timestamp of the corresponding endpoint’s
initial connection.
ISE can invoke the network device to enforce specific policies for the endpoint using
the Session ID. After the initial authorization, ISE issues a CoA by referencing the
same Session ID. Distinct access policies for the endpoints on the same port are
applied because of the separation maintained by the Session ID.
Design

Design Considerations
This section focuses on overall design considerations for a secure wired access
solution.
End-Point Considerations
There are a few important things to consider with regard to endpoints in an identity-
based network. Firstly, how will these endpoints authenticate to the network, and are
these using 802.1X, Web Authentication, or some other means? Secondly, do you
require custom agents to perform specific functions that the native supplicants in the
operating system cannot? And, finally, how should endpoints be configured for
appropriate access, for example, manual, using centralized management tools, and so
on?
Agents
For most of the secure wired access environment, an agent on an endpoint is
unnecessary. However, there are a few scenarios that can be handled only by a
Cisco AnyConnect end-point agent:
EAP Chaining–Many organizations want to grant network access to trusted users

on trusted devices. While the Cisco ISE feature such as Machine Access
Restriction (MAR) can handle such cases with native supplicants, it can do so
only in various terms. With the presence of Cisco AnyConnect Network Access
Manager (NAM) module on the endpoint and Cisco ISE, user and machine
authentications can be combined in a common EAP session, making EAP
Chaining a secure alternative to MAR.
MACsec–In addition to authenticated network access using IEEE 802.1X, IEEE

802.1AE(MACsec) encryption can be layered on top of IEEE 802.1X to encrypt
packets on the link between the endpoint and the switch (point-to-point
encryption) ... Cisco AnyConnect is the only supplicant that supports MACsec on
endpoints.
Note: The Cisco AnyConnect NAM module is compatible only on Microsoft

Windows operating systems. Therefore, both EAP Chaining and MACSec
features can be enabled only on Windows-based endpoints currently.
Automation
It is a known fact that implementing port access control with 802.1X means
considerable changes to endpoints. Some of the changes pertain to supplicant
configurations, certificate installation (optional), and agent installation and setup
(optional). Rolling out these changes to thousands of endpoints requires a certain
degree of automation. Some of the options to automate supplicant configuration
are:
Endpoint Type Supplicant Configuration By

Microsoft Windows systems (Managed) Active Directory – Group Policy Objec
(GPO)
Cisco IP phones Cisco Unified Call Manager
Apple devices MacOS server
BYOD (Android/Apple iDevices/Microsoft devices/ Cisco ISE Client Provisioning / Mobile
Google Chrome devices) Device Managers
Table1: Endpoint Automation
Note: Always use a systems manager or device manager to configure

endpoints at scale.
Network Device Considerations

In the context of this document, “network device” or “Network Access Device (NAD)”
indicates a Cisco Catalyst switch that runs on Cisco IOS software. There are three
major configurations to perform on Catalyst switch for it to work with ISE.
Figure12: Network Device Configurations for ISE
The global AAA and RADIUS server configurations govern how a switch talks to ISE, how
RADIUS transactions are load balanced, how frequently accounting updates are sent, how
the switch handles failure scenarios when ISE is not reachable.
The endpoint side configuration includes interface level commands to handle specific
authentication methods such as 802.1X or MAC authentication bypass in a particular order.
The port configurations can be done using IBNS 1.0 or 2.0 methods, which is described next.
ISE might authorize an endpoint with a VLAN, ACL, SGT configuration or URL
redirection. Note that some authorization-related configurations have to be done
locally on the switch.
Cisco Meraki Switching

Please see How To: Integrate Meraki Networks with ISE for Cisco Meraki Switching
implementation.
Catalyst Identity-Based Networking Services (IBNS) 1.0

vs. 2.0
When it comes to the switch configurations required for ISE deployment, one of the
most important considerations is whether to go with IBNS 1.0 or IBNS 2.0 MQC-style
commands. IBNS are the identity-based session management services on Cisco IOS,
which are meant to handle access services for endpoints connecting to a network.
The policy functions on a switch determine how to facilitate an endpoint’s network
authentication with a centralized AAA server, how to treat the endpoint when there
are authentication failures or how to handle AAA server unreachability. IBNS can be
implemented in two ways, depending on the platform support and policy needs.
Figure13: Cisco IBNS 1.0 vs. IBNS 2.0
Apart from significant changes in the Cisco IOS components that handle identity-
based services, from an administration and operations perspective, there are
considerable differences between IBNS 1.0 and IBNS 2.0. As the figure above
depicts, in case of IBNS 1.0, which is sometimes referred to as legacy mode in CLI, a
switch’s local policy for handling an endpoint’s identity-based network access is all
contained within interface configurations (a list of interface commands applied to a
switch port). On the other hand, in case of IBNS 2.0, the configurations take the
structure of a Cisco Modular Quality of Service CLI (MQC). One or more subscriber
policies are used; these policies are defined by the policy-map command, which
classifies various endpoint events into classes that are defined by the <class-map>
command arguments. The various endpoint event classifications are subject to
specific actions, some of which are local and some of which are enforced on
instructions from ISE. The use of templates provides modularity, flexibility, and
reusability of certain policy objects within the switch platform.
There are several benefits to using IBNS 2.0 over IBNS 1.0. The following table
compares the two:
IBNS 1.0 IBNS Description

2.0
Policy Interface MQC IBNS 2.0 is configured the same way as a

Configuration commands Style router QoS policy, while IBNS 1.0 is
configured with a list of interface
subcommands.
Templates Interface No Yes IBNS 2.0 configurations can be contained

templates within an interface template, while IBNS
1.0 all configuration are interface specific
commands.
Service No Yes IBNS 1.0 cannot use service templates.

templates
Critical Critical Yes Yes Both support assigning a fail-open VLAN
Authorization VLAN for endpoints that cannot reach ISE during
authentication.
Critical No Yes Only IBNS 2.0 can apply a custom ACL to

ACL an endpoint session when ISE service is
unavailable.
Critical No Yes Only IBNS 2.0 can assign a critical SGT
SGT when the AAA server is down.
Critical No Yes With IBNS 2.0, endpoints can be MAB
MAB authenticated against a local list of MAC
addresses on the switch.
Differentiated No Yes IBNS 2.0 facilitates the task of separating
Authentication authentication and authorization
transactions between two or more AAA
servers, while IBNS 1.0 cannot do this.
Intelligent No Yes IBNS 2.0 has a better way of detecting the
Aging disconnects from indirectly connected
hosts.
Table2: Cisco IBNS 1.0 vs. IBNS 2.0
Phased Deployments
Enabling 802.1X on switch ports can be disruptive. The need for endpoints to prove
their identity with some sort of authentication and then get network access, may not
work well for all device types. With wireless, this is a norm because the endpoints do
not plug to the network; rather, they have to be configured (for SSIDs) to connect to
the network. The notion of configure and connect is built ground up in the wireless
world, while the same is not the case with the wired side of networks. For decades,
the expectation is that the endpoint must get IP address the moment they plug in to
the wired Ethernet port.
We recommend a phased deployment model that has limited impact on network

access while gradually introducing authentication and authorization on the wired
network. The three deployment modes are:
Figure14: IBNS Deployment Modes
1. Monitor Mode (Open Mode)– This Mode enables authentication across Wired infrastructure,
while authorization is kept open. This means that irrespective of the endpoint’s authentication
status (success or failure), the port is always open. When a user plugs in a device after
monitor mode is enabled in the network, there is no impact to the end user irrespective of the
authentication status. Such a setting provides adequate visibility centrally to the security
operator to know how many endpoints authenticate successfully, how many fail, why they fail,
where they are located, and so on. After most of the failures are fixed, one of the below two
enforcement modes can be enabled. Note,Monitor Mode is not for validating enforcement of
more advanced authorization results such as Scalable Group Tags(SGT’s), Scalable Group
ACL’s(SGACL’s), downloadable ACL’s(dACL’s) or even dynamic Vlan Assignment. We simply
want the authentication server to send back a basic RADIUS access accept or access reject
to the authenticator (access switch).
2. Low-Impact Mode–This mode builds on the monitor mode. With open access in place, IP
ACLs are used to control pre-authentication and post-authentication network access. A Pre-
Auth ACL on the switch port controls network access before an endpoint can successfully
authenticate. A named or downloadable ACL that is received from ISE grants specific level of
access upon successful authentication. The Low-Impact mode is ideal for a Preboot
Execution Environment (PXE) boot environments where thin clients have to download the
operating system from the network before attempting network authentication. Since devices
get IP address immediately after they connect to the network, and authentication may take
place in parallel or later, we recommend that you do not make VLAN changes in the Low-
Impact mode.
3. Restricted Mode (Closed Mode)–In this mode, the port is closed by default. Only EAPoL
payloads are allowed for 802.1X authentication. Upon successful authentication, the
endpoints can have access to network services. Since endpoints do not acquire dynamic IP
addresses without authentication, this mode is ideal for VLAN authorizations.
ISE Deployment Considerations

When it comes to wired network access, a carefully set up ISE service is critical. The
following are some of the important considerations:
ISE Deployment Scale and Performance
Figure15: ISE Deployments

ISE can be deployed as a standalone service or a cluster of multiple ISE nodes. While
the former is a good option for small-sized networks, the latter is the choice for
medium and large environments. Both standalone and multi-node ISE deployments
can be done on bare metal servers (Cisco Secure Network Server [SNS]) or on
supported Hypervisors.
Choose the deployment type and install option depending on your requirements. See
the ISE Performance & Scale page for more details about scale limitations and
performance numbers for each ISE deployment method.
Access switches need to talk to ISE servers for AAA. Typically, two or more RADIUS
servers are defined on the switches for AAA and CoA. For large networks involving
multiple PSNs per site, we recommend that use of Load Balancers. When Load
Balancers are used, the virtual IP addresses of these Load Balancers must be
configured as RADIUS server IP addresses on the switches.
The following table summarizes the configuration practice that should be followed,
depending upon the type of deployment and whether Load Balancers are used or not.
Switch-Side 2-Node Multi-Node Multi-Node ISE

Configuration Standalone ISE ISE with Load
Balancers
RADIUS Server IP address of the IP address of IP address of the
configuration for either ISE nodes the PSNs Virtual IP address of
AAA the Load Balancers
RADIUS Server IP addresses of IP addresses IP addresses of the
configuration for the of the PSNs Load Balancer VIP,
CoA either ISE nodes and PANs PSNs, and PANs
Table3: Deployment Configuration best practices
ISE Licensing
Cisco ISE licensing provides the ability to manage the application features and
access, such as the number of concurrent endpoints that can use Cisco ISE network
resources. ISE requires one or more of the following three license packages to
service wired endpoints:
Base
Plus
Apex
However, for most of the AAA and access control services, the Base licenses will
suffice. For ISE to automatically detect the endpoint type using profiling service, and
to control access to them, both Base and Plus licenses are required. For deeper
visibility into applications and processes on endpoints and to control them, Apex
licenses are also needed. Note that all these licenses are applied to the endpoint’s
session that is active at a given point of time. Therefore, budgeting for adequate
licenses must not be on the total number of endpoints, but for an estimated number
of active endpoints at a probable peak duration. For more information about licenses,
see the Cisco ISE Ordering Guide.
Certificates
Certificates are used to identify ISE to an endpoint and also to secure the
communication between that endpoint and the ISE node. Certificates are used for all
HTTPS communication and Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) communication.
The following is a summary of the certificates and their use in the context of endpoint
authentication and access control:
Communication Uses Purpose

HTTPS · Administration Portal · Web authentication
· Centralized Web · ISE Portal access for administration and
Authentication Portal operations
· Sponsor Portal
· Client Provisioning Portal
· My Devices Portal
EAP · EAP-TLS · IEEE 802.1X authentication
· PEAP
· EAP-FAST
Table 4: Certificate Use Cases in context of Endpoint

authentication
We recommend that you do not use ISE self-signed certificates for production.
Instead, use a Certificate Authority-signed certificate on the ISE nodes for all
purposes. When dealing with internal endpoints that are managed by an organization,
an internal enterprise Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) can be used. For use cases such
as guest internet access and BYOD registration, ISE node certificates signed by a
public CA is recommended to avoid poor user experience due to certificate warnings
on the endpoints. ISE has a built-in CA service, but this is largely limited to BYOD
identity and authentication. For more information about certificates, see How To:
Implement ISE Server-Side Certificates.
Deploy
This section focuses on deployment guidelines with various best practices to greatly
simplify secured wired implementations.
Preparing for Identity-Based Network

Access
This section shows how to configure ISE and a switch for basic RADIUS connectivity.
Cisco ISE supports the default device definition for RADIUS and TACACS
authentications. You can define a default network device that Cisco ISE can use if it
does not find a device definition for a particular IP address. For advanced flows (such
as SNMP,CDP,LLDP) you must add separate device definition for each network device.
Figure16: Switch to ISE Communication Protocol
Preparing ISE for Identity-Based Network Access

This section covers the minimum required configuration on ISE for it to accept AAA
requests from a Cisco Catalyst switch.
1. Log in to ISE in admin node.
2. Navigate to Administration > Network Device.
3. In the left navigation pane, click Default Device.

4. From the Default Network Device Status drop-down list, choose Enable.
5. Define a Shared Secret (in this example, ISEisC00L) and Click Save

Preparing a Switch for Identity-Based Network Access

Perform the following steps to configure a Cisco Catalyst Switch for basic RADIUS
connectivity.
1. Configure the management interface for the switch:

c9300-Sw(config)#interface Vlan254
c9300-Sw(config-if)#description ** Switch management interface **
c9300-Sw(config-if)#ip address 172.20.254.101 255.255.255.0
c9300-Sw(config-if)#end
Note: In the example above, the switch is a VTP client and has the necessary
VLANs configured. Also, the uplink port connected to the data center is
configured as a trunk port. The management IP address for the switch can be
an SVI or a Loopback interface. Ensure that proper routing is set up between
the access switch and the ISE nodes
2. Log in to the switch and enable AAA:

c9300-Sw(config)#aaa new-model
3. Configure one or more ISE Policy Service nodes as RADIUS servers. Ensure that the RADIUS
key is identical to the shared secret configured on ISE:
c9300-Sw(config)#radius server ISE01
c9300-Sw(config-radius-server)#address ipv4 172.20.254.21 auth-port 1812 acct-
c9300-Sw(config-radius-server)#key ISEisC00L
c9300-Sw(config-radius-server)#exit
c9300-Sw(config)#
Note: For networks with multi-vendor devices, Its recommended to use Ports
1812 for authentication and 1813 for accounting, however ISE can receive
RADIUS authentication and accounting requests on either of the two port
number combinations.
4. Define a method list for the ISE RADIUS servers and use the switch management interface as
the RADIUS source interface:
c9300-Sw(config)#aaa group server radius ISE
c9300-Sw(config-sg-radius)#server name ISE01
c9300-Sw(config-sg-radius)#server name ISE02
c9300-Sw(config-sg-radius)#ip radius source-interface VLAN 254
5. Configure network authentication to use the RADIUS method list (in this example, ISE):
c9300-Sw(config)#aaa authentication dot1x default group ISE
6. Configure the switch for network (access) authorization via ISE RADIUS servers. This is for
network access authorization from ISE, such as dynamic VLAN assignment, downloadable
ACLs, URL redirection, and so on:
c9300-Sw(config)#aaa authorization network default group ISE
7. Configure the switch to send accounting information to ISE at endpoint session start and end
events:
c9300-Sw(config)#aaa accounting identity default start-stop group ISE
8. Configure the switch to send periodic accounting updates for active sessions once every two
days:
c9300-Sw(config)#aaa accounting update newinfo periodic 2880
Note: After a network access session of an endpoint is logged to ISE, it stays

there for 5-days without any additional accounting updates. In order to keep
the session active on ISE, a periodic accounting update once every two days
is a best practice.
Validating Basic Settings

Perform the following tasks to validate if the basic AAA and RADIUS configurations
are working as expected:
1. Check the AAA server status on the switch
c9300-Sw#show aaa servers
RADIUS: id 1, priority 1, host 172.20.254.21, auth-port 1812, acct-port 1813

State: current UP, duration 38301s, previous duration 0s
Dead: total time 0s, count 0
Platform State from SMD: current UP, duration 38301s, previous duration 0
SMD Platform Dead: total time 0s, count 0
Platform State from WNCD: current UP, duration 0s, previous duration 0s
Platform Dead: total time 0s, count 0
Quarantined: No
!<Output truncated>

Dead: total time 0s, count 0
SMD Platform Dead: total time 0s, count 0
Platform Dead: total time 0s, count 0
Quarantined: No
!<Output truncated>
2. Execute the following test command on the switch to validate if the switch and ISE can
communicate over RADIUS or if the credentials result in a passed or failed authentication.
test-user and test-password are not a real user name and password; these are variables
used to test RADIUS communication between Switch and ISE
c9300-Sw#test aaa group radius test-user test-password new-code

AAA/SG/TEST Platform: Testing Status
AAA/SG/TEST: Authen Requests to Send : 1
AAA/SG/TEST: Authen Requests Processed : 1
AAA/SG/TEST: Authen Requests Sent : 1
AAA/SG/TEST: Authen Requests Replied : 1
AAA/SG/TEST: Authen Requests Successful : 0
AAA/SG/TEST: Authen Requests Failed : 1
AAA/SG/TEST: Authen Requests Error : 0
AAA/SG/TEST: Authen Response Received : 1
AAA/SG/TEST: Authen No Response Recevied: 0

AAA/SG/TEST: Account Requests to Send : 0
AAA/SG/TEST: Account Requests Processed : 0
AAA/SG/TEST: Account Requests Sent : 0
AAA/SG/TEST: Account Requests Replied : 0
AAA/SG/TEST: Account Requests Successful : 0
AAA/SG/TEST: Account Requests Failed : 0
AAA/SG/TEST: Account Requests Error : 0
AAA/SG/TEST: Account Response Received : 0
AAA/SG/TEST: Account No Response Recevied: 0
User rejected
Note: The Authen Requests Replied: 1 message in the output indicates that a
RADIUS server is responding to the switch’s requests. Such detailed output
for test aaa command is available only from Cisco IOS Version 16.x
3. Log in to ISE web User Interface (UI) and navigate to Operations > RADIUS > Live Logs.
You must see one or two failed entries for test-user identity, which indicates that
the switch and ISE are talking over RADIUS successfully.
When you click the Details icon corresponding to a test user, you will see
the reason for failure: 22056 Subject not found in the applicable identity
store(s), which means that the test user account cannot be found, which is
obvious at this stage of the deployment.
Another important thing to note is that the switch is using its management IP
address to communicate with ISE.
Best Practice Global Settings for Switch

