Brocade Communications Systems 53-1001763-02 Secret key pairs for DH-CHAP

Fabric OS Administrator’s Guide 149
53-1001763-02
Authentication policy for fabric elements 7
When using DH-CHAP, make sure that you configure the switches at both ends of a link.
NOTE
If you set the authentication protocol to DH-CHAP or FCAP, have not configured shared secrets
or certificates, and authentication is checked (for example, you enable the switch), then switch
authentication fails.
Secret key pairs for DH-CHAP
When you configure the switches at both ends of a link to use DH-CHAP for authentication, you
must also define a secret key pair—one for each end of the link. Use the secAuthSecret command
to perform the following tasks:
•View the WWN of switches with a secret key pair.
•Set the secret key pair for switches.
•Remove the secret key pair for one or more switches.
Note the following characteristics of a secret key pair:
•The secret key pair must be set up locally on every switch. The secret key pair is not distributed
fabric-wide.
•If a secret key pair is not set up for a link, authentication fails. The “Authentication Failed”
(reason code 05h) error will be reported and logged.
•The minimum length of a shared secret is 8 bytes and the maximum length is 40 bytes.
NOTE
When setting a secret key pair, note that you are entering the shared secrets in plain text. Use a
secure channel (for example, SSH or the serial console) to connect to the switch on which you are
setting the secrets.
Viewing the list of secret key pairs in the current switch database
1. Log in to the switch using an account assigned to the admin role.
2. Enter the secAuthSecret --show command.
The output displays the WWN, domain ID, and name (if known) of the switches with defined
shared secrets:
WWN DId Name
-----------------------------------------------
10:00:00:60:69:80:07:52 Unknown
10:00:00:60:69:80:07:5c 1 switchA
Setting a secret key pair
1. Log in to the switch using an account assigned to the admin role.
2. Enter the secAuthSecret --set command.
The command enters interactive mode. The command returns a description of itself and
needed input; then it loops through a sequence of switch specification, peer secret entry, and
local secret entry.
To exit the loop, press Enter for the switch name; then type y.