Nile Access Service 802.1x

Overview

Nile's Campus Zero Trust approach to network security is essential in today's high risk environment. Nile's support for industry-standard 802.1X authentication enables you to enforce consistent access controls and policies across your wired and wireless campus networks, ensuring only authorized devices and users can connect.

By integrating with your existing RADIUS infrastructure, such as Active Directory, to authenticate clients The Nile Access Service ensures only authorized devices and users can access network resources. In the Campus Zero Trust architecture, devices are denied access by default, and can only access resources through one of the supporteed authentication methods, including 802.1x. This streamlines the onboarding process and ensures a seamless user experience, all while maintaining a strong security posture.

Configuring 802.1X Authentication on Nile
To set up 802.1X authentication on your campus zero trust network with Nile, follow these steps:

Configure RADIUS Servers
- In the Nile Portal, navigate to "Settings>Authentication" tab and click "Add".
- Enter the details for your RADIUS server, including the Name, port, shared secret, the Geo Scope which it supports, nad the IP address or FQDN. I
- Click the "VERIFY HOSTS" button to confirm your settings. If everything passes, you can then save this server configuration.
Enable 802.1X on a Nile Segment
- Go to Settings>Segements tab. section, click the pencil icon to edit your chosen segment.
- In the segment details, navigate to the Service Area tab.
- Select the RADIUS server you just configured in the Authentication dropdown.
- Click SAVE to immediately enable 802.1x on that segment.

Supporting Non-802.1X Devices in a Campus Zero Trust Network

Nile understands that not every device on your network will support 802.1X. For these non-802.1X-capable clients, Nile offers MAC Authentication Bypass; learn more.

Centralized Management and Visibility

Nile's cloud-managed architecture provides a simple path for 802.1X deployment. This includes the ability to:

Easily onboard and manage multiple RADIUS servers for redundancy and segmentation
Track authentication events and client activity across your wired and wireless networks
Quickly troubleshoot connectivity issues with detailed logs and reporting

(Screenshot of the Nile Portal's 802.1X monitoring and reporting dashboard)

By leveraging Nile's 802.1X capabilities, you can establish a robust, campus zero trust network that securely connects all devices and users, regardless of their location or device type.