The following section covers the best practice global configuration for Cisco Catalyst
switch.
RADIUS Server Failure Detection
1. Define how a switch must detect a RADIUS server reachability failure:

c9300-Sw(config)#radius-server dead-criteria time 10 tries 3
time-The time during which no properly formed response received from the ISE server.
tries-The number of consecutive timeouts that must occur on the switch before the RADIUS
server is marked dead.
2. When multiple RADIUS servers are defined and the primary server is unavailable, it is a good
practice to mark that server’s Dead to improve the RADIUS response time . This prevents the
RADIUS requests from being sent to a server that could be flapping its status.
The following example shows that the Dead time is set to 15 minutes:
c9300-Sw(config)#radius-server deadtime 15
3. With the configuration defined in previous steps, switch will mark the server as dead for the
amount of time specified in in Step 2. With expiry of dead time, the switch will mark the
server as alive again and begin sending RADIUS traffic to the server. If the RADIUS deadtime
is not specified, it will default to a value of 0, which will bring the server back to the UP state
right away. Because of this behavior, the RADIUS server state could flap, causing additional
authentication issues. To revert the server state back to the UP state before the specified
deadtime expires, a RADIUS probe can be configured. This will periodically test the RADIUS
server to see if it is responding to RADIUS requests. Upon receiving a response to a probe,
the switch will mark the RADIUS server as alive.
c9300-Sw(config-radius-server)#automate-tester username test-user ignore-acct-
c9300-Sw(config)#
Note: As mentioned earlier, test-user is a test user ID Username. The

ignore-acct-port keyword indicates that the switch must not validate the
accounting port number that the server will use. The probe-on keyword
indicates that the switch must send test probes only when the server is
marked as Dead.
4. In the case of an actual probe user account on the ISE’s internal or external database, a
password is required. In the example below, “test-user” is the username and “test-
password” is the password stored in the identity store that the RADIUS server refers to
authenticate. A “User rejected” message too (unless a timeout occurs) indicates that the
RADIUS server is alive.
c9300-Sw(config)#username test-user password 0 test-password
5. To make the switch send an EAPoL success message to the corresponding client when the
port fail-opens or fail-closes in the event that none of the ISE servers are reachable,
c9300-Sw(config)#dot1x critical eapol

Additional RADIUS Best Practice Attributes for ISE
6. Send the Service-Type attribute in the authentication packets, which is important for ISE to
distinguish between the different authentication methods:
c9300-Sw(config)#radius-server attribute 6 on-for-login-auth
7. Send the IP address of an endpoint to the RADIUS server in the access request:
c9300-Sw(config)#radius-server attribute 8 include-in-access-req
8. Include the class attribute in an access request for network access authorization:
c9300-Sw(config)#radius-server attribute 25 access-request include
9. Set the MAC address of the endpoint in IETF format and in upper case:
c9300-Sw(config)#radius-server attribute 31 mac format ietf upper-case
radius-server attribute 31 mac format {default | ietf | unformatted}
default-Example: 0000.4096.3e4a
ietf-Example: 00-00-40-96-3E-4A
unformatted-Example: 000040963e4a
10. To include NAS port & MAC address details in Calling-Station-ID (attribute 31) for Access
and Accounting requests:
c9300-Sw(config)#radius-server attribute 31 send nas-port-detail mac-only

Change of Authorization (CoA)
11. Use the following commands to configure ISE nodes as CoA servers
c9300-Sw(config)#aaa server radius dynamic-author
c9300-Sw(config-locsvr-da-radius)#client 172.20.254.21 server-key ISEisC00L
c9300-Sw(config-locsvr-da-radius)#client 172.20.254.22 server-key ISEisC00L
Device Tracking
Starting Cisco IOS XE Denali 16.1.1 version, the new Switch Integrated Security
Features-based “IP Device Tracking” feature acts as a container policy that enables
snooping and device-tracking features available with First Hop Security (FHS) in both
IPv4 and IPv6, using IP agnostic CLI commands.
The device-tracking configuration is very critical to learn an endpoint’s IP address and

map that to its network access session. The device-tracking configuration is also
essential for many features, such as downloadable ACLs, device profiling, URL
redirection, and more.Refer to the URL for More Information on the Switch Integrated
Security Features based (SISF-based) Device Tracking.
Note: If upgraded a Cisco Catalyst 3850/3650 switch from Cisco IOS XE 3.x.x release
to a Cisco IOS XE 16.x.x release and if the switch has IPDT configurations prior to the
upgrade, the SISF commands might not be available and we should run the device-
tracking upgrade-cli command to convert and use the new SISF commands.
12. Configure the device-tracking policy with a custom name:

c9300-Sw(config)#device-tracking policy IPDT_POLICY
13. Under the policy (IPDT_POLICY), enable device tracking.

c9300-Sw(config-device-tracking)#tracking enable
Note: It is a best practice to disable the Device tracking for obtaining information about UDP
protocols.
c9300-Sw(config-device-tracking)#no protocol udp
Note: The device-tracking policy is effective only when applying the policy to
switchport using the following command:
interface GigabitEthernet x/y/z
device-tracking attach-policy POLICY_NAME
Device Sensor
Device Sensor is a Cisco IOS and Cisco AireOS feature that simplifies device profiling
on ISE. The switch gathers raw endpoint data from protocols such as CDP, LLDP &
DHCP and it made available to ISE through RADIUS accounting messages. ISE
collects these device attributes and profiles the endpoints into specific device groups.
14. Enable device sensor globally on the switch:

c9300-Sw(config)#device-sensor accounting
15. Configure below command for the switch to trigger updates to ISE as and when the device
attributes change:
c9300-Sw(config)#device-sensor notify all-changes
16. Configure and apply filters for CDP, LLDP, and DHCP protocols so that only the critical
attributes required for identifying the endpoint type reaches ISE.
The following is an example of a CDP device sensor filter and apply the protocol
filter to the sensor output.
c9300-Sw(config)#cdp run
c9300-Sw(config)#device-sensor filter-list cdp list CDP-LIST

c9300-Sw(config-sensor-cdplist)#tlv name device-name
c9300-Sw(config-sensor-cdplist)#tlv name capabilities-type
c9300-Sw(config-sensor-cdplist)#tlv name version-type
c9300-Sw(config-sensor-cdplist)#tlv name platform-type
c9300-Sw(config-sensor-cdplist)#tlv name address-type
c9300-Sw(config)#device-sensor filter-spec cdp include list CDP-LIST
The following is an example of an LLDP device sensor filter and apply the
protocol filter to sensor output:
c9300-Sw(config)#lldp run
c9300-Sw(config)#device-sensor filter-list lldp list LLDP-LIST

c9300-Sw(config-sensor-lldplist)#tlv name system-name
c9300-Sw(config-sensor-lldplist)#tlv name system-description
c9300-Sw(config-sensor-lldplist)#tlv name system-capabilities
c9300-Sw(config)#device-sensor filter-spec lldp include list LLDP-LIST
The following is an example of a DHCP device sensor filter and apply the protocol
filter to sensor output:
c9300-Sw(config)#device-sensor filter-list dhcp list DHCP-LIST

c9300-Sw(config-sensor-dhcplist)#option name host-name
c9300-Sw(config-sensor-dhcplist)#option name parameter-request-list
c9300-Sw(config-sensor-dhcplist)#option name class-identifier
c9300-Sw(config-sensor-dhcplist)#option name client-identifier
c9300-Sw(config-sensor-dhcplist)#option name requested-address
c9300-Sw(config-sensor-dhcplist)#device-sensor filter-spec dhcp include list DHCP-
Note: Device sensor configuration without a filter list will overload ISE with
unnecessary attributes that does not help in the context of device profiling. The
best practice attribute list provided in the example above works well for most
environments. For more details on profiling, see the ISE Profiling Design Guide.
Web Authentication/URL Redirection and ACLs
Web authentications are necessary for guest internet access. Even if wired guest
access is not a requirement for your environment, it is a good idea to have the
infrastructure set up for URL redirection because it facilitates notifications to end
users in certain scenarios. For instance, when users are not able to authenticate
successfully, they can be redirected to an internal portal such as the following, which
will guide them about how to resolve the issue themselves.
Figure17: Web Authentication Internal portal support page
17. Configure the HTTP service on the switch for URL redirection:
c9300-Sw(config)#ip http server
18. Switch’s internal HTTP/HTTPS server is used for redirection process and its highly
encouraged to decouple this service from Switch Management if HTTP/HTTPS isn’t used for
Switch Management. You can accomplish this using below CLI’s:
c9300-Sw(config)#ip http active-session-modules none
c9300-Sw(config)#ip http secure-active-session-modules none
Note: HTTPS redirection is not recommended for production environments because of the
following reasons:
Security concern-HTTPS redirection is intended to hijack a secure web connection
initiated by an endpoint, which is not a good idea.
Failure to work-Most web browsers block intercepted HTTPS connections.
Certificate warnings-Even if web browsers allow access, there can be certificate
warnings because the switch presents its own certificate for TLS handshake.
Scalability issues-Multiple HTTPS redirections can overload the switch CPU there by
degrading the Switch performance
19. (Optional) Provide a domain name when enabling HTTPS redirect:

c9300-Sw(config)#ip domain-name isedemo.lab
20. (Optional) Generate the crypto keys to be used for HTTPS redirection:
c9300-Sw(config)#crypto key generate rsa general-keys mod 2048
Note: Do not run the ip http secure-server command prior to generating the
keys. If you run the commands out of order, the switch automatically generates a
certificate with a smaller key size. This certificate can cause undesirable behavior
when redirecting HTTPS traffic.
21. (Optional) Enable the HTTPS service.

c9300-Sw(config)#ip http secure-server
22. Limit the number of HTTP connections. (The default on a Catalyst 9300 switch is 25, and the
maximum is 50.)
c9300-Sw(config)#ip http max-connections 48
URL Redirection ACL

This ACL defines which traffic is redirected to ISE during the CWA, BYOD, and Posture
scenarios. Any traffic that is permitted per ACL is redirected (192.168.1.10 in the
example below). Implicit deny prevents other traffic types from being redirected. We
recommend that you specify that only HTTP and HTTPS should be permitted since
this traffic gets pushed to the switch CPU. If additional access control is needed in
conjunction with the redirect ACL, we recommend that you use dACL in conjunction
with the redirect ACL.
Note: ACL_WEBAUTH_REDIRECT or Pre-Auth-ACL are port-based ACL which are

configured on the interface. However, the dACL or Per_User_ACL pushed from ISE
takes precedence over the Port ACL that is applied to the Interface.
Figure18: URL Redirection workflow
23. Configure a URL redirect ACL on the switch:

c9300-Sw(config)#ip access-list extended ACL_WEBAUTH_REDIRECT
c9300-Sw(config-ext-nacl)#permit tcp any any eq www
c9300-Sw(config-ext-nacl)#permit tcp any any eq 443
Note: The ACL name referenced above is identical to the default redirect ACL
name used in fresh ISE 2.0 installation. If you want a different name, make sure
that you update both the switch and the ISE Authorization Profile with a new
redirect ACL name.
It is also a good idea to have a separate URL redirect ACL for blacklisted devices
on ISE. The default rules can redirect all the web traffic. However, depending on
your environment and policies, bypass redirection to specific services.
c9300-Sw(config)#ip access-list extended BLOCKHOLE

c9300-Sw(config-ext-nacl)#permit tcp any any eq www
c9300-Sw(config-ext-nacl)#permit tcp any any eq 443
24. Configure a Pre-Authentication ACL (Pre-Auth-ACL). This is required if the deployment

transitions to low-impact mode.
c9300-Sw(config)#ip access-list extended IPV4_PRE_AUTH_ACL
c9300-Sw(config-ext-nacl)#permit udp any eq bootpc any eq bootps
c9300-Sw(config-ext-nacl)#permit udp any any eq domain
c9300-Sw(config-ext-nacl)#deny ip any any
Note: Pre-Auth-ACL is meant to provide basic network access before successful

port authentication in low-impact mode. Therefore, the rules in the ACL must
permit only specific service access that is deemed necessary in a given
environment. Typically, DHCP and DNS services are permitted so that time-
sensitive assets can acquire dynamic IP address while their authentication request
is processed by ISE.
Basic Global Configuration for End-Point Authentication
The subsequent sections describe details of the configurations required for

performing 802.1X and MAB authentications. However, the following global
configurations are essential for most of the deployment scenarios:
25. Enable 802.1X globally on the switch,use the dot1x system-auth-controlcommand in global
configuration mode.
c9300-Sw(config)#dot1x system-auth-control
(Optional) Allow sessions without dACL to connect to ACL-enabled interfaces

with full access, by running below access-session acl command.
c9300-Sw(config)#access-session acl default passthrough
Note: In older Cisco IOS versions, the epm access-control open command was
used for hosts without an authorization policy to access ports configured with a
static ACL.This feature is useful in an environment where there is a mixture of
authorization profiles that use dACL and ones that do not. For example, user
devices are enforced with dACL to limit access to the network, but no dACL is
used on IP phones. When an IP phone is connected, the IP phone is authorized to
voice resources by MAB/802.1X (without dACL). When a user's device is
connected to the back of the IP phone, the switch enforces user-device dACL,
which applies the ACL at the interface level. This denies IP access to the IP phone
because the IP phone lacks dACL for authorization. However, when the above
command is entered globally, the switch dynamically inserts the permit ip any any
ACL for sessions without dACL, including the IP phone.
This is also true for multiple devices connected through an unmanaged hub. If
multiple devices are already connected without dACL, when a new device with
dACL AuthZ is authenticated to the same interface that the unmanaged hub is
connected to, then above feature applies the ip permit any anyACL to the
previously connected devices sessions.
26. Permit endpoints to move from one 802.1X-enabled port to another by running below
command:
c9300-Sw(config)#authentication mac-move permit

Switch Global Configuration Dump for AAA, RADIUS
ip domain name isedemo.lab

!
interface Vlan254
description ** Switch management interface **
ip address 172.20.254.101 255.255.255.0
!
aaa new-model
aaa session-id common
!
radius server ISE01
address ipv4 172.20.254.21 auth-port 1812 acct-port 1813
automate-tester username test-user ignore-acct-port probe-on
key ISEisC00L
!
radius server ISE02
key ISEisC00L
!
username test-user password 0 test-password
!
radius-server attribute 6 on-for-login-auth
radius-server attribute 8 include-in-access-req
radius-server attribute 25 access-request include
radius-server attribute 31 mac format ietf upper-case
radius-server attribute 31 send nas-port-detail mac-only
radius-server dead-criteria time 10 tries 3
radius-server deadtime 15
!
aaa group server radius ISE
server name ISE01
server name ISE02
ip radius source-interface Vlan254
!
aaa authentication dot1x default group ISE
aaa authorization network default group ISE
aaa accounting update newinfo periodic 2880
aaa accounting dot1x default start-stop group ISE
!
aaa server radius dynamic-author
client 172.20.254.21 server-key ISEisC00L
!
lldp run
!
device-sensor filter-list dhcp list DHCP-LIST
option name host-name
option name requested-address
option name parameter-request-list
option name class-identifier
option name client-identifier
!
device-sensor filter-list lldp list LLDP-LIST
tlv name system-name
tlv name system-description
tlv name system-capabilities
!
device-sensor filter-list cdp list CDP-LIST
tlv name device-name
tlv name address-type
tlv name capabilities-type
tlv name version-type
tlv name platform-type
!
device-sensor filter-spec dhcp include list DHCP-LIST
device-sensor filter-spec lldp include list LLDP-LIST
device-sensor filter-spec cdp include list CDP-LIST
!
device-sensor accounting
device-sensor notify all-changes
!
access-session acl default passthrough
!
Authentication mac-move permit
!
device-tracking policy IPDT_POLICY
no protocol udp
tracking enable
!
crypto key generate rsa general-keys mod 2048
!
ip http server
ip http authentication local
ip http secure-server
ip http secure-active-session-modules none
ip http max-connections 48
ip http active-session-modules none

!
ip access-list extended ACL_WEBAUTH_REDIRECT
permit tcp any any eq www
permit tcp any any eq 443
!
ip access-list extended BLOCKHOLE
!
ip access-list extended IPV4_PRE_AUTH_ACL
permit udp any eq bootpc any eq bootps
permit udp any any eq domain
deny ip any any

Monitoring Authentications with Open
Access
This section provides information about how to enable identity-based wired network
access without causing any disruption to regular network connectivity.
Figure19: Open Authentication Workflow
Integrating ISE with Active Directory

Assuming that most environments have a directory server, which is typically Microsoft
Windows Active Directory (AD), the following section focuses on the integration
between ISE and Microsoft Windows AD. If your environment uses a directory service
other than Microsoft Windows AD, see the appropriate guide in the ISE Design &
Integration Guides page.
Prerequisites for Integrating Active Directory and Cisco ISE

The ISE servers and the Active Directory Domain Controllers must be time synced over
Network Time Protocol (NTP).
Ensure that trust relationships exist between the domain to which ISE is connected and the
other domains that have user and machine information to which you need access.
At least one global catalog server that is operational and accessible by ISE in the domain to
which you are joining ISE.
Domain user account with rights to search, add, and delete machine accounts for ISE, in the
Active Directory domain.
TCP/UDP ports open for communication between ISE and Domain Controllers (DNS, NTP,
MSRPC, Kerberos, LDAP, LDAP-GC and IPC).
For more details, see Active Directory Integration with Cisco ISE 2.x.
Configuring ISE for Active Directory Integration

1. Log in to ISE(admin node)
2. Navigate to Administration > Identity Management > External Identity Sources > Active
Directory.
3. Click ADD
4. Enter a custom name in the Joint Point Name field, and the domain name in the Active
Directory domain field
5. Click Submit to save the configuration.
6. ClickYes for subsequent notification.
7. Enter the Active Directory username and password.
Note:The credentials used for the join or leave operation are not stored in Cisco ISE.
Only the newly created Cisco ISE machine account credentials are stored.
8. In the Join Operation Status window, verify if the status is Completed

9. Click Close to finish the join procedure.
Whitelist specific Active Directory Groups

10. Click on the Groups taband select Add > Select Groups from Directory option:
11. UnderRetrieve Groups, select the Active Directory groups that you want to use for the
authorization policies and click OK.
12. Click Save.
Note: The assumption is that Active Directory domain users who are members of
these whitelisted groups exist.
Let us now see how to validate ISE and Active Directory integration.
13. Click the Connection tab within Active Directory configuration, check the configured ISE
node in the Join Point Name field, and click Test User.
14. In the Test User Authentication window that is displayed, enter a valid domain username
and password and check if the authentication succeeds.
15. Click Close and exit the Active Directory authentication test.
16. Log in to the Catalyst switch and execute the testuser command to validate whether end-to-
end authentication is working well.
c9300-Sw#test aaa group radius harry ISEisC00L new-code
User successfully authenticated
USER ATTRIBUTES
username 0 "harry"
c9300-Sw#
AAA/SG/TEST: Authen Requests to Send : 1
AAA/SG/TEST: Authen Requests Processed : 1
<Output truncaked>
Let us now see how to whitelist the network device on ISE.
17. In ISE, navigate to Administration > Network Devices.

