802.1X

IEEE 802.1X is a standard for authentication to a LAN. 802.1X works with Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) and authentication server protocols such as RADIUS.

In 802.1X the client requesting authentication is called a supplicant. The supplicant communicates an authentication request to network edge device called an authenticator. The authenticator in turn represents the supplicant's authentication request to the authentication server.