Wifi authentication: RADIUS or LDAP?

Question

I'm planning on installing an Aruba 2400 WLAN switch in our Netware 6
network, for purposes of providing wireless network connectivity. The
Aruba supports authentication via RADIUS or LDAP. Both are available to
me (LDAP in NW6, RADIUS in BMgr 3.7, which we have). Which should I use?
I know zilch about either one... Will either one allow my users to log
in just once? TIA - JR

Answer 1

Thanks very much for your response. I've been doing a lot of reading in
this forum and learning a lot. I still want to pursue the original
question, however, because in talking to an Aruba rep, I get the idea
that it (the software in the Aruba 2400) can authenticate (802.1x)
directly with LDAP on the NW server. If so, I could bypass the need to
have a separate RADIUS server. Does that sound possible, or am I off
track? Also, do you have any basis for choosing between the Funk or
Aegis clients? Thanks again for your help! - JR
Jim Michael wrote:
> The only authentication mechanism that makes sense for wireless is to
> use 802.1x, which implies a Radius server. The AP talks to the Radius
> server, which in turn authenticates against your database (can be local,
> LDAP, SQL, whatever). On the client side you will need an 802.1x
> "supplicant" (client). While Windows XP ships with one, it is not very
> useable in NetWare environments as you can't authenticate to the
> wireless network *prior* to logging into eDirectory. To to that, you
> need a third-party supplicant such as Funk's Odyssey or the Aegis client.
>
> On the server side, you will not be able to use the BM Radius server. It
> does not have the necessary access methods such as EAP-TTLS, PEAP, etc
> necessary for wireless authentication, and never will. You will have to
> go with either the open source freeRADIUS product, or a commercial
> Radius server such as Radiator, Stell Belted Radius, etc.
>