18. In the left pane, click

Default Device.
19. From the Default

Network Device Statusdrop-down list, choose Disabled.
20. Click Save.
21. In the left pane, click Network Devices.
22. In Network Devices area, click Add.

23. In the dialog box displayed, enter the corresponding values in the Name,Description and IP
address
24. Check the RADIUS Authentication Settings checkbox and enter the Shared Secret key in
the Shared Secret field.
Note: Optionally, you can configure the other parameters in the Network Device
configuration, such as Model Name, Software Version, Location, Device Type, and so
on. The value defined for these attributes can be used in the ISE authentication and
authorization polices to match specific criteria.
25. Click Submit.
Note: ISE allows for bulk configuration of network devices.
One of the options is to upload a CSV file that contains network device details.
The other option is to use REST API calls to the ISE admin node to configure
network devices.
For more information, see the Cisco ISE API Reference Guide.
Configure the Switch for Monitor Mode

1. Log in to the Catalyst switch and to configure a physical interface (port), use the interface
global configuration command to enter interface configuration mode.
c9300-Sw(config)#interface GigabitEthernet x/y/z
c9300-Sw(config-if)#description ** Endpoints and Users **
2. Configure the switch port mode as access.
Note: None of the authentication-related commands are accepted on the

interface without this basic configuration.
c9300-Sw(config-if)#switchport mode access

c9300-Sw(config-if)#switchport access vlan 100
c9300-Sw(config-if)#switchport voice vlan 101
3. Enable the Spanning Tree PortFast feature.
c9300-Sw(config-if)#spanning-tree portfast
4. Attach the device-tracking policy to the port. (This configuration is essential in Cisco IOS
Version 16.xfor downloadable ACL, URL redirection, SGT, and other authorization options to
work.
c9300-Sw(config-if)#device-tracking attach-policy IPDT_POLICY
5. To enable open access on the port, use the authentication open command in interface
configuration mode. This command enables monitor mode for the endpoints. New MAC
addresses that are detected on the port are allowed unrestricted Layer 2 access to the
network even before any authentication has succeeded.
c9300-Sw(config-if)#authentication open
6. By default, an 802.1X-enabled switch port accepts only one MAC address. Since the idea of
open mode is to ensure that there is no disruption, enabling multi-auth host mode is
recommended, which allows for one IP Phone an unlimited number of
workstations/data_endpoints to authenticate on the interface.
c9300-Sw(config-if)#authentication host-mode multi-auth
7. For switch to initiate authentication when the link state changes from down to up state, use
the below command to enable authentication on the switch port
c9300-Sw(config-if)#authentication port-control auto
8. Configure the switch port as an 802.1X authenticator.

c9300-Sw(config-if)#dot1x pae authenticator
9. Enable MAC Authentication Bypass on the same switch port.

c9300-Sw(config-if)#mab
Authentication Timer Settings

10. By default, the 802.1X to MAB timeout period is 90 seconds; a 30-second timeout for each
EAP request sent to the endpoint, with 2 retries. 90 seconds can cause a significant delay for
certain endpoints in obtaining an IP address and gain network access. In open mode, this is
not a concern because the port is always open. However, when the network transitions to
closed mode, this could be a concern. The best practice configuration for the 802.1X timeout
period that works for most environments is about 30 seconds. Configure dot1x timeout and
dot1x max-reauth-req interface configuration commands to achieve it.
c9300-Sw(config-if)#dot1x timeout tx-period 7
c9300-Sw(config-if)#dot1x max-reauth-req 3
11. (Optional) Enable the reauthentication and inactivity timer for the port. Use the authentication
periodic command to enable automatic reauthentication on a port whether the values are
statically assigned on the port or are derived from the RADIUS server.
c9300-Sw(config-if)#authentication periodic
12. (Optional) To specify the period of time to reauthenticate the authorized port and to allow the
reauthentication timer interval (session timer) to be downloaded to the switch from the
RADIUS server:
c9300-Sw(config-if)#authentication timer reauthenticate server
13. (Optional) Allow the inactivity timer interval to be downloaded to the switch from the RADIUS
server. The dynamic keyword instructs the switch to send out an ARP probe before removing
the session to make sure the device is indeed disconnected.
c9300-Sw(config-if)#authentication timer inactivity server dynamic
IBNS 1.0 interface Configuration for Monitor Mode
interface GigabitEthernet1/0/1
description ** Endpoints and Users **
switchport access vlan 100
switchport mode access
switchport voice vlan 101
device-tracking attach-policy IPDT_POLICY
authentication host-mode multi-auth
authentication open
authentication port-control auto
authentication periodic
authentication timer reauthenticate server
authentication timer inactivity server dynamic
mab
dot1x pae authenticator
dot1x timeout tx-period 7
dot1x max-reauth-req 3
spanning-tree portfast
Configuring Microsoft Windows and Apple OS X

Devices for 802.1X

Configuring Microsoft Windows 10 for Wired 802.1X

1. Log in to a Windows workstation.
2. Go to the Services
3. Start the Wired AutoConfig
4. From the Startup type drop-down list,

choose Automatic.
5. Navigate to the Wired Ethernet port’s

adapter settings by choosing Start >
Settings > Ethernet > Change Adapter
Settings.
6. Click Properties.
7. Click the Authentication
8. From the Settings drop-down list, choose

the Microsoft: Protected EAP (PEAP)authentication method.

9. Have the Verify the server’s identity by validating the certificateoption unchecked.
Recommended to have correct CA certificate imported on the endpoints, unchecking this
option should only be for testing purpose prior to importing the CA Certificate.
10. Uncheck the Automatically user my Windows logon name…
11. Click Configure under Select Authentication Method.
12. In the EAP MSCHAPv2 Propertiesdialog box that is displayed, if the endpoint is an Active
Directory-managed endpoint, and if the Windows domain login name is preferred for 802.1X
authentication, check the “Automatically use my Windows logon name and password” check
box.
Note: We strongly recommend that you do not disable the server certificate
validation option on the supplicant. This can subject endpoints to Man-in-the-middle
and various other attacks. While disabling the server certificate validation in the
supplicant can help in quickly testing an endpoint for 802.1X authentication, we
strongly recommended that you do the exact opposite in a production environment.
13. Click OK in the EAP MSCHAPv2 Properties dialog box.
14. Click OK in the Protected EAP Properties
15. If you unchecked the Automatically user my Windows logon name check box, under the
EAP MSCHAPv2 Properties, click Additional Settings.
16. From Specify authentication mode drop-down list, choose the authentication mode
(user/computer/user/guest). For quick validation, choose User Authentication.
17. Enter the username and password and click OK.
The Windows endpoint is now ready for wired 802.1X authentication.
Note: Although the configuration explained in this section enables 802.1X on a Microsoft
Windows endpoint and can be used to validate the end-to-end configuration in an ISE
deployment, it is not a recommended configuration method for a large-scale production
network. When it comes to a production setup, the following guidelines must be considered:
Install the ISE server certificate or have the root CA certificate (a signed ISE certificate)
installed on the endpoint’s trusted certificate store.
Enable server certificate validation in the supplicant settings for PEAP.
If it is an Active Directory-managed Windows endpoint, enable the user or computer
authentication option.
If it is an Active Directory-managed Windows endpoint, set the Windows domain login
credentials to be used for 802.1X authentication by checking the Automatically use my
Windows logon name and password check box.
For Active Directory-managed Windows endpoints, enable 802.1x settings via Group Policy
Management…. For more information, see Configure 802.1X Wired Access Clients by
using Group Policy Management.
For BYOD Windows endpoints, use ISE’s native supplicant provisioning flow to install the
server certificate and configure the adapter settings.
Configuring an Apple MacBook for Wired 802.1X

1. Connect the USB to Ethernet or the Apple Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter to the MacBook.
2. Navigate to System Preferences > Network.
In a few seconds, an authentication window is displayed, asking you enter 802.1X

username and password.
3. In the Account name and Password fields, enter the corresponding values and click OK.
4. You will be asked to accept the server certificate. Click Continue.

5. In the dialog box

that is displayed, provide the local system administrator username and password to add the
ISE certificate to the local trusted certificate store.
You should see the change in IP address and the domain name. Also, note that
the 802.1X session timer starts after successful authentication.
Note: As with Microsoft Windows Active Directory and third-party systems managers for
Windows endpoints, systems managers are available for Apple OS X devices. These managers
can manage inventory, build and deploy applications, and enforce polices on all the managed
OS X endpoints in a given environment. For an example of how a systems manager can be used
to remotely manage 802.1X configurations on Apple Mac endpoints, see 802.1X Network
Authentication for Mac.

Monitoring Authentication Sessions
1. Log in to ISE.
The dashboard displays the total number of endpoints that are connected to the
network.
2. Click on a number to see the details:
3. Navigate to Operations > RADIUS: Live Logs.You will see that all the endpoints connected to
the network so far have received a permit access.
4. Log in to the Catalyst switch and check the authentication sessions

c9300-Sw#show authentication sessions
Interface MAC Address Method Domain Status Fg Session ID
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gi1/0/1 0050.56a7.fa8a dot1x DATA Auth 65FE14AC00
Gi1/0/1 0064.40b5.794e mab DATA Auth 65FE14AC00
Gi1/0/5 406C.8F39.17AE dot1x DATA Auth 65FE14AC00
<Output trunckated>
5. Check the authentication session details on a specific port
c9300-Sw#show authentication session interface Gi 1/0/1 details

Interface: GigabitEthernet1/0/1
IIF-ID: 0x119631A2
MAC Address: 0050.56a7.fa8a
IPv6 Address: fe80::e55d:20e1:8f:d008
IPv4 Address: 172.20.100.10
User-Name: harry
Status: Authorized
Domain: DATA
Oper host mode: multi-auth
Oper control dir: both
Session timeout: N/A
Common Session ID: 65FE14AC0000001F1D04947E
Acct Session ID: 0x00000015
Handle: 0x3f000015
Current Policy: POLICY_Gi1/0/1
Server Policies:
Security Policy: None
Security Status: Link Unsecured
Method status list:

Method State
dot1x Authc Success
----------------------------------------
IIF-ID: 0x14A4B799
MAC Address: 0064.40b5.794e
IPv6 Address: Unknown
IPv4 Address: 172.20.101.3
User-Name: 00-64-40-B5-79-4E
Status: Authorized
Domain: DATA
Common Session ID: 65FE14AC000000201D049D86
Handle: 0xb5000016
Server Policies:
Method status list:

Method State
dot1x Stopped
mab Authc Success

Configuring and Understanding the IBNS 2.0 Policy
One of the simplest ways to configure IBNS 2.0 is to convert an existing IBNS 1.0
configuration on the switch. However,using a composite configuration in IBNS 1.0
style is recommended for the system to generate the best possible policy
configuration in the new style. Note that when you convert the configurations, a policy
map, a set of class maps, and service templates that will be configured for every
single port that has the identity-related configuration. Therefore, the recommendation
is to covert a single-port IBNS 1.0 configuration to IBNS 2.0 in a lab, and once a level
of comfort is reached in this setting, deploy it in production.
1. Log in to the switch.

2. Pre-configure the switch for best practice global configurationsand Open mode interface
configurationon one interface.
3. Execute the IBNS 1.0 to 2.0 conversation command “authentication display new-style”
c9300-Sw#authentication display new-style
Please note that while you can revert to legacy style

configuration at any time unless you have explicitly
entered new-style configuration, the following caveats
should be carefully read and understood.
(1) If you save the config in this mode, it will be written

to NVRAM in NEW-style config, and if you subsequently
reload the router without reverting to legacy config and
saving that, you will no longer be able to revert.
(2) In this and legacy mode, Webauth is not IPv6-capable. It

will only become IPv6-capable once you have entered new-
style config manually, or have reloaded with config saved
in 'authentication display new' mode.
(3) 'Default' and 'rollback' commands should not be used in this

display mode. Either remain in legacy display mode or switch
to new-style configuration mode before use.
You will notice that the identity configurations have changed on the interface and
new control policy added
c9300-Sw#show running-config interface Gi 1/0/1

Building configuration...
Current configuration : 523 bytes

!
access-session port-control auto
mab
service-policy type control subscriber POLICY_Gi1/0/1
end
Note: The authentication display new-style command converts an existing IBNS 1.0
configuration to IBNS 2.0. The new style configurations can be reverted to the old style with the
authentication display legacy privileged EXEC mode command. However, note that in the new
style, if any changes are made to the policy map or any IBNS 2.0-specific commands, or if the
system is reloaded with new style configurations written to the startup configuration, you will not
be able to revert back to the IBNS 1.0 style configurations from IBNS 2.0.
4. Convert the system authentication configuration mode to the new style, that is, the IBNS 2.0
style
c9300-Sw#configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
c9300-Sw(config)#
c9300-Sw(config)#authentication convert-to new-style
This operation will permanently convert all relevant authentication commands t
control-policy equivalents. As this conversion is irreversible and will disabl
CLI 'authentication display [legacy|new-style]', you are strongly advised to b
configuration before proceeding.
Do you wish to continue? [yes]: yes
5. Review the class-maps and policy-map configuration:
Table5: IBNS 2.0 Class-Map Configurations
Table6: IBNS 2.0 Policy-Map Configurations
6. Switch now running new style configuration mode, show authentication commands are now
replaced with show access-session

Additional Best-Practice Configurations for IBNS 2.0
1. Copy the interface configuration from the switch port and configure an interface template
c9300-Sw(config)#template PORT-AUTH-TEMPLATE
c9300-Sw(config-template)#description ** Endpoints and Users **
c9300-Sw(config-template)#switchport access vlan 100
c9300-Sw(config-template)#switchport mode access
c9300-Sw(config-template)#switchport voice vlan 101
c9300-Sw(config-template)#authentication periodic
c9300-Sw(config-template)#authentication timer reauthenticate server
c9300-Sw(config-template)#access-session port-control auto
c9300-Sw(config-template)#mab
c9300-Sw(config-template)#dot1x pae authenticator
c9300-Sw(config-template)#spanning-tree portfast
c9300-Sw(config-template)#service-policy type control subscriber POLICY_Gi1/0/
c9300-Sw(config-template)#end
Note: Certain interface commands are not supported within interface templates currently. They ne
to be explicitly configured on the port. The following are the caveats:
Defect ID Unsupported command(s)
CSCvd77095 ‘no lldp transmit’
CSCvd77088 ‘device-tracking’
CSCvd78152 ‘ip verify source’
CSCvd78154 ‘ip access-group’
Note: Notice that the access-session closed command (as on Step 3) is part of
the conversion and is being omitted in the interface template configuration. This is
because the section focuses on low-impact mode, which is a minor variation of
the open mode; in IBNS 2.0, the default port mode is open mode. To move the
port to closed mode, configure the access-session closed interface command
explicitly either within the interface template or on the physical port
2. Reset the configuration on the interface back to default using “default interface” command
and apply the interface template along with other supporting commands for IBNS
c9300-Sw(config)#default interface GigabitEthernet1/0/1
Interface GigabitEthernet1/0/1 set to default configuration
c9300-Sw(config)#
c9300-Sw(config)#interface GigabitEthernet1/0/1
c9300-Sw(config-if)#source template PORT-AUTH-TEMPLATE
c9300-Sw(config-if)#spanning-tree portfast
c9300-Sw#
3. Verify the interface configuration

c9300-Sw#show running-config interface GigabitEthernet 1/0/1

!
source template PORT-AUTH-TEMPLATE
end
4. Check the cumulative configuration applied on the port at runtime

c9300-Sw#show derived-config interface GigabitEthernet 1/0/1
Derived configuration : 525 bytes

!
mab
end
You will also notice some minor changes to the global configuration:
c9300-Sw#show running-config aaa | include accounting

aaa accounting Identity default start-stop group ISE
Note:
Global AAA and RADIUS server configurations for IBNS 1.0 and IBNS 2.0 are very
alike, barring a few minor differences:
The aaa accounting dot1x command is converted to aaa accounting identity in IBNS 2.0
style.
The authentication mac-move permit command is the default in IBNS 2.0, and therefore,
the configuration does not show up in the running configuration. If you want to disable
mac-move, configure access-session mac-move deny explicitly in the global
configuration mode.
The device-sensor accounting command is replaced with the access-session
attributes filter-list command set in IBNS 2.0.

Switch Global Configuration for AAA, RADIUS in IBNS 2.0
Below is Switch Global AAA,Radius & device sensor configurations
ip domain name isedemo.lab

!
interface Vlan254
ip address 172.20.254.101 255.255.255.0
!
aaa new-model
!
radius server ISE01
key ISEisC00L
!
radius server ISE02
key ISEisC00L
!
dot1x system-auth-control
dot1x critical eapol
!
username test-user password 0 test-password
!
!
server name ISE01
server name ISE02
!
!

!
lldp run
!
device-sensor filter-list dhcp list DHCP-LIST
option name host-name
option name requested-address
option name parameter-request-list
option name class-identifier
option name client-identifier
!
device-sensor filter-list lldp list LLDP-LIST
tlv name system-name
tlv name system-description
tlv name system-capabilities
!
device-sensor filter-list cdp list CDP-LIST
tlv name device-name
tlv name address-type
tlv name capabilities-type
tlv name version-type
tlv name platform-type
!
device-sensor filter-spec dhcp include list DHCP-LIST
device-sensor filter-spec lldp include list LLDP-LIST
device-sensor filter-spec cdp include list CDP-LIST
!
device-sensor notify all-changes
!
access-session attributes filter-list list Def_Acct_List
cdp
lldp
dhcp
http
access-session accounting attributes filter-spec include list Def_Acct_List
!
access-session acl default passthrough
!
no protocol udp
tracking enable
!

