CHAPTER
7-1
Catalyst2950 Desktop Switch Software Configuration Guide
78-11380-05
7
Administering the Switch
This chapter describes how to perform one-time operations to administer your switch. This chapter
consists of these sections:
•Preventing Unauthorized Access to Your Switch, page 7-1
•Protecting Access to Privileged EXEC Commands, page 7-2
•Controlling Switch Access with TACACS+, page 7-9
•Controlling Switch Access with RADIUS, page 7-17
•Configuring the Switch for Local Authentication and Authorization, page 7-31
•Managing the System Time and Date, page 7-32
•Configuring a System Name and Prompt, page 7-46
•Creating a Banner, page 7-49
•Managing the MAC Address Table, page 7-52
•Managing the ARP Table, page 7-59

Preventing Unauthorized Access to Your Switch

You can prevent unauthorized users from reconfiguring your switch and viewing configuration
information. Typically, you want network administrators to have access to your switch while you restrict
access to users who dial from outside the network through an asynchronous por t, c on nect from out side
the network through a serial port, or connect through a terminal or workstation from withi n the loc al
network.
To prevent unauthorized access into your switch, you should configure one or more of the se se c urity
features:
•At a minimum, you should configure passwords and privileges at each switch port. These passwords
are locally stored on the switch. When users attempt to access the switch through a port or line, they
must enter the password specified for the port or line before they can access the switch. For more
information, see the “Protecting Access to Privileged EXEC Commands” section on page 7-2.
•For an additional layer of security, you can also configure username and password pairs, which are
locally stored on the switch. These pairs are assigned to lines or interfaces and authenticate each
user before that user can access the switch. If you have defined privilege levels, you can also assign
a specific privilege level (with associated righ ts and pri vileges ) to each usern ame and passw ord pair .
For more information, see the “Configuring Username and Password Pairs” section on page 7-6.