RADIUS Authentication and Accounting

Configuring the Switch for RADIUS Authentication

out on a server that is unavailable. If you want to use this feature, select a dead-time period of 1 to 1440 minutes. (Default: 0—disabled; range: 1 - 1440 minutes.) If your first-choice server was initially unavailable, but then becomes available before the dead-time expires, you can nullify the dead-time by resetting it to zero and then trying to log on again. As an alternative, you can reboot the switch, (thus resetting the dead-time counter to assume the server is available) and then try to log on again.

Number of Login Attempts: This is an aaa authentication command. It controls how many times in one session a RADIUS client (as well as clients using other forms of access) can try to log in with the correct username and password. (Default: Three times per session.)

(For RADIUS accounting features, refer to “Configuring RADIUS Accounting” on page 5-17.)

1.Configure Authentication for the Access Methods You Want RADIUS To Protect

This section describes how to configure the switch for RADIUS authentication through the following access methods:

Console: Either direct serial-port connection or modem connection.

Telnet: Inbound Telnet must be enabled (the default).

SSH: To employ RADIUS for SSH access, you must first configure the switch for SSH operation. Refer to “Configuring Secure Shell (SSH)” on page 6-1.

Web: Web browser interface.

You can also use RADIUS for Port-Based Access authentication. Refer to “Configuring Port-Based and Client-Based Access Control (802.1X)” on page 8-1.

You can configure RADIUS as the primary password authentication method for the above access methods. You will also need to select either local or none as a secondary, or backup, method. Note that for console access, if you configure radius (or tacacs) for primary authentication, you must configure local for the secondary method. This prevents the possibility of being completely locked out of the switch in the event that all primary access methods fail.

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