!
ip http server
ip http authentication local
ip http secure-server
ip http secure-active-session-modules none
ip http max-connections 48
ip http active-session-modules none
!
ip access-list extended ACL_WEBAUTH_REDIRECT
!
ip access-list extended BLOCKHOLE
!
ip access-list extended IPV4_CRITICAL_ACL
permit ip any any
!
ip access-list extended IPV4_PRE_AUTH_ACL
permit udp any eq bootpc any eq bootps
permit udp any any eq domain
deny ip any any
!
5. Create a backup of your current configuration file on Flash using copy running-config flash:
so that you can restore a Monitor-mode configuration when migrating to Closed Mode.

Migrating from Monitor Mode
In Monitor Mode, authentication occurs but network access is not restricted based on
the authentication result. A combination of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
policies and switchport commands is used to give all devices full access to the
network. In Monitor Mode, network administrators can determine which users or
devices would have failed authentication and why.
Cisco Recommends deploying 802.1x in a staged approach. The stages begin with
Monitor Mode as the initial stage and end state will be either Low-Impact Mode or
Closed Mode. The deployment modes beyond Monitor-Mode gradually builds access
controls into the design through Port-based ACLs, dACLS and /or VLAN
authorizations.

Pre-Authentication and Post-
Authentication Access Control with Low
Impact
After gaining enough visibility in the monitor mode, the next step is to enforce
restricted access. Low-Impact mode incrementally increases the security level of the
network by configuring an ingress port ACL on top of Monitor-Mode interface
configurations. This provides basic connectivity for hosts while selectively limiting
access and introducing a higher level of security. Pre-authentication access control is
be done via port access control lists which are locally defined on the switchport,
post-authentication access control can be done via downloadable or named access
control lists. Such level of access is required for PXE boot environments where
network access must be granted prior to authentication.
Note: Dynamic VLAN assignment is not a recommended authorization option for low-impact
mode. Since endpoints acquire IP address before network authentication in the default VLAN, a
change in the VLAN assignment forces the endpoints to renew their IP addresses, which might
not happen automatically, thereby locking them out of the network in spite of an authorized
access as per ISE policy.
Some endpoint types have the intelligence to detect network changes. The
Windows workstation for instance, attempts to ping the default gateway (thrice
within seconds) with TTL=1, upon receiving an EAP-Success message from the
switch, endpoint assumes that there is no change in the VLAN and retains its IP
address. If the switch doesn’t respondendpoint releases the IP address . This
feature was introduced in Windows XP SP2 with the following KB:
KB822596: DHCP does not obtain a new address when EAP reauthenticates
across access points with IP subnets that differ.
The behavior with Apple macOS X is similar. However, when the system receives an
EAP success message, the endpoint tries to reach the DHCP server to renew its IP
address, thrice with a minute wait time between the attempts.
Switch Configuration for Low Impact Mode

2. Verify the Pre-Authentication AC(Pre-Auth-ACL) configured in “URL Redirection ACL”
Section
c9300-Sw#show ip access-list IPV4_PRE_AUTH_ACL
Extended IP access list IPV4_PRE_AUTH_ACL
10 permit udp any eq bootpc any eq bootps
20 permit udp any any eq domain
30 deny ip any any
3. On a per-port basis, Apply the Pre-Auth-ACL in the ingress direction to convert the port from
Monitor mode to Low Impact Mode.
c9300-Sw(config)#interface gigabitEthernet 1/0/1
c9300-Sw(config-if)#ip access-group IPV4_PRE_AUTH_ACL in
4. Check the cumulative configuration applied on the port at runtime


!
ip access-group IPV4_PRE_AUTH_ACL in
access-session control-direction in
mab
end

Downloadable ACL Authorization
5. Log in to ISE and navigate to Policy > Results
6. In the left pane, click Authorization > Downloadable ACLs.
7. Click Add.
8. Create a dACL each for Employees and IP phones.

9. After the dACL rules are written, validate them by clicking the Check DACL Syntax
10. Click Submit.
Note: In this example, Employees are denied access to a specific subnet PCI network and are
given access to everything else. IP phones have access to the subnet where the Call Manager,
DHCP, DNS servers and other peers in the default and voice VLANs reside,
and the rest of the network access is denied.
In terms of the Access Control Entries (ACEs) for the downloadable ACLs, the
recommendation is to keep it small so that it is easy to download the policy to the
network device. In addition, small ACLs can optimize the Ternary Content
Addressable Memory (TCAM) memory consumption on the access switch. The best
practice limit for dACLs is 64 ACEs (64 lines).
11. In the left pane, click Authorization Profiles and then click Add.
12. Create a new Authorization Profile and reference the Employee ACL.
13. Click Submit.
14. Repeat the same procedure for the Voice ACL. However, for IP phones, you should check the
Voice Domain Permission authorization check box.
15. Click Submit.
16. Navigate to the Policy > Policy Sets>Authorization Policypage for Employees and IP
phones policy. (Below two policies can be configured using custom policy set or modified
default policy set )
17. Update or create the Employee and IP phone authorization rule as show below and save the
configuration.

Validating ACL Authorization/Low-Impact Mode

18. Log in to ISE.
19. Navigate to Operations > RADIUS: Live Logs.
You will see that both the Employee PC and the IP phones have dACL authorization.
20. Click the Details icon pertaining to an ACL entry.
In the
Result dialog box, you will see individual dACL rules that are downloaded to the
switch.
21. Log in to the switch, and check the authentication sessions.
Note: In IBNS 2.0, most of the authentication commands are converted to

access-session commands. So, show authentication sessions is show
access-session in IBNS 2.0.
c9300-Sw#show access-session interface Gi 1/0/1 details

IIF-ID: 0x1639E95C
IPv4 Address: 172.20.101.3
User-Name: 00-64-40-B5-79-4E
Status: Authorized
Domain: VOICE
Oper control dir: in
Common Session ID: 65FE14AC0000003532D7D09C
Acct Session ID: 0x0000002b
Handle: 0x6800002b
Local Policies:
Idle timeout: 65536 sec
Server Policies:
ACS ACL: xACSACLx-IP-VoiceACL-5aee9aa7
Method status list:

Method State
dot1x Stopped
mab Authc Success
----------------------------------------
IIF-ID: 0x1645C323
IPv4 Address: 172.20.100.10
User-Name: harry
Status: Authorized
Domain: DATA
Common Session ID: 65FE14AC0000003432D7C631
Acct Session ID: 0x0000002a
Handle: 0x7d00002a
Local Policies:
Server Policies:
SGT Value: 4
ACS ACL: xACSACLx-IP-EmployeeAccessACL-5aee9a60
Method status list:

Method State
dot1x Authc Success
Note: The dACL names are appended with session timestamps when
downloaded from ISE.
22. Verify the downloaded ACL on the switch using “show ip access-list” command
c9300-Sw#show ip access-lists | section xACSACLx-IP-
Extended IP access list xACSACLx-IP-EmployeeAccessACL-5aee9a60
1 deny ip any 172.20.199.0 0.0.0.255
2 permit ip any any
Extended IP access list xACSACLx-IP-VoiceACL-5aee9aa7
1 permit ip any 172.20.254.0 0.0.0.255
2 permit ip any 172.20.100.0 0.0.0.255
3 permit ip any 172.20.101.0 0.0.0.255
4 deny ip any any
23. Further you can run platform-specific command to understand which ACLs are applicable for
specific endpoints. In the example below, which is for a Catalyst 9300 switch, you can see
that on GigabitEthernet 1/0/1 interface, any MAC address (0000.0000.0000) is subject to
IPV4_PRE_AUTH_ACL, the IP phone MAC address is subject to IP-Voice-ACL +
IPV4_PRE_AUTH_ACL, and the Employee’s PC is access controlled by EmployeeAccessACL
+ IPV4_PRE_AUTH_ACLs
c9300-Sw#show platform software fed switch 1 acl interface | begin 1/0/1

INTERFACE: GigabitEthernet1/0/1
MAC 0000.0000.0000
########################################################
intfinfo: 0x7fa8fc02cba8
Interface handle: 0xaa000027
Interface Type: Port
IIF ID: 0x8
Input IPv6: Policy Handle: 0x990000b6
Policy Name: sisf v6acl 0001DF9F
CG ID: 16
CGM Feature: [0] acl
Bind Order: 0
Input IPv4: Policy Handle: 0xef00007a

Policy Name: IPV4_PRE_AUTH_ACL
CG ID: 19
CGM Feature: [0] acl
Bind Order: 0
INTERFACE: Client MAC 0064.40b5.794e

MAC 0064.40b5.794e
########################################################
intfinfo: 0x7fa8fc036638
Interface handle: 0xc2000085
Interface Type: Group
IIF ID: 0x1c314c66
Input IPv4: Policy Handle: 0x6a0000ba
Policy Name: IPV4_PRE_AUTH_ACL:xACSACLx-IP-VoiceACL-5aee9aa7:
CG ID: 4880
CGM Feature: [35] acl-grp
Bind Order: 0
INTERFACE: Client MAC 0050.56a7.fa8a

MAC 0050.56a7.fa8a
########################################################
intfinfo: 0x7fa8fc058078
Interface handle: 0xf9000084
Interface Type: Group
IIF ID: 0x1debb70b
Input IPv4: Policy Handle: 0x640000b7
Policy Name: IPV4_PRE_AUTH_ACL:xACSACLx-IP-EmployeeAccessACL-5aee9a60:
CG ID: 4624
CGM Feature: [35] acl-grp

Bind Order: 0
Note: Similar ACL programming information can be obtained on the Catalyst

3650 and 3850 switch platforms by running the show platform acl le privileged
EXEC mode command.
In the other platforms, running the show ip access-list interface <interface-id>

command will provide the cumulative list of ACEs that are applied on a specific
port.

One of the many advantages of using IBNS 2.0 is that it can handle failure scenarios
efficiently. With a few additional tweaks to the previously configured IBNS 2.0
configuration, endpoints that have been authorized previously by ISE can be given the
same level of network access even when the server is not reachable the next time.
The idea is to grant role-based access during critical conditions, instead of applying a
common critical authorization.
Figure20: Critical Authorization in Low-Impact Mode
Cisco IOS Changes for Role-Based Critical

Authorization
In the following procedure, a user role ‘Employees’ is created which is the same name
as Security Group Tag on ISE. When Employee users authenticate the first time, the
user role is downloaded from ISE. Later, when the same users re-connect to the
network when ISE is unreachable, the same network access authorization is applied
locally by the switch.
24. Log in to the switch and configure IP ACL for Employee users.
Note that the ACL rules are the same as the downloadable ACLs configured on
ISE for the Employee user group.
c9300-Sw(config)#ip access-list extended IPV4_EMPLOYEE_CRITICAL_ACL

c9300-Sw(config-ext-nacl)#deny ip any 172.20.199.0 0.0.0.255
c9300-Sw(config-ext-nacl)#permit ip any any
25. Configure a service template that matches the ISE authorization policy results in ISE for the
Employee user group exactly.
c9300-Sw(config)#service-template EMPLOYEE_CRITICAL_AUTH_ACCESS
c9300-Sw(config-service-template)#description ** Policy For Employees during I
c9300-Sw(config-service-template)#access-group IPV4_EMPLOYEE_CRITICAL_ACL
c9300-Sw(config-service-template)#sgt 4
Current ISE policy for the Employee user group
26. Create a class map to match the Employee user role and the AAA down condition.
c9300-Sw(config)#class-map type control subscriber match-all AAA_DOWN_UNAUTHD_
c9300-Sw(config-filter-control-classmap)#match result-type aaa-timeout
c9300-Sw(config-filter-control-classmap)#match authorization-status unauthoriz
c9300-Sw(config-filter-control-classmap)#match user-role Employees
27. Create two class maps that evaluate the critical authorization conditions.
c9300-Sw(config)# class-map type control subscriber match-any IN_CRITICAL_AUTH

c9300-Sw(config-filter-control-classmap)#match activated-service-temp CRITICAL
c9300-Sw(config-filter-control-classmap)#match activated-service-temp DEFAULT_
c9300-Sw(config-filter-control-classmap)#match activated-service-temp EMPLOYEE
c9300-Sw(config-filter-control-classmap)#exit
c9300-Sw(config)#class-map type control subscriber match-none NOT_IN_CRITICAL_

c9300-Sw(config-filter-control-classmap)#match activated-service-temp CRITICAL
c9300-Sw(config-filter-control-classmap)#match activated-service-templ EMPLOYE
28. Either modify the existing policy or create a new policy map to match the differentiated
critical authorization state and apply the new service template when the ISE service is
unavailable for the Employee devices. In this sample procedure, a new policy map is created
in global configuration mode with changes that are minor when compared to the previous
ones. Note the highlighted sections in the following example.
policy-map type control subscriber PORT-AUTH-POLICY

event session-started match-all
10 class always do-until-failure
10 authenticate using dot1x priority 10
event authentication-failure match-first
5 class DOT1X_FAILED do-until-failure
10 terminate dot1x
20 authenticate using mab priority 20
15 class AAA_SVR_DOWN_UNAUTHD_HOST do-until-failure
10 clear-authenticated-data-hosts-on-port
20 activate service-template EMPLOYEE_CRITICAL_AUTH_ACCESS
30 activate service-template DEFAULT_CRITICAL_VOICE_TEMPLATE
40 authorize
50 pause reauthentication
20 class AAA_SVR_DOWN_AUTHD_HOST do-until-failure
20 authorize
30 class DOT1X_NO_RESP do-until-failure
10 terminate dot1x
40 class MAB_FAILED do-until-failure
10 terminate mab
20 authentication-restart 60
10 terminate dot1x
20 terminate mab
event agent-found match-all
10 terminate mab
event aaa-available match-all
10 class IN_CRITICAL_AUTH do-until-failure
10 clear-session
20 class NOT_IN_CRITICAL_AUTH do-until-failure
10 resume reauthentication
event inactivity-timeout match-all
10 clear-session
event authentication-success match-all
event violation match-all

10 activate service-template DEFAULT_LINKSEC_POLICY_SHOULD_SECURE
29. Apply the new policy to the interface.

c9300-Sw(config-template)#description ** Endpoints and Users **
c9300-Sw(config-template)#switchport access vlan 100
c9300-Sw(config-template)#switchport mode access
c9300-Sw(config-template)#switchport voice vlan 101
c9300-Sw(config-template)#authentication periodic
c9300-Sw(config-template)#authentication timer reauthenticate server
c9300-Sw(config-template)#access-session control-direction in
c9300-Sw(config-template)#access-session port-control auto
c9300-Sw(config-template)#mab
c9300-Sw(config-template)#dot1x pae authenticator
c9300-Sw(config-template)#spanning-tree portfast
c9300-Sw(config-template)#no service-policy type control subscriber PORT-AUTH-
c9300-Sw(config-template)#service-policy type control subscriber PORT-AUTH-POL
c9300-Sw(config-template)#end

ISE Authorization with User Role
30. Log in to ISE.

31. Navigate to Policy > Policy Elements > Results.
32. In the left pane, click Authorization > Authorization Profiles.
33. ClickAdd.
34. Create a new authorization profile with Cisco AV Pair: role=<user-role>.
35. Modify the Employee Authorization rule.
36. Authenticate or re-authenticate the Employee user.
c9300-Sw#show access-session interface gigabitEthernet 1/0/1 details

IIF-ID: 0x1E27B669
IPv4 Address: 172.20.100.10
User-Name: harry
User-Role: Employees
Status: Authorized
Domain: DATA
Common Session ID: 65FE14AC0000005A3912107F
Handle: 0xbb000050
Current Policy: PORT-AUTH-POLICY
Local Policies:
Server Policies:
SGT Value: 4
ACS ACL: xACSACLx-IP-EmployeeAccessACL-5aee9a60
Method status list:

Method State
dot1x Authc Succes
The user role is cached on the switch.
Note: In case of empty cache, make sure “device classifier” is enabled.
c9300-Sw#show access-session cache

Access session cache details
----------------------------------------
Device-type:
User-role: Employees
Protocol-map: 00000000
----------------------------------------
<Output truncated>
The IP ACL is applied to the Employee’s session.
c9300-Sw#show ip access-lists xACSACLx-IP-EmployeeAccessACL-5aee9a60

Extended IP access list xACSACLx-IP-EmployeeAccessACL-5aee9a60
1 deny ip any 172.20.199.0 0.0.0.255
2 permit ip any any
Validating Role-Based Critical Authorization

37. Make sure the ISE servers are unreachable from ISE.
c9300-Sw#show aaa servers | include id|State
State: current DEAD, duration 107s, previous duration 555708s
Platform State from SMD: current DEAD, duration 106s, previous duration 5
State: current DEAD, duration 92s, previous duration 555723s
Platform State from SMD: current DEAD, duration 91s, previous duration 55
38. Connect the Employee PC again when the server is unreachable.
You will notice that the switch has applied the same policies that ISE would
apply, but locally, based on the cached user role

IIF-ID: 0x1413C541
IPv4 Address: 172.20.100.10
Status: Authorized
Domain: UNKNOWN
Common Session ID: 65FE14AC0000005C392B1226
Handle: 0x43000052
Local Policies:
Service Template: EMPLOYEE_CRITICAL_AUTH_ACCESS (priority 150)
Filter-ID: IPV4_EMPLOYEE_CRITICAL_ACL
SGT Value: 4
Method status list:

Method State
dot1x Authc Failed
Note: Similar local policies can be configured for other users or device types.
The access-session cache is cleared either when the switch reloads or the endpoint
logoff (EAPOL-Logoff), which typically occurs in most of the operating systems.
Differentiated Authentication with IBNS 2.0

There are scenarios where AAA transactions must be carried out from the same
network device, with distinct groups of RADIUS servers. This is typical in wireless
networks, where configurations can be done on a per SSID basis. However, on the
switch side, such differentiated authentication was not possible until the introduction
of IBNS 2.0. The following are a couple of use cases for differentiated authentication:
Separate MAB and 802.1X transactions–Not a common or recommended practice. Can be

performed if there is a need to separate MAB and 802.1X transactions from the same switch
interface.
Separate RADIUS servers based on switch port–Specific switch ports can be configured
for the IBNS 2.0 policy to talk to separate ISE servers.
Figure21: Differentiated Authentication with IBNS 2.0
Example below briefs you how to modify the switch configuration to perform
differentiated authentication so that specific sets of interfaces on the switch talk to
specific ISE servers.
Switch Configuration for Differentiated Authentication

