What protocol does WPA2-Enterprise use for authentication?

WPA2-Enterprise primarily utilizes the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) for authentication. This protocol serves as a framework that supports various authentication methods, such as EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS, PEAP, and others, allowing for secure and flexible authentication in wireless networks.

In the context of a WPA2-Enterprise environment, EAP is crucial because it enables the use of other protocols, such as RADIUS, to facilitate authentication against a centralized server. This centralized authentication is essential for enterprise environments where multiple users and devices need to be authenticated in a scalable manner.

While options like RADIUS are often used in conjunction with EAP for authenticating users by forwarding authentication requests to an authentication server, EAP itself is specifically recognized as the method that defines the procedures and policies for how authentication data is exchanged. This makes EAP the core component of the authentication process in WPA2-Enterprise setups.