Configuring 802.1X Port Based Authentication

Last modified: Thursday June 19, 2025.

If your network switch requires 802.1X port-based authentication, you can configure the appropriate camera credentials so the video stream is not blocked.

Contact your network administrator to obtain the required 802.1X profile information, including the password and PEAP or EAP-TLS authentication settings to be used.

Prerequisites

  • Only ECDSA certificates with 384bit keys are supported.

  • The certificate and key must be kept in separate files stored individually.

The 802.1X configuration must initially be setup on a non 802.1X enabled network. After the configuration has been enabled, the camera can be moved on to the 802.1X authorized network.

Task — Configure 802.1X

  1. Log in to the Alta Video deployment.

  2. Click the devices tab and select a camera to configure.

  3. In the left-hand menu pane choose Connection, select Manage Network Settings then 802.1X Authentication.

    1. In the drop down, select add new profile or choose none to disable 802.1X Authentication.

    2. You can add or remove configurations easily from the Manage 802.1X configuration dialogue box.

  4. From the Manage Configure 802.1X dialogue box, click the plus button to the bottom left corner, then select the preferred authentication method.

    Multiple profiles can be configured but only one profile can be enabled at a time from the EAP method.

    • Select PEAP for Username and Password Authentication:

      1. Configuration Name: Assign a name to the profile.

      2. EAP Identity: Input the username for camera authentication.

      3. Password: Input the password used to verify the camera.

      4. Authenticate Server: click this feature if you need to add a certificate, multiple certificates can be added.

    • Select EAP-TLS for certificate authentication.

      1. Configuration Name: Assign a name to the profile.

      2. EAP Identity: Input the username for camera authentication.

      3. TLS Client Certificate: click the PEM-encoded certificate file to authenticate the camera.

      4. Private Key: Choose the PEM-encoded private key file for camera authentication.

      5. Private Key Password: if the private key has a password, enter the password here.

      6. Authenticate Server: (Optional) click this feature if you need to add a certificate, multiple certificates can be added.

      7. To upload files, click Open folder and choose the file. Click Done once the file has been chosen, this will close the dialogue box and create the configuration.

Troubleshooting

  • An incorrect configuration has been sent to the camera?

    • In a situation where an incorrect configuration has been sent to the camera whilst setting up the 802.1X authentication, you must disable the 802.1X authentication from the switch side and allow all traffic without verification. Then the camera can reconnect and accept a new configuration.