Authentication
100
BLACK BOX
®
Advanced Console Server
Authentication
Authentication is the process of identifying an individual, usually based on a username and
password. In security systems, authentication is distinct from authorization, which is the pro-
cess of giving individuals access to system objects based on their identity. Authentication
merely ensures that the individual is who he or she claims to be, but says nothing about the
access rights of the individual. With the BLACK BOX
®
Advanced Console Server, authentica-
tion can be performed locally, or with a remote Radius, Tacacs, or ldap database, or kerberos.
Parameters Involved and Passed Values
The authentication feature utilizes the following parameters:
all.authtype
Type of authentication used. There are several authentication type
options:
•
none
(no authentication)
•
local
(authentication is performed using the /etc/passwd file)
•
remote
(This is for a terminal profile only. The unit takes in a user-
name but does not use it for authentication. Instead it passes it to
the remote server where it is then used for authentication.)
•
radius
(authentication is performed using a Radius authentication
server)
•
TacacsPlus
(authentication is performed using a TacacsPlus authen-
tication server)
•
ldap
(authentication is performed against an ldap database using an
ldap server. The IP address and other details of the ldap server are
defined in the file /etc/ldap.conf)
