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1
AAA Configuration
When configuring AAA, go to these sections for information you are interested in:
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Introduction to AAA
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Introduction to RADIUS
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Introduction to HWTACACS
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Protocols and Standards
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AAA Configuration Task List
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Configuring AAA
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Configuring RADIUS
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Configuring HWTACACS
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AAA Configuration Examples
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Troubleshooting AAA
Introduction to AAA
Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) provides a uniform framework for configuring
these three security functions to implement network security management.
AAA usually uses a client/server model, where the client runs on the network access server (NAS) and
the server maintains user information centrally. In an AAA network, a NAS is a server for users but a
client for the AAA servers, as shown in
Figure 1-1
.
Figure 1-1
AAA networking diagram
When a user tries to establish a connection to the NAS and to obtain the rights to access other
networks or some network resources, the NAS authenticates the user or the corresponding connection.
The NAS can transparently pass the user’s AAA information to the server (RADIUS server or
HWTACACS server). The RADIUS/HWTACACS protocol defines how a NAS and a server exchange
user information between them.
In the AAA network shown in
Figure 1-1
, there is a RADIUS server and a HWTACACS server. You can
determine the authentication, authorization and accounting methods according to the actual
