Connecting NI Linux Real-Time Systems to a Wired 802.1X Network

Introduction

Networks protected by IEEE 802.1X require that devices authenticate before connecting to the network. NI Linux Real-Time uses wpa-supplicant to provide credentials to the network. wpa-supplicant supports numerous EAP methods. This document provides instructions on how to connect NI Linux Real-Time systems to a wired 802.1X network.

Installation

Support for connecting to wired 802.1X networks is available on the NI Linux RT System Image starting with version 11.2 (build 25.5.0). No additional packages need to be installed.

Configuration

Determine the name of the network interface that will be connected to the wired 802.1X network, e.g. eth1. You can see a list of network interfaces and their names by running ifconfig.

Write a wpa-supplicant configuration file with settings appropriate for the network. Refer to the wpa-supplicant README for information about the configuration file.

Example:

ap_scan=0
network={
    key_mgmt=IEEE8021X
    identity="user"
    password="password"
    eap=MD5
}

You can run the supplicant directly in order to test the configuration file with the following command:

wpa_supplicant -c ${path_to_configuration_file} -D wired -i ${interface}

To update the NI Linux Real-Time system’s network configuration to use the configuration file, store the file at the following location:

/etc/natinst/share/wpa_supplicant.wired.${interface}.conf

The system will automatically connect to the network on boot. To connect immediately, either reboot the system or run the following command:

/etc/init.d/networking restart