Global AAA and RADIUS Server Definition
1. Before authoring a policy-map and applying it on the interface, configure the global AAA and
RADIUS parameters to distinguish the two AAA server groups. Define two or more distinct
RADIUS servers in global configuration mode.
radius server ISE01
key ISEisC00L
!
radius server ISE02
key ISEisC00L
!
2. Define two server groups and method lists for AAA in global configuration mode.
aaa group server radius ISE-CUBE-1

server name ISE01
!
aaa group server radius ISE-CUBE-2
server name ISE02
!
aaa authentication dot1x default group radius
aaa authentication dot1x AAA_LIST1 group ISE-CUBE-1
aaa authentication dot1x AAA_LIST2 group ISE-CUBE-2
!
aaa authorization network default group radius
aaa authorization network AAA_LIST1 group ISE-CUBE-1
!
aaa accounting Identity AAA_LIST2 start-stop group ISE-CUBE-2
aaa accounting Identity AAA_LIST1 start-stop group ISE-CUBE-1
!
aaa accounting network AAA_LIST1 start-stop group ISE-CUBE-1
aaa accounting network AAA_LIST2 start-stop group ISE-CUBE-2
!
3. (Optional) Run the below AAA accounting commands to make the switch simultaneously
send accounting records to the first server in each group.
aaa accounting Identity default start-stop broadcast group ISE-CUBE-1 group IS
aaa accounting network default start-stop broadcast group ISE-CUBE-1 group ISE
aaa accounting system default start-stop broadcast group ISE-CUBE-1 group ISE-
4. Define all the individual RADIUS servers as CoA servers.

auth-type any
IBNS 2.0 Policy and Interface Configuration

5. Configure two IBNS 2.0 policies similar to the PORT-AUTH-POLICY(Section: Configuring and
Understanding the IBNS 2.0 Policy – step10) and make the following changes.
policy-map type control subscriber PORT-AUTH-POLICY-CUBE1

10 authenticate using dot1x aaa authc-list ISE-CUBE-1 authz-list ISE-CUBE-1
...
...
10 terminate dot1x
20 authenticate using mab aaa authc-list ISE-CUBE-1 authz-list ISE-CUBE-1 p
...
policy-map type control subscriber PORT-AUTH-POLICY-CUBE2

...
...
10 terminate dot1x
...
6. Configure the interface templates to reference above two policies maps.
template PORT-AUTH-TEMPLATE-CUBE1
description ** Endpoints and Users on Cube-1 ISE **
mab
access-session closed
service-policy type control subscriber PORT-AUTH-POLICY-CUBE1
!
template PORT-AUTH-TEMPLATE-CUBE2
description ** Endpoints and Users on Cube-2 ISE **
mab
service-policy type control subscriber PORT-AUTH-POLICY-CUBE2
7. Source the interface template along with the other interface-specific commands for the
desired ports.
c9300-Sw(config)#interface range GigabitEthernet 1/0/1 - 11
c9300-Sw(config-if-range)#source template PORT-AUTH-POLICY-CUBE1
c9300-Sw(config-if-range)#exit
c9300-Sw(config)#
c9300-Sw(config)#interface range GigabitEthernet 1/0/12 - 22
c9300-Sw(config-if-range)#source template PORT-AUTH-POLICY-CUBE2
c9300-Sw(config-if-range)#exit
Differentiated Authentication for Authentication Methods
8. Here is an example of how to configure an IBNS 2.0 policy for differentiated authentication
for 802.1X and MAB on the same switchport.
policy-map type control subscriber PORT-AUTH-POLICY-DIFF-AUTH

...
...
10 terminate dot1x
...

ISE Authorization Profile for Differentiated dACL
When two or more ISE deployments are managed in an environment and
differentiated authentication is used, certain authorizations from ISE may not work well
because they require communication with specific ISE servers for additional attributes.
For example, when an endpoint is authorized for a downloadable ACL from ISE-
Cube-2, the switch only gets the ACL name in the initial flow. In the second flow, it
needs to download the ACL rules, but because it is not a standard session-start, the
switch will query ISE-Cube-1 for ACEs. If the dACL configurations are not consistent
across the ISE deployments, the authorization fails. The fix is to use an additional
Cisco AV pair in the authorization to inform the switch about which server group to
reach out for additional attributes. The following ISE authorization profile shows the
downloadable ACL and the special AVP.
Note: The Method-List AVP (AAA_LIST1 in the example above) on ISE must match the AAA meth
list on the switch and not the AAA server group:
Identity-Based Network Access in IPv6

Wired Networks
IPv6 is an inevitable future and most of the ISE deployments that are on IPv4 should
be migrated to IPv6 in the future. When it comes to dealing with an ISE-based
solution for a Cisco Catalyst switch in IPv6 networks, the following table compares the
possibilities in contrast to IPv4 networks:
Feature IPV4 IPV6 Network

Network
ISE and Switch Addressing Yes Yes
IPV4/IPV6 device tracking on switch Yes Yes
Network device configuration on ISE Yes Yes
(Starting ISE 2.4)
Open Mode(No Authorization) Yes Yes
Closed Mode(With VLAN assignments) Yes Yes
Low-Impact Mode(With ACL Yes Partial(Limited platform support, no
authorizations) dACL*)
Downloadable ACLs Yes No
URL Redirection Yes No
Security Group Tags Yes Yes
Table7: IBNS 2.0 v4/v6 Feature parity
* Only Filter ID and Per-User ACLs are supported on Catalyst 3650, 3850,
and 9300 platforms.

IPv6 Network Readiness

1. Log in to the ISE console (via SSH if it is enabled) and configure the IPv6 address to the
interface.
ise01/admin# configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
ise01/admin(config)# interface GigabitEthernet 0
ise01/admin(config-GigabitEthernet)# ipv6 enable
ise01/admin(config-GigabitEthernet)# ipv6 address 2001:20:254::21/64
Changing the IPV6 address may result in undesired side effects on

any installed application(s).
Are you sure you want to proceed? Y/N [N]: Y
Stopping ISE Monitoring & Troubleshooting Log Collector...
Stopping ISE Monitoring & Troubleshooting Log Processor...
PassiveID WMI Service is disabled
<Output truncaked>
Note: In a distributed ISE deployment, each Policy Administration Node (PAN) and Policy
Services Node (PSN) must be configured with an IPv6 address.
All the ISE services on a node restart after a new IPv6 address is configured.
2. Log in to the access switch and enable IPv6 unicast routing.

c9300-Sw(config)#ipv6 unicast-routing
3. Verify if there is an IPv6 address for the RADIUS source interface.

c9300-Sw#show running-config interface vlan 254
!
interface Vlan254
ip address 172.20.254.101 255.255.255.0
ipv6 address 2001:20:254::101/64
ipv6 enable
end
Note: Ensure that end-to-end IPv6 routing is configured so that the access
switch can talk to ISE nodes over IPv6.
4. Ensure that the access switch can ping ISE nodes over IPv6.
c9300-Sw#ping ipv6 2001:20:254::21
Type escape sequence to abort.
Sending 5, 100-byte ICMP Echos to 2001:20:254::21, timeout is 2 seconds:
!!!!!
Success rate is 100 percent (5/5), round-trip min/avg/max = 1/1/4 ms
5. In Cisco IOS 16.X, device tracking is common for both IPv4 and IPv6. Ensure that the device-
tracking policy is configured and is applied for the access ports.
c9300-Sw#show running-config | begin device-tracking
no protocol udp
tracking enable
!
Note: On C3650 and C3850 switch platforms running Cisco IOS version earlier than 16.1,
configure the following commands for IPv6 device tracking:
ipv6 neighbor tracking
ipv6 neighbor binding
vlan configuration 100-101
ipv6 nd suppress
ipv6 snooping
ipv6 snooping policy SNOOP-V6
trusted-port
description ** Uplink Port to Distribution Switch **
ipv6 snooping attach-policy SNOOP-v6
ip dhcp snooping trust
Cisco IOS Identity Configurations for IPv6

This section provides information about how the global configuration described in the
Switch Global Configuration Dump for AAA, RADIUS and More in IBNS 2.0 section is
modified for IPv6.
1. Change the RADIUS server configurations from IPv4 to IPv6.

c9300-Sw(config-radius-server)#address ipv6 2001:20:254::21 auth-port 1812 acc
c9300-Sw(config-radius-server)#no address ipv4 172.20.254.21 auth-port 1812 ac
c9300-Sw(config)#
c9300-Sw(config-radius-server)#address ipv6 2001:20:254::22 auth-port 1812 acc
c9300-Sw(config-radius-server)#no address ipv4 172.20.254.22 auth-port 1812 ac
2. Perform similar configuration changes for RADIUS CoA servers.

c9300-Sw(config)#aaa server radius dynamic-author
c9300-Sw(config-locsvr-da-radius)#client 2001:20:254::21 server-key ISEisC00L
c9300-Sw(config-locsvr-da-radius)#client 2001:20:254::22 server-key ISEisC00L
c9300-Sw(config-locsvr-da-radius)#no client 172.20.254.21 server-key ISEisC00L
c9300-Sw(config-locsvr-da-radius)#no client 172.20.254.22 server-key ISEisC00L
c9300-Sw(config-locsvr-da-radius)#end
3. Ensure that the servers are reachable and are marked as Up.
c9300-Sw#show aaa servers | include RADIUS|State
RADIUS: id 1, priority 1, host 2001:20:254::21, auth-port 1812, acct-port 1813
RADIUS: id 2, priority 2, host 2001:20:254::22, auth-port 1812, acct-port 1813
Platform State from SMD: current UP, duration 17s, previous duration 0s

Low-Impact Mode with IPv6 Per-User ACL
1. Configure a pre-authentication IPv6 ACL.
c9300-Sw(config)#ipv6 access-list IPV6_PRE_AUTH_ACL
c9300-Sw(config-ipv6-acl)#permit udp any any eq bootpc
c9300-Sw(config-ipv6-acl)#permit udp any any eq domain
c9300-Sw(config-ipv6-acl)#deny ipv6 any any
IPv6 Pre-authentication ACL is very similar to the IPv4 Pre-Authentication ACL

configuration
c9300-Sw#show ip access-lists IPV4_PRE_AUTH_ACL

Extended IP access list IPV4_PRE_AUTH_ACL
10 permit udp any eq bootpc any eq bootps
20 permit udp any any eq domain
30 deny ip any any
c9300-Sw#show ipv6 access-list IPV6_PRE_AUTH_ACL

IPv6 access list IPV6_PRE_AUTH_ACL
permit udp any eq bootpc any eq bootps sequence 10
permit udp any any eq domain sequence 20
deny ipv6 any any sequence 30
2. Configure a critical ACL.
c9300-Sw(config)#ipv6 access-list IPV6_CRITICAL_ACL
c9300-Sw(config-ipv6-acl)#permit ipv6 any any
IPv6 Critical ACL is very similar to IPv4 Critical ACL configured earlier
c9300-Sw#show ip access-lists IPV4_CRITICAL_ACL

Extended IP access list IPV4_CRITICAL_ACL
10 permit ip any any
3. Add the IPv6 critical ACL in the CRITICAL_AUTH_ACCESS service template
c9300-Sw(config)#service-template CRITICAL_AUTH_ACCESS
c9300-Sw(config-service-template)#access-group IPV6_CRITICAL_ACL
c9300-Sw(config-service-template)#end
c9300-Sw#show running-config | begin service-template
...
service-template CRITICAL_AUTH_ACCESS
description ** Access Policy For IAB **
access-group IPV4_CRITICAL_ACL
access-group IPV6_CRITICAL_ACL
!
4. Apply the pre-authentication ACL on the interface.

c9300-Sw(config-if)#ipv6 traffic-filter IPV6_PRE_AUTH_ACL in
c9300-Sw#show running-config interface GigabitEthernet 1/0/1

!
ip access-group IPV4_PRE_AUTH_ACL in
ipv6 traffic-filter IPV6_PRE_AUTH_ACL in
source template PORT-AUTH-TEMPLATE
end
5. Log in to ISE, and modify the Network Devices configuration for the Catalyst switch to
whitelist on IPv6 address. Navigate to Administration > Network Resources > Network
Devices. Click the specific switch name, and then configure the IPv6 address and save the
configuration.
6. Navigate to Policy > Policy Elements > Results > Authorization > Authorization Profiles
and configure an authorization profile for a Per-User ACL.
Note: Current Cisco IOS & ISE software implementation doesn’t support native
IPv6 dACL’s over RADIUS. Its currently implementation of IPv6 on RADIUS uses
Cisco Vendor Specific Attributes(VSA).
The two rules configured in this sample procedure are:
ipv6:inacl#1=deny ipv6 any 2001:20:199::/64

ipv6:inacl#2=permit ipv6 any any
Note: Apart from Per-User ACL, the other two ACL authorization options for IPv6 currently are
Filter ID and Service Template.
Filter ID Service Template Per-User ACL
(Per Session) (Per Interface) (Per Session)
ACL local to Switch ACL local to Switch ACL download from ISE
IPv4 Yes Yes Yes
RADIUS Filter- Cisco AVP: Cisco AVP:
Attribute/AVP ID=ACL_Name.in “subscriber:service-name= “ip:inacl#1=permit ipany
TEMPLATE_NAME” any”
IPv6 Yes Yes Yes
RADIUS Filter-ID = Cisco AVP: Cisco AVP:
Attribute/AVP ACL_NAME.in.ipv6 “subscriber:service-name= “ipv6:inacl#1=permit ipv6
TEMPLATE_NAME” any any”
7. Reference this Authorization profile as one of the authorization results for the Employee user
group
8. Re-authenticate the Employee workstation and verify IPv6 ACL download and authorization
for the network access session.

IIF-ID: 0x1DD98B5E
IPv6 Address: 2001:20:100:0:4d0d:2a03:cd86:7241
2001:20:100:0:e55d:20e1:8f:d008
fe80::e55d:20e1:8f:d008
IPv4 Address: 172.20.100.13
User-Name: harry
Status: Authorized
Domain: DATA
Common Session ID: 000000000000001142C99F70
Handle: 0x03000007
Server Policies:
SGT Value: 4
ACS ACL: xACSACLx-IP-EmployeeAccessACL-5af1634e
Per-User ACL: Gi1/0/1#v6#1dd98b5e
: deny ipv6 any 2001:20:199::/64
: permit ipv6 any any
Method status list:

Method State
dot1x Authc Success
Deploying 802.1X for High Security

(Closed Mode)
Closed Mode is a more traditional deployment model of 802.1X. In a properly
prepared network, Closed Mode provides total control over switch-level (Layer 2)
network access. This type of deployment is recommended only for environments that
are experienced with 802.1X deployments and have considered all the nuances that
go along with it. Think of this mode as a “deploy with caution” mode.
In Closed Mode, the switchport does not allow traffic except EAP over LAN(EAPoL)
until a successful authentication takes place. No pre-authentication access to DHCP,
DNS, HTTP and PXE boot servers are allowed while authentication is in progress.
Closed Mode is ideal for Vlan-based enforcement since the client does not get an IP
address until successfully authenticated.
Deploying Closed Mode with Vlan Assignment can have a significant impact on
network architecture. Understanding these potential impacts is essentials for
successful deployment of this mode.
Vlan Considerations: Dynamic VLAN assignment requires that every dynamic VLAN
be supported on every access switch to which a user might connect and authenticate.
Hence a good campus design dictate a fewer VLANs which helps in more
manageable and scalable solution.
Granting Limited Access if primary authentication fails: If some level of access is

needed for devices that fail 802.1X authentication, it is possible to configure switch
port to open the port into a special VLAN (the Auth-fail VLAN) or be fall back to MAB
and download a dACL to permit some basic access.
Before transitioning to Closed Mode, you should ensure that all endpoints can
authenticate. All identity store database should be up to date and online.
Building on top of the configurations done in Monitor Mode, a few changes can be
made in the network for restricted network access. The idea is that after you have
understood how endpoints behave in the monitor mode and how to fix failures, you
are ready to move on to understanding controlled network access.
Figure22: Closed Authentication Workflow
Switch Configuration for Closed Mode

2. Write Erase and restore the Monitor-Mode configuration from the backed-up information,
using “configure replace flash:filename”
3. On a per-port basis, disable the open mode configuration, which was explained in the
Configure the Switch for Monitor Mode.
c9300-Sw(config-if)#access-session closed

Critical Authentication
In closed mode, the endpoints do not have network access unless they authenticate
successfully or are given fail open access because of ISE authorization policy. What if
the ISE server itself is unreachable? The best practice recommendation is therefore,
to configure the fail open access locally on the switch.
Use the Inaccessible Authentication Bypass (IAB) feature, also referred to as critical
authentication or the AAA fail policy, when the switch cannot reach the configured
RADIUS servers and new hosts cannot be authenticated. When a new host tries to
connect to the critical port, that host is moved to a user-specified access VLAN, the
critical VLAN. The critical VLAN can be the same as the default VLAN on the port. The
administrator gives limited authentication to the hosts.
Enable the critical voice VLAN feature to allow access to IP phones when the ISE
server is unreachable for its authentication. When traffic coming from the host is
tagged with the voice VLAN, the connected device (the phone) is put in the
configured voice VLAN for the port. The IP phones learn the voice VLAN identification
through CDP (Cisco devices) or through LLDP or DHCP.
4. Create a service template referencing the Critical Vlan & Voice Vlan
c9300-Sw(config)#service-template CRITICAL_AUTH_ACCESS
c9300-Sw(config-service-template)#vlan 100
c9300-Sw(config)#service-template DEFAULT_CRITICAL_VOICE_TEMPLATE
c9300-Sw(config-service-template)#voice vlan
Note: To support inaccessible bypass on multiple-authentication (multi-auth) ports, use the

authentication event server dead action reinitialize vlan VLAN ID. When a new host tries to
connect to the critical port, that port is reinitialized and all the connected hosts are moved to the
user-specified access VLAN. The authentication event server dead action reinitialize vlan <vlan-
id> interface configuration command is supported on all host modes
To reinitialize a session when a previously unreachable ISE server becomes

available, use the below configuration
5. Create two new class maps or edit the existing class map to match the new service template
created in Step 3:
c9300-Sw(config)#class-map type control subscriber match-any IN_CRITICAL_AUTH
c9300-Sw(config-filter-control-classmap)#match activated-service-template CRIT
c9300-Sw(config)#
c9300-Sw(config)#class-map type control subscriber match-none NOT_IN_CRITICAL_
c9300-Sw(config-filter-control-classmap)#match activated-service-template CRIT
6. Ensure that the following class maps exist in the system before configuring a new policy map
for Closed mode:
class-map type control subscriber match-all AAA_SVR_DOWN_AUTHD_HOST

match result-type aaa-timeout
match authorization-status authorized
!
class-map type control subscriber match-all AAA_SVR_DOWN_UNAUTHD_HOST
match result-type aaa-timeout
match authorization-status unauthorized
!
class-map type control subscriber match-all DOT1X
match method dot1x
!
class-map type control subscriber match-all DOT1X_FAILED
match method dot1x
match result-type method dot1x authoritative
!
class-map type control subscriber match-all DOT1X_MEDIUM_PRIO
match authorizing-method-priority gt 20
!
class-map type control subscriber match-all DOT1X_NO_RESP
match method dot1x
match result-type method dot1x agent-not-found
!
class-map type control subscriber match-all DOT1X_TIMEOUT
match method dot1x
match result-type method dot1x method-timeout
!
class-map type control subscriber match-any IN_CRITICAL_AUTH
match activated-service-template CRITICAL_AUTH_ACCESS
match activated-service-template DEFAULT_CRITICAL_VOICE_TEMPLATE
!
class-map type control subscriber match-all MAB
match method mab
!
class-map type control subscriber match-all MAB_FAILED
match method mab
match result-type method mab authoritative
!
class-map type control subscriber match-none NOT_IN_CRITICAL_AUTH
match activated-service-template CRITICAL_AUTH_ACCESS
match activated-service-template DEFAULT_CRITICAL_VOICE_TEMPLATE
!
7. Configure a new policy map in global configuration mode. The highlighted parts in the
example below indicates the additional classes added to the system-generated policy as in
Monitor-mode:
policy-map type control subscriber PORT-AUTH-POLICY-I

