19-9
Ethernet Card Software Feature and Configuration Guide, R7.2
January 2009
Chapter 19 Configuring Security for the ML-Series Card
Configuring RADIUS
Default RADIUS Configuration
RADIUS and AAA are disabled by default. To prevent a lapse in security, you cannot configure RADIUS
through a network management application. When enabled, RADIUS can authenticate use rs accessing
the ML-Series card through the Cisco IOS CLI.
Identifying the RADIUS Server Host
ML-Series-card-to-RADIUS-server communication involves several components:
• Hostname or IP address
• Authentication destination port
• Accounting destination port
• Key string
• Timeout period
• Retransmission value
You identify RADIUS security servers by their hostname or IP address, their hostname and specific UDP
port numbers, or their IP address and specific UDP port numbers. The combinati on of the IP address and
the UDP port number creates a unique identifier, allowing different ports to be individually defined as
RADIUS hosts providing a specific AAA service. This unique identifier enables RADIUS requests to be
sent to multiple UDP ports on a server at the same IP address.
If two different host entries on the same RADIUS server are configured for the same service—for
example, accounting—the second host entry configured acts as a fail-over backup t o the first one. Using
this example, if the first host entry fails to provide accounting services, the ML-Series card tries the
second host entry configured on the same device for accounting services.
To configure RADIUS to use the AAA security commands, you must specify the host running the
RADIUS server daemon and a secret text (key) string that it shares with the ML-Series card. A RADIUS
server, the ONS node, and the ML-Series card use a shared secret text string to encrypt passwords and
exchange responses. The system ensures that the ML-Series cards' shared secret matches the shared
secret in the NE.
Note If you configure both global and per-server functions (timeout, retransm ission, and key commands) on
the switch, the per-server timer, retransmission, and key value commands override global timer,
retransmission, and key value commands. For information on configuring these sett ings on all RADIUS
servers, see the “Configuring Settings for All RADIUS Servers” section on page 1 9-17.
Note Retransmission and timeout period values are configureable on the ML-Series card in stand alone mode.
These values are not configureable on the ML-Series card in relay mode.
You can configure the ML-Series card to use AAA server groups to group existing server hosts for
authentication. For more information, see the “Defining AAA Server Groups” section on page 19-13.
Beginning in privileged EXEC mode, follow these steps to configure per-server RADIUS server
communication. This procedure is required.