User Level Access Management

In the absence of some mechanism to identify individual users as they log in, the Cisco Internetworking Operating System (IOS) relies on a simple locally defined password to authenticate remote users. By default, passwords are stored unencrypted in the running configuration. This basic level of security is not recommended for use in a production network. By using an authentication scheme that uniquely defines remote users accessing the routers, Network Operators can track configuration changes made and define varying levels of access on a per user basis. The Cisco IOS provides the capability to locally define usernames and passwords in the router configuration.

Cisco also supports some of the more common authentication ...

Get Cisco® Router Configuration & Troubleshooting, Second Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.