Secure wireless authentication

Question

I have just been reading all the posts about secure wireless access and I am
not happy with the direction Novell has chosen to take.
I have been extremely pleased with Netware, GroupWise & ZenWorks but Novell
is starting to loose it's appeal.
Let me summarize what I have learned and see if I have made any mistakes
with my understanding.
1. Novell has stopped development on their Radius server and have no plans
to resume development.
2. Novell contributed code to the open source FreeRadius project.
http://www.novell.com/news/press/arc...2/pr05008.html
3. There isn't any Radius server with 802.1x authentication that runs on
Netware (Netware kernel).
a. Novell's Radius server (BMAS or the newer NMAS server) doesn't do
802.1x authentication.
b. I have contacted Funk and this is their reply. Steel-Belted Radius
Server will run on Windows and Solaris (Linux is coming).
http://www.funk.com/News&Events/sbr_linux_pn.asp
c. MTG House hasn't gotten back to me about a solution for Netware. (I
am doubtful, I didn't find anything on their website.)
4. You need to run a Radius server that does 802.1x authentication and will
work/integrate with eDir.
a. FreeRadius (Linux) will integrate with Edir.
http://www.novell.com/documentation/...ius/index.html
http://www.novell.com/coolsolutions/feature/15383.html
b. Funk's Steel-Belted Radius server (Windows, Solaris & Linux is in
beta).
http://www.funk.com/radius/default.asp
c. Aegis Server
http://www.mtghouse.com/products/aeg...er/index.shtml
5. You need a 802.1x Client to authenticate to a Radius server for wireless
authentication.
a. Microsoft has 802.1x support in their client. (read this from other
posts in this forum)
b. Novell isn't planning on putting 802.1x support in the NW Client.
(read this from other posts in this forum)
c. There are 2 Radius clients that integrate with the NW Client for
Radius Edir authentication.
1. Funk's Odyssey Client ($45 - $50 per workstation depending on
quantity) + added annual maintenance costs.
$2281.25 for 50 Client licenses & annual maintenance.
http://www.funk.com/radius/wlan/wlan_c_radius.asp
2. Aegis' Client ($32 - $39.99 per workstation depending on
quantity) + added annual maintenance costs.
$2240.00 for 50 Client licenses & annual maintenance.
http://www.mtghouse.com/products/aeg...nt/index.shtml
http://www.mtghouse.com/novell_app_note_122204.pdf
3. When FreeRadius is integrated with Edir is this separate client
still needed?
I didn't see anything about a separate client being needed while
reading the Integrating FreeRadius with Edir documentation.
6. FreeRadius support is going to be built-in to the next version of Edir.
http://www.novell.com/news/press/arc...2/pr05008.html
Why didn't Novell contribute code to port FreeRadius to Netware?
At this point in time they are still giving us a choice between the Netware
kernel and the Linux kernel. To me that says they are willing to make
things work with both systems until they drop support for the Netware
kernel. Ok, so give me support for 802.1x authentication in the Netware
kernel. I don't have stray single purpose servers floating around my
network and I don't want to have to begin that practice just to get Radius
802.1x authentication working.
I also won't put my district at a disadvantage by upgrading to the Linux
kernel until I know Linux well enough to administer it properly. I am the
IT department at this district so I don't have a great deal of extra time to
run about learning the new things I would LOVE to learn. I'm sure I'm not
the only person in this situation so Novell should take these things into
concideration before they just drop support for a product they say they are
still supporting. Obviously all of the real support is going toward the
Linux side at Novell.
Daniel Blake
Milford Central School

