Casio P460 manual Introduction to Radius

Chapter 9 User Authentication

RADIUS

Introduction to RADIUS

Local user accounts (see “Local User Accounts“ on page 55) are kept locally on the switch. Therefore, if a site contains multiple Avaya Switches, it is necessary to configure each switch with its own user accounts. Additionally, if for example a 'read-write' user has to be changed into a 'read-only' user, it will be necessary to change all the 'read-write' passwords configured locally in every switch, in order to prevent him to access this level anymore. This can be tedious at best, and at worst, unmanageable. A better solution is to have all of the user login information kept in a central location where all the switches can access it. Enter Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS).

RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) provides a mechanism for such consolidation. A RADIUS authentication server is installed on a central computer at the customer's site. On this server user authentication (account) information is configured that provides various degrees of access to the switch. The P460 will run as a RADIUS client. When a user attempts to log into the switch, if there is no local user account for the entered user name and password, then the switch will send an Authentication Request to the RADIUS server in an attempt to authenticate the user remotely. If the user name and password are authenticated, then the RADIUS server responds to the switch with an Authentication Acknowledgement that includes information on the user's privileges ('administrator', 'read-write', or 'read-only'), and the user is allowed to gain access to the switch. If the user is not authenticated, then an Authentication Reject is sent to the switch and the user is not allowed access to the switch's embedded management.

Avaya P460 Installation and Maintenance Guide 57