Universal Port

Universal Port is a flexible framework that enables automatic switch configuration in response to special events such as:
  • User login and logoff
  • Device connection to or disconnection from a port
  • Time of day
  • EMS event messages
Note

Note

The Universal Port feature is supported only on the platforms listed for this feature in the license tables in the ExtremeXOS 22.3 Feature License Requirements document.

The primary component of the Universal Port feature is the profile, which is a special form of command script that runs when triggered by the events mentioned above.

Profiles execute commands and use variables as do the scripts described in Using CLI Scripting. The primary difference is that a profile can be executed manually or automatically in response to switch events.

Note

Note

The term profile is distinct from the term policy because a policy is only one particular application of a profile.

Universal Port works with the following ExtremeXOS components and third-party products:

The following are some examples of how you can use Universal Port on a network:
  • Automatically provision a VoIP phone and the attached switch port with appropriate PoE (Power over Ethernet) budget and QoS (Quality of Service) settings when the phone connects.
  • Create security policies that can follow a user as the user roams around a campus. For example, an engineer can walk from Building 1 to Building 5, plug his PC into the network and be authenticated with the appropriate access rights and ACLs.
  • Support separate authentication for VoIP phones and workstations on the same port.
  • Create profile templates with variables so that you can re-use templates with different address ranges and parameters.
  • Apply different security policies for different locations (for example, a restricted area).
  • Disable wireless access after business hours.
Note

Note

Special scripts can be run when the switch boots. For more information, see Using Autoconfigure and Autoexecute Files.