Chapter 24 AAA
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Local User Accounts
By storing user profiles locally on the Switch, your Switch is able to authenticate and authorize
users without interacting with a network AAA server. However, there is a limit on the number of
users you may authenticate in this way (See Chapter 34 on page 255).
RADIUS and TACACS+
RADIUS and TACACS+ are security protocols used to authenticate users by means of an external
server instead of (or in addition to) an internal device user database that is limited to the memory
capacity of the device. In essence, RADIUS and TACACS+ authentication both allow you to validate
an unlimited number of users from a central location.
The following table describes some key differences between RADIUS and TACACS+.
24.2 AAA Screens
The AAA screens allow you to enable authentication and authorization or both of them on the
Switch. First, configure your authentication server settings (RADIUS, TACACS+ or both) and then
set up the authentication priority, activate authorization.
Click Advanced Application > AAA in the navigation panel to display the screen as shown.
Figure 116 Advanced Application > AAA
24.3 RADIUS Server Setup
Use this screen to configure your RADIUS server settings. See Section on page 183 for more
information on RADIUS servers and Section 24.6.2 on page 191 for RADIUS attributes utilized by
Table 61 RADIUS vs. TACACS+
RADIUS TACACS+
Transport Protocol UDP (User Datagram Protocol) TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)
Encryption Encrypts the password sent for
authentication.
All communication between the client (the
Switch) and the TACACS server is encrypted.