10 terminate dot1x
20 activate service-template CRITICAL_AUTH_ACCESS
40 authorize
20 authorize
10 terminate dot1x
10 terminate mab
10 terminate dot1x
20 terminate mab
10 terminate mab
10 clear-session
10 clear-session

Wake-On-LAN
The IEEE 802.1x standard is implemented to block traffic between the
unauthenticated clients and network resources. This means that unauthenticated
clients cannot communicate with any device on the network except the authenticator.
The reverse is true, except for one circumstance, when the port is configured as a
unidirectional controlled port.
Unidirectional State
The IEEE 802.1x standard states that a unidirectional controlled port enables a device
on the network to wake up a client so that the client continues to be reauthenticated.
When you use the authentication control-direction in command to configure the
port as unidirectional, the port changes to the spanning-tree forwarding state, thus
allowing a device on the network to wake the client and force it to reauthenticate.
Bidirectional State
When you use the authentication control-direction both command to configure a

port as bidirectional, access to the port is controlled in both directions. In this state,
the port does not receive or send packets.
(Optional) Allows broadcast traffic from the network to the unauthenticated port. This
assists with the Wake-on-LAN (WoL)) process so that the network management
server can wake up clients on demand. It also assists in the MAB process for certain
types of devices that do not generate much traffic on their own without network
request from another host.
c9300-Sw(config-if)#access-session control-direction in
MAC Limits
Limiting the number of MAC addresses on an 802.1X-enabled port is not a
straightforward process. However, there are a couple of options to achieve MAC limits
to a certain extent:
Host modes–Four host modes can be configured on a port.

Host Mode Number of Endpoints Interface Command
Single Host 1 Voice/Data device access-session host-

(default in IBNS 1.0) mode single-host
Multi-Domain 1 Voice and 1 Data device access-session host-
Authentication (MDA) mode multi-domain
Multi-Host Mode 1 Voice and Unlimited Data access-session host-
(At least one MAC address must mode multi-host
authenticate successfully)
Multi-Auth Mode 1 Voice and Unlimited Data access-session host-

(Each MAC address must mode multi-auth
authenticate)
Table8: Multiple Endpoints per Port
When you opt for restrictive host modes such as single-host mode or multi-
domain authentication host mode, and an authentication violation occurs, for
example, more MAC addresses appearing on the same port, the port will be error
disabled. This might require the immediate attention of the administrator to
remediate the shutdown port state. We, therefore, recommended that you have a
restrictive, yet non-disruptive option to handle authentication violations using
below IBNS 2.0 CLI.
8. Edit the current policy-map to include the authentication violations. The highlighted parts in
the example below indicate the additional configs.
policy-map type control subscriber PORT-AUTH-POLICY-I

10 terminate dot1x
20 activate service-template CRITICAL_AUTH_ACCESS
40 authorize
20 authorize
10 terminate dot1x
10 terminate mab
10 terminate dot1x
20 terminate mab
10 terminate mab
10 clear-session
10 clear-session
event violation match-all

10 restrict
Device-tracking policy-The other option to limit the number of endpoints getting identity-
based services in the device-tracking policy. This policy can be configured to limit the
number of endpoints (IP addresses) being tracked for IP-based services such as dACL/URL-
redirect/SGTs, and so on. This does not limit the number of endpoints from connecting or
authenticating on the port. Use “Limit address-count maximum“CLI under the device-
tracking policy to limit the number of endpoints allowed to use identity-based services.
c9300-Sw(config)#device-tracking policy IPDT_POLICY
c9300-Sw(config-device-tracking)#no protocol udp
c9300-Sw(config-device-tracking)#tracking enable
c9300-Sw(config-device-tracking)#limit address-count 10
c9300-Sw(config-device-tracking)#exit
!
Note: Even though the port-security interface command enforces MAC address limit, it is not
compatible with the authentication/dot1x configurations on the switch port. In general, we
recommend that you do not enable port security when IEEE 802.1x is enabled.
9. Apply the new policy-map to the interface
c9300-Sw(config-template)#no service-policy type control subscriber PORT-AUTH-
c9300-Sw(config-template)#service-policy type control subscriber PORT-AUTH-POL
Interface Configuration for Closed Mode


!
mab
service-policy type control subscriber PORT-AUTH-POLICY-I
end

Authoring Access Policies on ISE
It is always important to have policy goals in mind before configuring ISE access
policies. Figure21 highlights 802.1X authentication workflow, resulting in either basic
access or access to an employee segment depending on a user’s Active Directory
group membership. IP phones are authorized for voice VLAN and the unknown
endpoints are subject to the guest portal. When the ISE servers are unreachable, the
switch authorizes newly connecting endpoints to the critical VLAN, which can be the
same as the default VLAN. The following is a flow chart of the 802.1x authentication
policy, most part of the decision tree and critical authorization is already configured on
the switch, the right-hand side part in terms of 802.1X and MAB authorization policies
must be configured on ISE:
Figure23: 802.1x Authentication flowchart
1. Login to ISE and navigate to Policy > Policy Elements: Results
2. In the left pane, click Authorization > Authorization Profiles.
3. In the Standard Authorization Profiles area, click Add.
4. Create a new Authorization Profile for Employee VLAN result by providing the corresponding
information:
Note: The VLAN name or number that you specify in the Authorization Profile must match the
VLAN name or number configured on the access switch exactly. In this example, a VLAN exists
on the switch name Employees:
c9300-Sw#show vlan brief | inc Employee
150 Employees active
5. Navigate to Policy > Policy Sets
6. You can either create a new policy set or edit the default policy set that comes with the ISE
installation. In this example, the default policy set is taken into consideration. Click the > icon
to expand the default policy set.
7. Expand the default Authorization Policy.
8. Scroll down and create a new rule above the Basic_Authenticated_Access
9. Provide a descriptive name for the policy rule and click the +
10. If you are configuring the policy in ISE for the first time after its installation, a screen tip is
displayed, explaining how to use the Conditions Studio. Click the x
11. In the Editor area, click the field that reads ‘Click to add an attribute’
12. After the Editor options load, click the user group icon and select the ExternalGroups Active
Directory.
13. Configure a condition to match on Active Directory group. In this example, the Employees
Active Directory Group is configured.
14. Click Use.

Note: If you click Save (Conditions Studio > Editor) after you configure a condition, you can
save this condition with an arbitrary name and reuse the condition with that name later for other
authorization policies.
15. To select a Result for the policy created, choose the corresponding “profile” option(in this
case EmployeeVLAN created in step 2)
16. Optionally, you can also add an SGT as an additional authorization result.
17. To adhere to our policy goals as per flowchart on Figure21 , edit the “Default” authorization
policy to fallback to Web Authentication as Tertiary option or as a last resort .
18. Click Save.
Note that for IP phones, a policy rule exists by default. This rule authorizes profiled IP
phones with voice VLAN authorization. Pre-requisites being the IP Phone MAC
address are manually added to the endpoint identity group.
Note: Both Cisco_IP_Phones and Non_Cisco_IP_Phones authorization profiles contain a

PERMIT_ALL_TRAFFIC (permit ip any any) downloadable ACL and cisco-av-pair=device-
traffic-class=voice authorization. The latter Attribute Value Pair (AVP) is necessary to tag the IP
phone into voice VLAN on the switch.
Closed Mode in Action

1. Log in to a Catalyst switch and test AAA authentication using “Test aaa group
radius” CLI .
2. Ensure that the corresponding Active Directory user (a member of the

Employee group) is returned with VLAN authorization.
c9300-Sw#test aaa group radius harry ISEisC00L new-code

User successfully authenticated
USER ATTRIBUTES
username 0 "harry"
tunnel-type 1 13 [vlan]
tunnel-medium-type 1 6 [ALL_802]
tunnel-private-group 1 "Employees"
security-group-tag 0 "0004-0"
3. If you bounce the access port in which the corresponding IP phone and
employee are connected, the new authorization results should be displayed as
below.
c9300-Sw#show access-sesison sessions interface Gi 1/0/1 details

IIF-ID: 0x19E63EED
IPv4 Address: 172.20.150.2
User-Name: harry
Status: Authorized
Domain: DATA
Common Session ID: 65FE14AC0000002D27DEB90F
Handle: 0xd0000023
Current Policy: PORT-AUTH-POLICY-I
Local Policies:
Server Policies:
Vlan Group: Vlan: 150
SGT Value: 4
Method status list:

Method State
dot1x Authc Success
----------------------------------------
IIF-ID: 0x1AABEBEF
IPv4 Address: 172.20.101.3
User-Name: 00-64-40-B5-79-4E
Status: Authorized
Domain: VOICE
Common Session ID: 65FE14AC0000002E27DEBD9D

Handle: 0xf7000024
Local Policies:
Server Policies:
ACS ACL: xACSACLx-IP-PERMIT_ALL_TRAFFIC-57f6b0d3
Method status list:

Method State
dot1x Stopped
mab Authc Success
4. Log in to ISE and navigate to Operations > RADIUS: Live Logs.
You will notice two endpoints being authenticated and authorized.
5. Click the Details icon to view details about the entry.
The Overview dialog box shown below highlights the authorization policy rule
matched and what the end result .
6. If you scroll down to the end of the page, you will see the Result details with
License consumed.
802.1X for Cisco IP Phones

With Multi-Domain Authentication enabled, both the phone and device behind the
phone can authenticate using dot1x. Phones use similar protocols and authenticate
using the same type of credentials as other users and devices that perform 802.1X.
However, there are some specific requirements for preparing the voice network for
authentication of IP phones. These phones must present a password or X.509 digital
certificate to authenticate successfully. IP phones use EAP-MD5 for password
authentication. This is considered weak when compared to other password- based
EAP methods such as Protected EAP (PEAP) or EAP Flexible Authentication via
Secure Tunneling (EAP-FAST). Most Cisco IP phones support authentication via X.509
certificates using the EAP-Transport Layer Security (EAP-TLS) or EAP-FAST methods.
Manufacturing Installed Certificates (MIC) versus Locally Significant

Certificates (LSC)

Cisco IP phones support two types of X.509 certificates: the Manufacturing Installed
Certificates (MICs) and the Locally Significant Certificates (LSCs).
As the name indicates, MICs are the certificates that are preinstalled on IP phones
and cannot be deleted or modified by administrators. The certification pre-installed on
the phones are signed by one of the Cisco Manufacturing Certificate Authorities.
When an IP phone authenticates using MIC, it proves that it is a valid Cisco IP phone;
however, it does not validate if the phone is a company-owned asset. Anyone can
connect a personal device that has a Cisco Manufacturing CA-signed certificate on it
and gain network access.
LSCs on the other hand are administrator installed certificates that are signed by the
Cisco Unified Call Manager. These certificates serve the same purpose as MICs in
terms of authentication, but provide greater security because of their local
significance to a given environment.
Basic Call Manager and Network Settings

The following section covers Cisco IP phone authentication using digital certificates
Call Manager Basic Settings

1. Log in to the Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM).
2. Navigate to System > Cisco Unified CM.
Click Find,the CUCM server loads.
3. Click the corresponding CUCM server listing.
4. Ensure that device and line templates are present, phone numbers are configured, and auto
registration is enabled.
IP Phone CUCM Discovery Configuration

5. Cisco IP phones download the configurations from CUCM over TFTP. They discover the TFTP
server (CUCM) address via DHCP Option 150. Configure your DHCP server to send Option
150 with the CUCM server IP address. The following is an example of the configuration done
in a Windows DHCP server.
For information about the procedure, see the Configuring Windows 2000 DHCP
Server for Cisco CallManager document.
6. By default, the CUCM does not serve the TFTP requests; the services have to be enabled
explicitly. On the top right-hand corner of the CUCM admin window, from the Navigation
drop-down list, choose Cisco Unified Serviceability and click Go.
7. Log in with the CUCM admin credentials and Navigate to Tools > Service Activation.
8. Check the Cisco

CallManager and
Cisco Tftp check
boxes and click Save.
9. Ensure that the phone has open access to the network services or is authorized by ISE for
access to DHCP, DNS, and TFTP services. In the previous example described in Configuring
and Understanding IBNS 2.0 Policy section, the IP phones were MAB-authenticated and a
dACL was applied for the session. Bounce the switch port where the IP phone is connected.
10. Switch to the CUCM admin window by choosing Cisco Unified CM Administration from the
Navigation drop-down list at the top-right corner of the Serviceability window, and click Go.
11. Navigate to Device > Phone and search for the phone on the Find and List Phones Page.
12. Click Find button with default settings. When the phone communicates to the CUCM, it
shows up on Find and List Phones page.
Note: The phone’s status must show Registered with CUCM for the administrator to manage
the phone from the Call Manager. If the status is something else, try Hard Reset the phone to
Registered back to CUCM.
IP Phone Authentication with MIC

After the IP phone is registered with the Call Manager, necessary changes can be
performed in the system to enable 802.1X authentication. For MIC based 802.1X
authentication, the relevant manufacturer CA certificates must be trusted in ISE and
the IP phones must be configured via CUCM to perform 802.1X authentication using
MICs.
This section provides information about how to configure the voice network for MIC
authentication and the changes that are required in ISE to support it.
Certificate Import/Export between CUCM and ISE

1. Log in to the Cisco Unified OS Administration window using with admin
credentials.
2. Navigate to Security > Certificate Management.
3. Click each of the CA certificates listed as CallManager-trust and export them
to your local disk in PEM format. Note that the last three certificates need not be
exported because they are installed by default in Cisco ISE’s trusted CA store.
However, make sure that those certificates exist on ISE.
4. Log in to ISE and Navigate to Administration > System > Certificates.
5. In the left pane, click Trusted Certificates. You will see a list of Root CA
public certificates that are installed on ISE. Notice the three Cisco Manufacturer
certificates you could see in CUCM as in Step 3.
6. Select the disabled ones and click Edit to change the Status to Enabled and
Click Save
7. Enable the other Disabled CA certificates .
8. To import the other root CA certificates that are exported from CUCM, click
Import in the Trusted Certificates area.
9. Upload the CA certificate, give it a name and description, and save it with
default settings.
10. If the certificate has weaker key strength or an outdated algorithm, a warning
message is shown. If it is permissible in the given environment to use such
certificates, click Yes and proceed.
11. Repeat the certificate import procedure for all the exported certificates.
ISE Authorization Policy for MIC Authentication

12. Navigate to the corresponding ISE authorization policy and create a new
authorization rule for IP phones with certificates.
13. Click the + button for conditions and in the condition Editor window, click the
field that states Click to add an attribute and Click the user icon and Select
CERTIFICATE Subject – Common Name.
14. Define a condition to match such that CERTIFICATE Subject – Common

Name contains SEP.
15. Click the New button to add another condition to match CERTIFICATE Issuer
– Organization
16. Define the second condition to match such that CERTIFICATE Issuer –
Organization contains Cisco
17. Click Use When the conditions matches the snapshot provide below.
18. Add the voice permission that has Voice Domain Permission(Select the
Results Profiles with dACL_Voice in this procedure) and save the configurations.

