HP 445946-001 manual TACACS+ authentication, Radius attributes for user privileges

Accessing the switch

Table 2 User access levels

User account

Administrator

Description and tasks performed

Administrators are the only ones that can make permanent changes to the switch configuration—changes that are persistent across a reboot/reset of the switch. Administrators can access switch functions to configure and troubleshoot problems on the switch level. Because administrators can also make temporary (operator-level) changes as well, they must be aware of the interactions between temporary and permanent changes.

RADIUS attributes for user privileges

When the user logs in, the switch authenticates the level of access by sending the RADIUS access request, that is, the client authentication request, to the RADIUS authentication server.

If the authentication server successfully authenticates the remote user, the switch verifies the privileges of the remote user and authorizes the appropriate access. The administrator has the option to allow backdoor access through the console port only, or through the console and Telnet/SSH/HTTP/HTTPS access. When backdoor access is enabled, access is allowed even if the primary and secondary authentication servers are reachable. Only when both the primary and secondary authentication servers are not reachable, the administrator has the option to allow secure backdoor (secbd) access through the console port only, or through the console and Telnet/SSH/HTTP/HTTPS access. When RADIUS is on, you can have either backdoor or secure backdoor enabled, but not both at the same time. The default value for backdoor access through the console port only is enabled. You always can access the switch via the console port, by using noradius and the administrator password, whether backdoor/secure backdoor are enabled or not. The default value for backdoor and secure backdoor access through Telnet/SSH/HTTP/HTTPS is disabled.

All user privileges, other than those assigned to the administrator, must be defined in the RADIUS dictionary. RADIUS attribute 6, which is built into all RADIUS servers, defines the administrator. The file name of the dictionary is RADIUS vendor-dependent. The RADIUS attributes shown in the following table are defined for user privilege levels.

Table 3 Proprietary attributes for RADIUS

User name/access	User service type	Value
User	Vendor-supplied	255
Operator	Vendor-supplied	252

TACACS+ authentication

The switch software supports authentication, authorization, and accounting with networks using the Cisco Systems TACACS+ protocol. The switch functions as the Network Access Server (NAS) by interacting with the remote client and initiating authentication and authorization sessions with the TACACS+ access server. The remote user is defined as someone requiring management access to the switch either through a data or management port.

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