Cisco Systems OL-24201-01 manual ACS Web-based Interface, ACS Command Line Interface

Chapter 1 Introducing ACS 5.3

ACS Management Interfaces

ACS Web-based Interface

You can use the ACS web-based interface to fully configure your ACS deployment, and perform monitoring and reporting operations. The web interface provides a consistent user experience, regardless of the particular area that you are configuring.

The ACS web interface is supported on HTTPS-enabled Microsoft Internet Explorer, versions 7.x, 8.x, and 9.x and Firefox version 3.x and 4.x.

The new web interface design and organization:

•Reflects the new policy model, which is organized around the user’s view of policy administration. The new policy model is easier to use, as it separates the complex interrelationships that previously existed among policy elements.

For example, user groups, network device groups (NDGs), network access filters, network access profiles, and so on.

•Presents the configuration tasks in a logical order that you can follow for many common scenarios.

For example, first you configure conditions and authorizations for policies in the Policy Elements drawer, and then you move on to the Policies drawer to configure the policies with the defined policy elements.

•Provides new page functionality, such as sorting and filtering lists of items.

See “Using the Web Interface” section on page 5-3for more information.

Related Topics

•ACS Command Line Interface, page 1-4

ACS Command Line Interface

You can use the ACS command-line interface (CLI), a text-based interface, to perform some configuration and operational tasks and monitoring. Access to the ACS-specific CLI requires administrator authentication by ACS 5.3.

You do not need to be an ACS administrator or log into ACS 5.3 to use the non-ACS configuration mode. ACS configuration mode command sessions are logged to the diagnostics logs.

ACS 5.3 is shipped on the Cisco 1121 Secure Access Control System (CSACS 1121). The ADE-OS software supports these command modes:

•EXEC—Use these commands to perform system-level operation tasks. For example, install, start, and stop application; copy files and installations; restore backups; and display information.

In addition, certain EXEC mode commands have ACS-specific abilities. For example, start an ACS instance, display and export ACS logs, and reset an ACS configuration to factory default settings. Such commands are specifically mentioned in the documentation

•ACS configuration—Use these commands to set the debug log level (enable or disable) for the ACS management and runtime components, and show system settings.

•Configuration—Use these commands to perform additional configuration tasks for the appliance server in an ADE-OS environment.

Note The CLI includes an option to reset the configuration that, when issued, resets all ACS configuration information, but retains the appliance settings such as network configuration.

User Guide for Cisco Secure Access Control System 5.3

1-4 OL-24201-01