Your software release may not support all the features documented in this module. For the latest caveats and feature information, see Bug Search Tool and the release notes for your platform and software release. To find information about the features documented in this module, and to see a list of the releases in which each feature is supported, see the feature information table at the end of this module.

Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to www.cisco.com/​go/​cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.

Identity-Based Networking Services provides an identity-based approach to access management and subscriber management. It offers a consistent way to configure features across technologies, a command interface that allows easy deployment and customization of features, and a robust policy control engine with the ability to apply policies defined locally or received from an external server to enforce policy in the network.

The figure below illustrates a typical deployment of Identity-Based Networking Services in a physically distributed enterprise with a campus, branch offices, and remote workers.

Figure 1. Sample Deployment

Identity-Based Networking Services includes the following features:

• Cisco common classification policy language (C3PL)-based identity configuration
• Concurrent authentication methods on a single session, including IEEE 802.1x (dot1x), MAC authentication bypass (MAB), and web authentication
• Downloadable identity service templates
• Extended RADIUS change of authorization (CoA) support for querying, reauthenticating, and terminating a session, port shutdown and port bounce, and activating and deactivating an identity service template.
• Local authentication using Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)
• Locally defined identity control policies
• Locally defined identity service templates
• Per-user inactivity handling across methods
• Web authentication support of common session ID
• Web authentication support of IPv6

Identity-based solutions are essential for delivering access control for disparate groups such as employees, contractors, and partners while maintaining low operating expenses. Identity-Based Networking Services provides a consistent approach to operational management through a policy and identity-based infrastructure leading to faster deployment of new features and easier management of switches.

Identity-Based Networking Services provides the following benefits:

Identity-Based Networking Services allows a single session identifier to be used for web authentication sessions in addition to all 802.1X and MAB authenticated sessions for a client. This 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 from messages for other sessions. This common session ID is used consistently across all authentication methods and features applied to a session.

Identity-Based Networking Services introduces IPv6 support for web authentication. IPv6 is supported for web authentication only when Identity-Based Networking Services is explicitly configured. This means that you must permanently convert your configuration to the Cisco common classification policy language (C3PL) display mode by specifically configuring a Identity-Based Networking Services command such as the policy-map type control subscriber command.