Enhancements in Release F.02.02

TACACS+ Authentication for Centralized Control of Switch Access Security

TACACS+ Operation

TACACS+ in Series 2500 switches manages authentication of logon attempts through either the Console port or Telnet. For both Console and Telnet you can configure a login (read-only) and an enable (read/write) privilege level access. When your primary authentication control for switch access is a TACACS+ server, you can also specify a local (switch-based) secondary authentication control.

Note

In release F.02.02, TACACS+ does not affect Web browser interface access. See "Controlling Web Browser Interface Access" on page 184.

General Authentication Setup Procedure

It is important to test the TACACS+ service before fully implementing it. Depending on the process and parameter settings you use to set up and test TACACS+ authentication in your network, you could accidentally lock all users, including yourself, out of access to a switch. While recovery is simple, it may pose an inconvenience that can be avoided.To prevent an unintentional lockout on a Series 2500 switch, use a procedure that configures and tests TACACS+ protection for one access type (for example, Telnet access), while keeping the other access type (console, in this case) open in case the Telnet access fails due to a configuration problem. The following procedure outlines a general setup procedure.

Note

If a complete access lockout occurs on the switch as a result of a TACACS+ configuration, see "Troubleshooting TACACS+ Operation" on page 186 for recovery methods.

1.Familiarize yourself with the requirements for configuring your TACACS+ server application to respond to requests from a Series 2500 switch. (Refer to the documentation provided with the TACACS+ server software.) This includes knowing whether you need to configure an encryption key. (See “Using the Encryption Key” on page 183.)

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