In the Portal authentication scenario, WAC is used as the access device. During the authentication process, the Portal user fails to authenticate successfully. What are the possible reasons for this…

Question

Options

• AWAC has disabled the STA address learning function
• BWAC has enabled the Portal server detection function, but the Portal server has not enabled this
• CThe shared key configured on WAC is inconsistent with that on the Portal server
• DThe destination port of the Portal server configured on the WAC is inconsistent with the listening

• A
  74% (28)
• D
  26% (10)

Explanation

In Portal authentication, the WAC acts as the enforcement point - it must correctly learn client identities, communicate reliably with the Portal server, and share a trusted secret with it. All three of options A, B, and C represent misconfigurations that directly break one of these requirements: disabling STA address learning (A) prevents the WAC from identifying wireless clients and properly managing their pre/post-authentication state; enabling Portal server detection on the WAC while the Portal server lacks the corresponding heartbeat responder (B) causes the WAC to mark the Portal server as unreachable and block authentication attempts; and a mismatched shared key (C) means authentication messages between the WAC and Portal server fail integrity verification, so credentials are rejected even if entered correctly.

Option D is the distractor - while a mismatched destination port sounds disruptive, in practice the Portal protocol's port pairing works symmetrically and a mismatch here would typically cause a connectivity/redirect issue rather than an authentication failure in the scenario described; it does not belong to the same category of root causes that silently break the auth handshake.

Memory tip: Remember "LSK" - Learning (STA), Server detection sync, Key consistency. If any of these three are mismatched or misconfigured between WAC and Portal server, authentication fails. D (port mismatch) is the distractor because it affects reachability, not the authentication handshake itself.

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