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I have been working as a Network Engineer for almost 5 years now. I have never encountered a scenario where I would need to configure a Cisco switch port as ForceUnauthorized (DOT1X).
According to the manual, ForceUnauthorized is to discard any traffic comes through this port. What is the importance of that? Why can't I just shut down the port?
Could anyone please give me a practical scenario where I would need such a configuration? Thanks.
Primarily, ForceUnauthorized and ForceAuthorized options are used for testing and auditing. Using them, you can see how a client behaves and what it can or can't do.
Other uses include quick workarounds when there's a malfunction and perhaps your authenticator has failed and you still need to grant access, or if you need to shut out a compromised end node.