Enabling 802.1X on IP Phones
19. Log in to CUCM and navigate to Device > Phone
20. Use the Find field to locate a specific registered phone and click a name from
the list that is displayed under Device Name (Line)
21. Use the Find field to locate a specific registered phone and click a name from
the list that is displayed under Device Name (Line)
22. Scroll down the Product Specific Configuration Layout until you see 802.1x
Authentication. Enable it,
click Save, and then click Apply Config at the top of the window
23. The IP phone in the network should now authenticate 802.1x. If you log in to
the switch, you can see the session information.
c9300-Sw#show access-session
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gi1/0/1 0064.40b5.794e dot1x VOICE Auth 00000000000000
Gi1/0/1 0050.56a7.fa8a dot1x DATA Auth 00000000000000
<Output trunckated>
24. The session details display additional information about the phone’s network
access session:
c9300-Sw#show access-session mac 0064.40b5.794e details

IIF-ID: 0x15656B9D
IPv4 Address: 172.20.101.3
User-Name: CP-9971-SEP006440b5794e
Status: Authorized
Domain: VOICE
Common Session ID: 000000000000005A4656E5C5
Handle: 0x41000050
Server Policies:
ACS ACL: xACSACLx-IP-VoiceACL-5af16326
Method status list:

Method State
dot1x Authc Success
mab Stopped
25. To view the new session status on ISE, Navigate to Operations > RADIUS >
Live Logs
26. Click on the Details Icon to see that the IP phone is 802.1X authenticated and
is authorized with a dACL
27. Scroll further down the page to view the certificate details.
Note: To enable 802.1X across all the IP phones, specific models or locations, use the Bulk
Administration option in CUCM.
IP Phone Authentication with LSC

You do not require MIC to be configured in the voice network, IP Phones can be
authenticated with LSC. However, since MIC is quick and is an easy option to enable
authenticated network access to phones, most enterprises tend to start with MIC and
move to LSC. This section explains how to build on the previous configurations to
install LSC on IP phones and authenticate them.
Certificate Authority Proxy Function (CAPF) Service Enablement
28. Log in to the Cisco Unified Serviceability tool with admin credentials.
29. Navigate to Tools > Service Activation.
30. Activate the Cisco Certificate Authority Proxy Function service.
31. After the CAPF service is enabled, restart the TFTP service so that the IP
phones can download the LSCs. To restart, navigate to Tools > Control Center
Feature Services.
32. Click the Cisco Tftp service radio button.
33. Click Restart to reinitialize the TFTP service.
CAPF Certificate Import to ISE

34. Log in to the Cisco Unified OS Administration tool with admin credentials
35. After log in, navigate to Security > Certificate Management.
36. Export the CAPF Root CA certificate to your local system. (The certificate title
has only CAPF in it.)
37. Log in to ISE and Navigate to Administration > System > Certificates >
Trusted Certificates.
38. In the left pane, navigate to Certificate Management > Trusted Certificates,
and click Import.
39. Import the CAPF Root CA certificate with default settings.
40. After the certificate is installed, select it by checking the corresponding check
box, and click View.
41. The certificate is locally signed by the CUCM and the organization name with
your specific company name. Make a note of the organization name and close the
certificate view window.
42. Modify the ISE authorization policy to authenticate IP phones on an LSC

instead of an MIC.
Installing an LSC on IP Phones

43. Log in to the CUCM Administration window with admin credentials
44. Navigate to Device > Phone.
45. Use the Find field to locate a specific phone or click the corresponding phone
name under Device Name (Line)
46. In the CAPF Information section, from the Certificate Operation drop-down
list, choose Install/Upgrade.
From the Authentication Mode drop-down list, choose one of the following
options depending on the settings in your environment. In this procedure, the By
Null String option is used.
Option Description
By Authentication String Installs LSC with a passcode that needs

to be keyed in locally in the IP phone.
By Null String Installs LSC without authentication.
By Existing Certificate Useful when a new LSC needs to be

(precedence to LSC) installed on an IP phone that already has
preinstalled LSCs.
By Existing Certificate Authenticates the IP phone with MIC to

(precedence to MIC) install an LSC.
47. Click Save and then Apply Config for the changes to take effect.
48. Navigate to Device > Phone, locate the IP phones, and then click the +
button.
49. Define a new condition to list phone on LSC issued By option from the newly
created search filter and then click Find. If the LSC installation is in progress, you
will see that the LSC Status is Operation Pending.
50. Upon upgrade completion, LSC Status changes from Operation Pending to
Upgrade Success .
Note: To deploy LSC at scale, use the Bulk Administration option in CUCM.
NEAT with Interface Templates

Overview
Most of the enterprise customers are using 802.1x based admission control for
securing the network. Majority of these deployments were focused on implementing
user-based admission control to authenticate the users before they gain network
access where a PC or IP-phone acts as a supplicant and the switch acts an
authenticator. However, there is also a need to implement device-based admission
control for tighter security because there are deployment scenarios where a switch
acting as 802.1X authenticator is placed in an unsecured location. For example,
compact switch placed outside wiring closet can potentially be swapped with hacker
devices to gain access to the network, compromising network security. This creates a
requirement whereby an edge switch (Supplicant) is required to authenticate itself
against upstream switch (Authenticator).
Network Edge Authentication Topology (NEAT) offers secure extension of the Layer 2
network beyond the wiring closet. It ensures that a supplicant switch (compact switch
outside the wiring closet) is allowed access to the network only if it authenticates
successfully. For more information on the NEAT click here. This document covers the
NEAT configurations with IOS Interface-templates.
Figure24: NEAT Network Topology
NEAT feature enables extended secure access in areas outside the wiring closet
(such as conference rooms). 802.1x supplicant switch acts as a supplicant to another
switch by using the 802.1X supplicant feature for secure connectivity. Once the
supplicant switch authenticates successfully, RADIUS servers sends down Cisco AV
Pair attributes along with ACCESS-ACCEPT to the Authenticator switch.
The following scenario with the Topology above depicts an overview of typical
solution: -
1. The Supplicant switch located in unsecured location first authenticates with wiring closet
or distribution Authenticator Switch. The Authenticator contacts RADIUS server and
receives an authentication success message with Cisco AV-Pair Value specifying
“device-traffic-OR “interface-template-name= …” depending on the type of
authorization profile selected on RADIUS Server.
2. On successful authentication the downlink port on Authenticator Switch is opened in the

single-host mode (by default) or multi-host, multi-auth/MDA (if explicitly specified) and
Authenticator Switch will initially allow only a single MAC (Supplicant Switch MAC that
got authenticated), thus extends a trust model.
3. The switch auto-config/Interface template is applied on the Authenticator port to change

the port mode to TRUNK up receiving the Cisco AV-Pair attributed from the RADIUS
Server.
4. Authenticator switch now trusts the Supplicant switch and network access is granted for
switch and all the clients behind the Supplicant Switch.
5. Supplicant switch triggers a CISP update to the Authenticator switch when a user’s/host
connect/disconnect network to add/remove MAC Address from the database.

NEAT with Macros/Interface-Template
As explained before, when a Supplicant Switch successfully authenticates, the
RADIUS Server sends down Cisco AV Pair “device-traffic-along with
ACCESSACCEPT to the Authenticator switch. The authenticator switch then changes
the port configuration from access to “trunk-mode” with the help of a built-in macro.
The current macro based NEAT solution has two limitations:
1. The macros modify the interface running configuration. When a Supplicant Switch is
authenticated, if a script or administrator saves the running-config on the Authenticator
Switch, then on a power cycle the default port configuration would be lost.
2. If the admin prefers to make modifications to the default macro, it can’t be done. For this
purpose, an ASP macro must be configured on the ASw and ISE must be configured to
authorize the supplicant with the “ASP macro name” along with the custom Cisco AVP for
NEAT.
The solution to this problem is to use the interface-templates instead of macros for
port configuration related changes.
Interface template is a port configuration container that can be applied to a specific

interface or a user’s network access session. Almost all the interface specific
commands can be configured under the “template” and then either manually applied
on the port (with “source template” interface command) or can be applied
dynamically on the port, based on either device discovery (AutoConf, similar to
AutoSmartPorts) or via RADIUS authorization. One of the major advantages of
interface templates is that the running-configuration will have a fixed configuration,
where the interface specific (active) configuration will be placed under a separate
runtime memory. The configuration that is currently applied on a physical interface
can be seen with the “show derived-config interface <interface>” exec command.
Interface templates are supported from Cisco IOS 15.2(2)E / XE 03.06.00E.
Particulars NEAT with Macros NEAT with Interface Template

Supplicant EAP Methods All methods (MD5, All methods (MD5, PEAP, EAP-
PEAP, EAP-TLS) TLS)
CISP for MAC notification Yes Yes
Cisco AVP device-traffic- interface-template-name=
class=switch <name>
Supplicant switch authorization Yes No
modifies running-config on ASw
Modifying post-authc interface With additional ASP Modify the original authorization
configuration Macro template referenced by ISE
Table9: Macro Neat and Neat with Interface Template

Comparison

Configuring NEAT with Interface templates
Configuring AAA & Radius on Authenticator and Supplicant switch
1. Log in to Authenticator and Supplicant switch and execute/verify the below
basic authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) configurations.
aaa new-model
!
radius server ISE01
key ISEisC00L
!
radius server ISE02
key ISEisC00L
!
dot1x system-auth-control
dot1x critical eapol
!
!
server name ISE01
server name ISE02
!
!
client 172.20.254.22 server-key ISEisC00L!
!
Authenticator Switch Configurations

2. Enable CISP Framework.
c9300-Sw(config)#cisp enable
The Client Information Signaling Protocol (CISP) is a layer 2 control plane protocol
used to transport the MAC addresses of the hosts (both authenticated MAC and
MAC learnt by normal learning) from a Supplicant Switch to an Authenticator
Switch. CISP uses CDP address (Cisco Reserved Multicast Address) as a
destination MAC Address and frames are generated only by Supplicant Switch to
which Authenticator switches acts as a responder to the received frames.
3. Configure downlink port as access port with dot1x authentication
description ** Downlink to supplicant switch **
spanning-tree portfast trunk
spanning-tree bpduguard disable
4. Configure interface-template which can be referenced later by ISE as part of

the authorization policy.
template neat-authz
switchport trunk native vlan 254
switchport mode trunk
Supplicant Switch Configurations

The subsequent sections describe details of the configurations required for
performing NEAT on Supplicant Switch.
5. Enable 802.1X globally on the switch to authenticate device connected, use

the dot1x system-auth-control command in global configuration mode.
c9300-Sw(config)#dot1x system-auth-control
6. Configure switch to force sending only multicast EAPOL packets when it

receives either unicast or multicast packets, which allows NEAT to work on the
supplicant switch in all host modes & enable CISP framework globally.
c9300-Sw(config)#dot1x supplicant force-multicast
c9300-Sw(config)#cisp enable
7. Configure EAP mode & credentials used by supplicant switch to authenticate

itself to authenticator switch.
Note: In this configuration example EAP-MD5 is used as the EAP method

between the supplicant switch and ISE. However NEAT supplicants support many
other EAP methods. “show eap registrations” EXEC command tells the EAP
support on the supplicant switch
c3560CX-Sw(config)#eap profile eap-md5

c3560CX-Sw(config-eap-profile)# description PEAP-MD5 Supplicant
c3560CX-Sw(config-eap-profile)# method md5
c3560CX-Sw(config)#dot1x credentials eap-md5-cred

c3560CX-Sw(config-dot1x-creden)# username ssw01
c3560CX-Sw(config-dot1x-creden)# password 0 cisco@123
c3560CX-Sw(config-dot1x-creden)# anonymous-id ssw01
8. The connection of the supplicant to the authenticator is already configured to

be a trunk port (in contrast to access port configuration on the authenticator). At
this stage, this is expected; configuration on the authenticator will dynamically
change when the ISE returns the correct attribute
c3560CX-Sw(config)#interface TenGigabitEthernet1/0/8
c3560CX-Sw(config-if) description ** Upstream Authenticator switch **
c3560CX-Sw(config-if) switchport trunk native vlan 254
c3560CX-Sw(config-if) switchport mode trunk
c3560CX-Sw(config-if) dot1x pae supplicant
c3560CX-Sw(config-if) dot1x credentials eap-md5-cred
c3560CX-Sw(config-if) dot1x supplicant eap profile eap-md5
c3560CX-Sw(config-if) spanning-tree portfast edge
| configure the downlink port that connects to the endpoints..

c3560CX-Sw(config)#interface GigabitEthernet1/0/1
c3560CX-Sw(config-if) switchport access vlan 100
c3560CX-Sw(config-if) switchport mode access
c3560CX-Sw(config-if) switchport voice vlan 101
c3560CX-Sw(config-if) authentication periodic
c3560CX-Sw(config-if) authentication timer reauthenticate server
c3560CX-Sw(config-if) access-session host-mode single-host
c3560CX-Sw(config-if) access-session port-control auto
c3560CX-Sw(config-if) mab
c3560CX-Sw(config-if) dot1x pae authenticator
c3560CX-Sw(config-if) dot1x timeout tx-period 7
c3560CX-Sw(config-if) dot1x max-reauth-req 3
c3560CX-Sw(config-if) spanning-tree portfast edge
c3560CX-Sw(config-if) service-policy type control subscriber POLICY_Gi1/0/1
ISE configuration for NEAT with Interface-template

ISE needs to be configured with the user identity and policies to authenticate and
authorize the NEAT supplicant. Follow these steps:
9. Add Supplicant Switch to the appropriate group. Navigate to Administration >

Network Resources > Network Devices, and click Add.

10. Create NEAT Switch User Account and add the user to NeatSupplicants
group. Navigate to Administration > Identity Management > identities, and
click Add.
11. Enable the required authentication protocols. Navigate to Policy > Results >
Authentication > Allowed protocols, select the protocol service list used by
wired dot1x, and ensure the protocols in this step are enabled.
12. Create a new Authorization Profile and reference the interface-template.

Navigate to Policy > Policy Elements > Results > Authorization Profiles and
click Add
Note: On ISE, one major difference between traditional NEAT and “NEAT with
Interface-template” configuration, is that the authorization profile for the former is
Cisco AVP “device-traffic-whereas for the later it is “interface-template-name=
<name>”.
13. Navigate to the Policy > Policy Sets >Authorization Policy page and add
new policies as showing below and save the configuration.
Validating NEAT
Use this section to confirm that your configuration works properly. This section
describes two behaviors:
Authentication between switches

Authentication between the Windows PC and the supplicant
Once authentication and authorization succeed, the CISP exchange occurs. Each
exchange has a REQUEST, which is sent by the supplicant, and a RESPONSE, which
serves as a reply and acknowledgment from the authenticator.
Two distinct exchanges are performed: REGISTRATION and ADD_CLIENT. During the
REGISTRATION exchange, the supplicant informs the authenticator that it is CISP-
capable, and the authenticator then acknowledges this message. The ADD_CLIENT
exchange is used to inform the authenticator about devices connected to the
supplicant's local port. As with REGISTRATION, ADD-CLIENT is initiated on the
supplicant and acknowledged by the authenticator.
Supplicant Switch Authentication to Authenticator Switch

In this example, the supplicant authenticates to the authenticator. The steps in the
process are
The supplicant is configured and plugged into port Te1/0/1. The dot1x exchange causes the
supplicant to use EAP in order to send a pre-configured username and password to the
authenticator.
The authenticator performs a RADIUS exchange and provides credentials for ISE validation.
If the credentials are correct, the ISE returns attributes required by NEAT (“interface-
template-name=), and the authenticator changes its switchport mode from access to trunk.
Communication from the supplicant
2018/12/01 01:09:26.873 {smd_R0-0}{1}: [epm-tunnel] [22503]: UUID: 0, ra: 0, TID: 0 (ERR):
2018/12/01 01:09:26.872 {smd_R0-0}{1}: [radius] [22503]: UUID: 0, ra: 0, TID: 0 (debug):

RADIUS/DECODE: parse unknown cisco vsa "profile-name=Unknown" - IGNORE
2018/12/01 01:09:26.872 {smd_R0-0}{1}: [radius-authen] [22503]: UUID: 0, ra: 0, TID: 0 (deb
2018/12/01 01:09:26.872 {smd_R0-0}{1}: [radius] [22503]: UUID: 0, ra: 0, TID: 0 (debug): RA
2018/12/01 01:09:26.872 {smd_R0-0}{1}: [radius] [22503]: UUID: 0, ra: 0, TID: 0 (info): RAD

RADIUS: 00 46 b6 01 a1 60 74 8a 1f 9c 12 f7 35 65 ed 09 [ F`t5e]

RADIUS: 03 52 00 04 [ R]


RADIUS: 43 41 43 53 3a 30 35 30 32 41 38 43 30 30 30 30 [CACS:0502A8C0000]


RADIUS: 52 65 61 75 74 68 53 65 73 73 69 6f 6e 3a 30 35 [ReauthSession:05]

RADIUS: 33 37 43 50 4d 53 65 73 73 69 6f 6e 49 44 3d 30 [37CPMSessionID=0^@]

RADIUS: 99 57 5f 79 e9 0a 25 a6 89 fc 5a ad 9b d9 7c 1d [ W_y?Z|]
RADIUS: 02 52 00 16 04 10 d1 fa e0 c1 cc b9 67 4b ba 88 bd a1 08 72 a4 db [
In order to verify behavior on the authenticator, enter the below show

cisp command:
c9300-Sw#show cisp summary

CISP is running on the following interface(s):
----------------------------------------------
Te1/0/1 (Authenticator)
c9300-Sw#show cisp interface te1/0/1

CISP Status for interface Te1/0/1
-------------------------------------
Version: 1
Mode: Authenticator
Peer Mode: Supplicant
Auth State: Idle
c9300-Sw#show cisp clients

Authenticator Client Table:
------------------------
MAC Address VLAN Interface
---------------------------------
2cab.eba8.4fc2 200 Te1/0/1
In the example above, the role of authenticator is correctly assigned to the correct
interface (Te1/0/1) and Vlan 200 MAC address is registered.
Verification of dot1x authentication session indicate Te1/0/1 port already

authenticated. This is the dot1x exchange that is triggered where supplicant
switch is plugged in.
c9300-Sw#show dot1x interface tenGigabitEthernet 1/0/1 det

Dot1x Info for TenGigabitEthernet1/0/1
--------------------------------------------
PAE = AUTHENTICATOR
QuietPeriod = 60
ServerTimeout = 0
SuppTimeout = 30
ReAuthMax = 2
MaxReq = 2
TxPeriod = 30
Dot1x Authenticator Client List

-------------------------------
EAP Method = MD5
Supplicant = 2cab.eba8.4f88
Session ID = 0502A8C000000133675DCDD3
Auth SM State = AUTHENTICATED
Auth BEND SM State = IDLE
c9300-Sw#show authentication sessions int te1/0/1 det

Interface: TenGigabitEthernet1/0/1
IIF-ID: 0x1AE7F215
MAC Address: 2cab.eba8.4f88
User-Name: ssw01
Device-type: Cisco-Switch
Status: Authorized
Domain: DATA
Common Session ID: 0502A8C000000133675DCDD3
Handle: 0xc40000dd
Local Policies:
Service Template: DEFAULT_LINKSEC_POLICY_SHOULD_SECURE (priority 150)
Security Policy: Should Secure
Server Policies:
Interface Template: neat-authz
c3560CX-Sw#sh int te1/0/8

TenGigabitEthernet1/0/8 is up, line protocol is up (connected)
Hardware is Ten Gigabit Ethernet, address is 2cab.eba8.4f88 (bia 2cab.eba8.4f88)
The interface on the authenticator is configured as access port prior to

authentication and derived interface configs after supplicant authentication.
c9300-Sw#sh running-config int te1/0/1


!
interface TenGigabitEthernet1/0/1
end
c9300-Sw#sh derived-config int tenGigabitEthernet 1/0/1


!
interface TenGigabitEthernet1/0/1
switchport trunk native vlan 200
switchport mode trunk
end

Windows PC Authentication to Supplicant Switch

In this example, the Windows PC authenticates to the supplicant. The steps in the
process are:
The Windows PC is plugged into Gi1/0/1interface on c3560CX-Sw (the supplicant).