Answer 1

Ok, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say fine the Netware kernel
might as well be considered dead. So they are giving me support via
FreeRadius if I just migrate to OES (Linux). Ok, I might/can live with that
as a Novell decision.
But that still doesn't explain why they don't give us some client to log in
via 802.1x. Giving us the server but not the client is like giving us a
locked door without a key. That's just plain stupid. I would rather stay a
Netware - OES shop, but if Novell can't think something this simple through
then I'm a little nervous about staying with them. What could they think up
next?
I guess Novell has decided to port all it's software to Windows cause it
sucks so bad at business decisions. GroupWise & ZenWorks run completely on
Windows now, so why do I need OES at all? Except for complexity &
integration issues of course. I mean why would I need to purchase Edir for
Windows if I didn't stay with OES? Or Nsure Identity Manager for that
matter. So if we start looking deeper into this we see Marketing all over
this thing. Novell Marketing has always done such a good job for Novell.
Novell has given me a real choice that will work though. If I migrate
completely to a Windows network it just works without any added costs. Heck
it even makes my installs easier without having to install the NW Client on
every new workstation. I can still run ZenWorks & GroupWise too.
Now, how is Novell Marketing going to screw up and make me hate GroupWise &
Zenworks so I migrate completely away from Novell products? Way to go
Novell!
Daniel Blake
Milford Central School
"Jim Michael" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> mcsdtech wrote:
>
>> 1. Novell has stopped development on their Radius server and have no
>> plans to resume development.
>
> Correct, so far as we know.
>
>> 2. Novell contributed code to the open source FreeRadius project.
>> http://www.novell.com/news/press/arc...2/pr05008.html
>
> Yes. Code to allow easier integration with eDirectory.
>
>> 3. There isn't any Radius server with 802.1x authentication that runs on
>> Netware (Netware kernel).
>
> Correct.
>
>> a. Novell's Radius server (BMAS or the newer NMAS server) doesn't do
>> 802.1x authentication.
>
> Correct. It was developed quite a while before 802.1x even existed.
>
>> b. I have contacted Funk and this is their reply. Steel-Belted
>> Radius Server will run on Windows and Solaris (Linux is coming).
>> http://www.funk.com/News&Events/sbr_linux_pn.asp
>
> Correct, but Stell-Belted Radius is probably the last solution I would
> look at. Radiator is a commercial product that runs on Linux or Windows
> (it is Perl-based) and you will get far better support from them on
> eDirectory issues and general Radius problems. freeRADIUS is what I would
> run on Linux if you don't want to spend a dime on the software.
>
>> c. MTG House hasn't gotten back to me about a solution for Netware.
>> (I am doubtful, I didn't find anything on their website.)
>
> Not familiar with them.
>
>> 4. You need to run a Radius server that does 802.1x authentication and
>> will work/integrate with eDir.
>> a. FreeRadius (Linux) will integrate with Edir.
>> b. Funk's Steel-Belted Radius server (Windows, Solaris & Linux is
>> in beta).
>
>> c. Aegis Server
>
> And Radiator (what I run) http://www.open.com.au This is the solution we
> run.
>
>> 5. You need a 802.1x Client to authenticate to a Radius server for
>> wireless authentication.
>
> Correct.
>
>> a. Microsoft has 802.1x support in their client. (read this from
>> other posts in this forum)
>
> Correct. Technically, the "support" is in Windows, not the MS client.
>
>> b. Novell isn't planning on putting 802.1x support in the NW Client.
>> (read this from other posts in this forum)
>
> Correct.
>
>> c. There are 2 Radius clients that integrate with the NW Client for
>> Radius Edir authentication.
>> 1. Funk's Odyssey Client 2. Aegis' Client ($32 - $39.99 per
>> workstation depending on
>
> Correct.
>
>> 3. When FreeRadius is integrated with Edir is this separate
>> client still needed?
>
> Yes. You ALWAYS need a 802.1x supplicant (client) on the workstation.
> Windows has one built-in, which works FINE against eDirectory. HOWEVER,
> because of the way it works you must log into eDirectory *after* fully
> logging into windows. That is unacceptable to most organizations (you
> would have to manually log in and map drives to NW, etc). This is why
> there are third-party clients that integrate specifically with the NetWare
> client.. they allow the 802.1x authentication to "insert" itself
> in -between the Windows and eDirectory login, thus preserving all of the
> normal features like dynamic local user, zen policies, etc.
>
>> I didn't see anything about a separate client being needed
>> while reading the Integrating FreeRadius with Edir documentation.
>
> A client is always assumed.
>
>> Why didn't Novell contribute code to port FreeRadius to Netware?
>
> Because Novell's future direction is Linux, and there isn't much demand
> for a NetWare Radius server.
>
>> At this point in time they are still giving us a choice between the
>> Netware kernel and the Linux kernel. To me that says they are willing to
>> make things work with both systems until they drop support for the
>> Netware kernel. Ok, so give me support for 802.1x authentication in the
>> Netware kernel. I don't have stray single purpose servers floating
>> around my network and I don't want to have to begin that practice just to
>> get Radius 802.1x authentication working.
>
> You can always make your wishes known at
> http://support.novell.com/enhancement
>
>> I also won't put my district at a disadvantage by upgrading to the Linux
>> kernel until I know Linux well enough to administer it properly. I am
>> the IT department at this district so I don't have a great deal of extra
>> time to run about learning the new things I would LOVE to learn. I'm
>> sure I'm not the only person in this situation so Novell should take
>> these things into concideration before they just drop support for a
>> product they say they are still supporting. Obviously all of the real
>> support is going toward the Linux side at Novell.
>
> I understand the frustration, but I doubt things will change. There is a
> big difference between "supporting" existing products and adding major
> enhancements to products to support new standards. I just don't think
> Novell believes it is worth dedicating development resources to enhancing
> Radius on NetWare, for those few that can't/won't run a Linux or Windows
> box where the software already exists.
>
>
> --
> Jim
> NSC SYsop