The supplicant performs authentication and authorization with the ISE.
The supplicant informs the authenticator that a new client is connected on the port.
Dec 3 21:32:28.187: %ILPOWER-5-POWER_GRANTED: Interface Gi1/0/1: Power granted

Dec 3 21:32:32.273: %LINK-3-UPDOWN: Interface GigabitEthernet1/0/1, changed state
Dec 3 21:32:33.276: %LINEPROTO-5-UPDOWN: Line protocol on Interface GigabitEthern
Dec 3 21:32:33.276: CISP-EVENT (Gi1/0/1): Received action Link UpDown
Dec 3 21:32:33.276: CISP-EVENT (Gi1/0/1): Authenticator received event Link UP in
Dec 3 21:32:35.754: CISP-EVENT (Gi1/0/1): Received action Add Client
Dec 3 21:32:35.754: CISP-EVENT (Gi1/0/1): Adding client 0050.56a3.9670 (vlan: 100
Dec 3 21:32:35.754: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): Supplicant received event Add Client in
Dec 3 21:32:35.754: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): Adding client 0050.56a3.9670 (vlan: 100
Dec 3 21:32:35.754: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): Adding client 0050.56a3.9670 (vlan: 100
Dec 3 21:32:35.754: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): ADD CLIENT req full
Dec 3 21:32:35.754: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): Transmitting a CISP Packet
Dec 3 21:32:35.754: CISP-TXPAK (Te1/0/8): Code:REQUEST ID:0x60 Length:0x0029 T
Dec 3 21:32:35.754: Payload: 010011020009005056A396700300050 ...
Dec 3 21:32:35.758: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): Started 'retransmit' timer (30s)
Dec 3 21:32:35.758: CISP-EVENT: Started CISP tick timer
Dec 3 21:32:35.758: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): Supplicant state changed to Request
Dec 3 21:32:35.988: CISP-RXPAK (Te1/0/8): Code:RESPONSE ID:0x60 Length:0x0018
Dec 3 21:32:35.988: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): Supplicant received event Receive Packe
Dec 3 21:32:35.988: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): Stopped 'retransmit' timer
Dec 3 21:32:35.988: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): All Clients implicitly ACKed
Dec 3 21:32:35.988: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): Supplicant state changed to Idle
Dec 3 21:32:36.436: CISP-EVENT (Gi1/0/1): Received action Add Client
Dec 3 21:32:36.436: CISP-EVENT (Gi1/0/1): Adding client 000e.d72e.460b (vlan: 101
Dec 3 21:32:36.436: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): Supplicant received event Add Client in
Dec 3 21:32:36.436: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): Adding client 000e.d72e.460b (vlan: 101
Dec 3 21:32:36.436: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): Adding client 000e.d72e.460b (vlan: 101
Dec 3 21:32:36.436: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): ADD CLIENT req full
Dec 3 21:32:36.439: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): Transmitting a CISP Packet
Dec 3 21:32:36.439: CISP-TXPAK (Te1/0/8): Code:REQUEST ID:0x61 Length:0x0029 T
Dec 3 21:32:36.439: Payload: 010011020009000ED72E460B0300050 ...
Dec 3 21:32:36.439: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): Started 'retransmit' timer (30s)
Dec 3 21:32:36.439: CISP-EVENT: Started CISP tick timer
Dec 3 21:32:36.439: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): Supplicant state changed to Request
Dec 3 21:32:36.988: CISP-RXPAK (Te1/0/8): Code:RESPONSE ID:0x61 Length:0x0018
Dec 3 21:32:36.988: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): Supplicant received event Receive Packe
Dec 3 21:32:36.988: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): Stopped 'retransmit' timer
Dec 3 21:32:36.988: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): All Clients implicitly ACKed
Dec 3 21:32:36.988: CISP-EVENT (Te1/0/8): Supplicant state changed to Idle
An ADD_CLIENT exchange occurs, but no REGISTRATION exchange is needed. In

order to verify behavior on the supplicant, enter the show cisp
registrations command:
c3560CX-Sw#show cisp registrations

Interface(s) with CISP registered user(s):
------------------------------------------
Gi1/0/1
Auth Mgr (Authenticator)
Te1/0/8
802.1x Sup (Supplicant)
c9300-Sw#show cisp clients

Authenticator Client Table:
------------------------
MAC Address VLAN Interface
---------------------------------
2cab.eba8.4fc2 200 Te1/0/1
000e.d72e.460b 101 Te1/0/1
0050.56a3.9670 100 Te1/0/1
c3560CX-Sw#show access-session int g1/0/1

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Gi1/0/1 0050.56a3.9670 dot1x DATA Auth AC11010200000072161463FF
c3560CX-Sw#show access-session int g1/0/1 details

MAC Address: 0050.56a3.9670
IPv4 Address: 10.100.100.8
User-Name: Bob
Device-type: VMWare-Device
Status: Authorized
Domain: DATA
Oper host mode: single-host
Restart timeout: N/A
Periodic Acct timeout: 172800s (local), Remaining: 172226s
Common Session ID: AC11010200000072161463FF
Handle: 0xDB00004A
Local Policies:
Service Template: DEFAULT_LINKSEC_POLICY_SHOULD_SECURE (priority 150)
Security Policy: Should Secure
Security Status: Link Unsecure
Server Policies:
Vlan Group: Vlan: 100
SGT Value: 4
Method status list:

Method State
dot1x Authc Success

mab Stopped
Log in to ISE web User Interface (UI) and navigate to Operations > RADIUS >
Live Logs.
Operate
The Operate section provides a comprehensive identity solution for all Cisco ISE run-
time services. The Monitoring component provides a real-time presentation of
meaningful data representing the state of access activities on a network. The
Troubleshooting component provides contextual guidance for resolving access issues
on networks.
Operating ISE
Operating the ISE Session Table
The monitoring component on ISE describes how to use the RADIUS Live Log to view
all the RADIUS authentication logs and how to get details about a specific entry in the
log table. This section covers some important operations that can be performed under
RADIUS live sessions.
1. Log in to ISE.
2. Navigate to Operations > RADIUS > Live Sessions.
All the active sessions on the network which are controlled by ISE are displayed.
3. Click the Target icon next to Show CoA Actions to view a list of CoA actions
that can be performed on a specific endpoint. For information about the list of
CoA actions ,refer to Change Authorization for Radius Sessions
4. Click Gear icon to understand the license information of a live session.
5. Check the License Type and License Details check boxes, and click Go.
License information about the sessions are displayed when you scroll to the right-
hand side of the Live Sessions window.
Note: Live sessions cannot be deleted from the ISE user interface. CoA Session Termination will
current active session, however, the entry still persists in the session table. In order to clear the en
cached session table, perform the below REST API call to ISE:
DELETE: https://<ISE_PAN_IP_Address>/admin/API/mnt/Session/Delete/All
Alternatively, perform a get function to gather the calling station IDs for all the active s
selectively delete them one by one using the following session API:
GET: https://<ISE_PAN_IP_Address>/admin/API/mnt/Session/AuthList/null/
DELETE:
https://<ISE_PAN_IP_Address>/admin/API/mnt/Session/Delete/MACAddress/<calling
ISE AAA Reports

Use the ISE operational reports to track endpoint and ISE deployment-related
activities over time.
1. Log in to ISE.
2. Navigate to Operations > Reports.
3. In the left pane, navigate to Reports > Endpoints and Users > Authentication
Summary.
4. By default, report for current data is generated and displayed. To change the
report period, click the Today drop-down list.
On the same Authentication Summary window, statistics about the ISE

deployment’s performance is displayed.

Note: The other AAA-related reports include:

Current Active Sessions
RADIUS Accounting
RADIUS Authentications
Rejected Endpoints
Top Authorizations by Endpoints
Top Authorizations by Users
Top N Authentication by Access Service
Top N Authentication by Failure Reason
Top N Authentication by Network Device
Top N Authentication by User
The Top N Authentication by Failure Reason provides information about the top
authentication failures in the network.
The Top N Authentication by Network Device report provides information about

which network devices have what percent of failure rates.
Troubleshooting
The following sections addresses several troubleshooting information that are related
to identifying and resolving problems that you may experience when you use Cisco
ISE & Cisco Catalyst Switches.
Cisco IOS Troubleshooting

Some of the Cisco IOS show and debug commands that help you understand and
troubleshoot ISE operations are:
show running-config aaa - Displays AAA configuration in the running configuration.

show authentication sessions/show access-session – Displays current authentication
manager sessions like interface, mac, method, session-id & status.
show dot1x all – Displays 802.1x status for all interfaces
show aaa servers – Displays status and number of packets that are sent to and received
from all AAA servers.
show device-sensor cache all – Displays Protocol, Name/Len/Value of TLVfor the cached
entries
show device-tracking database – Displays entries in the ip device tracking table.
show platform hardware fed switch active fwd-asic resource tcam utilization – Displays
device-specific hardware resource usage information
show platform software fed switch active acl usage – Displays number of ACL entries
used for different ACL feature types
Operation Sequence Overview

The high-level functional sequence in Figure 25 shows how the components and
protocols of 802.1x work together.
Figure25: High-level 802.1x Sequence
Starting 16.x IOS XE, tracing functionality logs internal events where trace files are
automatically created and saved to the trace logs subdirectory.
The Contents of trace files are useful for troubleshooting & Debugging operations. To
modify the trace level to increase or decrease the amount of trace messages output
(Default set to NOTICE) you can set a new trace level using the set platform
software trace command.
set platform software trace smd switch active R0 aaa-authen debug

set platform software trace smd switch active R0 radius debug
set platform software trace smd switch active R0 dot1x debug
set platform software trace smd switch active R0 epm debug
set platform software trace smd switch active R0 mab debug
set platform software trace smd switch active R0 eap debug
To view the trace levels for respective module under a specific process (Session
Manager process/smd), use the show platform software trace level command
show platform software trace level smd switch active R0
To view the most recent trace information, use the show platform software trace
message command
show platform software trace message smd switch active R0

Refer to attachment below for the sample trace captures for dot1x success and
Failed sessions and major events are highlighted in bold..
ISE Troubleshooting
See the following links for details on ISE troubleshooting:
How To: Troubleshoot ISE Failed Authentications & Authorizations
Troubleshoot and Enable Debugs on ISE
Troubleshooting Cisco's ISE without TAC
Troubleshooting TechNotes
Identity Services Engine (ISE)
 802.1x access deployment dot1x guide ibns ibns_2.0 ios ise

prescriptive radius secure_access switching wired
 dot1x-success-debug.pdf 
192 KB
dot1x-fail_mab-success-debug.pdf 

76 KB
 181 Helpful
Comments
Parag Mahajan Cisco Employee


‎06-26-2018 05:25 AM
Very detailed Guide. Thanks Hari for the effort!!!
 3 Helpful
vusandlovu Beginner

‎07-08-2018 02:14 AM
You rock....just saved me on my new deployment was just easy.....Thank you.
 2 Helpful
kamlenegi Beginner

‎07-25-2018 04:44 AM
Hello,

Can we have specific document for wired guest in 2.3 version.

Thanks
Kamlesh
Jason Kunst Cisco Employee


‎07-25-2018 04:51 AM
Please use the ISE guest access deployment guide
https://community.cisco.com/t5/security-documents/ise-guest-access-deployment-guide/ta-
p/3640475
Madura Malwatte Enthusiast


‎08-21-2018 04:42 PM
Does anyone know where I can find the latest ISE visio icons? I am referring to the
same ones used in the deployment guides.
firefox Cisco Employee


‎10-09-2018 04:48 AM
Is there a similar document for Wireless deployment?
nickdavitashvili Beginner

‎10-14-2018 07:36 PM
Hello @hariholla. Thanks a lot for a great doco! Any leads on the awesome stencils
you use in it?
walwar Beginner

‎10-29-2018 09:11 AM
What a great detailed guide, thanks a million for the effort!
John Palmason Enthusiast


‎11-02-2018 03:17 PM
I have been looking for a guide like this, thank you very much it is very well organized and easy to
follow. Cheers, John Palmason
Darren_Cooper Beginner

‎10-30-2019 09:22 AM
Hi, This guide is great, however I have an issue that I cannot find any reference to.
When enabling new-style authentication on a switch with only a LAN-Lite license,
some of the commands needed are missing so I cannot configure basic 802.1x with
RADIUS authentication.

Notibly

policy-map and service-policy

All the documents say this should work, and in legacy mode worked fine, however a
converted configuration does not.

Anybody know what I can do?

Johannes Luther Enthusiast


‎03-11-2020 02:53 AM
Just a side note (and question). The document describe, that Windows client perform
a default gateway ICMP reachability probe after an EAP SUCCESS message ("Pre-
Authentication and Post-Authentication Access Control with Low Impact"). In lab
testing with Windows 10 (1903) I dind't see any ICMP probe after the EAP SUCCESS
message. Instead, the Windows 10 client just started to send a DHCP request with
the currently configured IP as the requested IP address. Can someone confirm this?
r1127hyduk Enthusiast

‎09-15-2020 06:18 PM
Very well written document here for 802.1x and MAB design / deploy options. The
icons and detail are superb.

To lead on for what hardware / software to deploy, does anyone have a general ISE
parts / sku listing's for components - appliance and (VM instance options) they can
share? I'm having some challenges with CCW at this time with part validations and its
rather frustrating. Smartnet support included too!

Second question, what challenges are there from migrating from 2.4.x to 2.6 .or 2.7?
MHM Cisco World VIP Mentor


‎12-20-2020 08:34 AM
Thanks for sharing this doc.
00unsv8e5cJnFPrmC5d6 Beginner

‎05-02-2021 02:54 PM
This manual is intended to offer technical steering to design, configure and function
the Profiling feature inside the Cisco Identity Services Engine page(ISE). The file
provides nice practice configurations for a typical surroundings.
00uv1f4s9lyDNtSj05d6 Beginner

‎06-02-2021 04:46 PM
That feature may not be referred to in case you are jogging an older model of the ASA
codehere. You will want to upgrade to the minimum version as referenced
approximately.
 1 2 
Getting Started
Find answers to your questions by entering keywords or phrases in the Search bar
above. New here? Use these resources to familiarize yourself with the community:
How to use Community 
New Community Member Guide 
Recognize Your Peers
Spotlight Award Nomination
Quick Links
Discussions 
Guided Resources 
Cisco Cybersecurity Viewpoints 
Related community topics
  Cisco ISE Device Administration Prescriptive Deployment Guide

gvanbon
‎04-26-2019 12:42 AM
 ISE Secure Access Wizard (SAW) Demo Script and Guide

Jason Kunst
‎05-18-2017 10:58 AM
 2. Introducing Cisco ISE Deployment - 2.1 & 2.2

Kai Shin
‎08-10-2023 12:59 AM
 Voice over wireless deployment guide with 5760 and 3850 WLC
Serge Yasmine
‎06-19-2014 08:02 AM
 Secure Client: よくあるご質問(FAQ)

Kenichiro Kato
‎07-26-2023 01:05 AM
Customers Also Viewed These Support Documents
 Top
Quick Links -
Contacts
Resources and Legal -

Community Feedback
Help
Terms & Conditions
Privacy Statement
Cookie Policy
Trademarks
Site Map
©2023 Cisco Systems, Inc.

ISE Secure Wired Access Prescriptive Deployment Guide - Cisco Community

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

You might also like

ISE Secure Wired Access Prescriptive Deployment Guide - Cisco Community

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

ISE Secure Wired Access Prescriptive Deployment Guide - Cisco Community

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

8/11/23, 2:47 PM ISE Secure Wired Access Prescriptive Deployment Guide - Cisco Community

This board  Search Security Knowledge Base Create a new article

Cisco Community > Technology and Support > Security 

hariholla Cisco Employee

on ‎01-21-2021 12:41 PM - edited on ‎07-19-2023 03:10 PM by thomas

Cisco ISE Secure Wired

Catalyst Identity-Based Networking Services (IBNS) 1.0 vs. 2.0

NEAT with Macros/Interface-Template

Figure1: Cisco Identity Services Engine

What is Covered in This Document?

Figure2: Endpoint onboarding Physical network topology

Cisco Identity-Based Networking Services (IBNS) 1.0 and 2.0

What is Not Covered in This Document?

About This Guide

Figure3: ISE for Wired Implementation Flow

This document contains four major sections:

ISE Deployment Components

Figure4: ISE solution components

Figure5: 802.1x Authentication Workflow

The 802.1x standard defines a client/server-based access control and authentication

MAC Authentication Bypass (MAB)

Figure6: MAB Authentication Workflow

Figure7: Web Authentication Workflow

Figure8: EasyConnect Authentication Workflow

The Cisco ISE EasyConnect feature enables enterprises to implement identity-based

A Comparison of the Different Authentication Methods

Figure9: Complexity analysis of Authentication methods

Figure10: ISE Enforcement authorization attributes

Dynamic VLAN Assignment

 Best Practice: When doing dynamic VLAN assignment, we recommend

IP Access Control Lists (ACLs)

Security Group Tags (SGTs)

Figure11: ISE Session-Aware Networking

When an endpoint connects to network, the network device generates a unique

EAP Chaining–Many organizations want to grant network access to trusted users

MACsec–In addition to authenticated network access using IEEE 802.1X, IEEE

Note: The Cisco AnyConnect NAM module is compatible only on Microsoft

Endpoint Type Supplicant Configuration By

Table1: Endpoint Automation

Note: Always use a systems manager or device manager to configure

Network Device Considerations

Figure12: Network Device Configurations for ISE

Cisco Meraki Switching

Catalyst Identity-Based Networking Services (IBNS) 1.0

Figure13: Cisco IBNS 1.0 vs. IBNS 2.0

IBNS 1.0 IBNS Description

Policy Interface MQC IBNS 2.0 is configured the same way as a

Templates Interface No Yes IBNS 2.0 configurations can be contained

Service No Yes IBNS 1.0 cannot use service templates.

Critical No Yes Only IBNS 2.0 can apply a custom ACL to

Table2: Cisco IBNS 1.0 vs. IBNS 2.0

We recommend a phased deployment model that has limited impact on network

Figure14: IBNS Deployment Modes

ISE Deployment Considerations

ISE Deployment Scale and Performance

Figure15: ISE Deployments

Switch-Side 2-Node Multi-Node Multi-Node ISE

Table3: Deployment Configuration best practices