Cisco 500 Series, Configuration Manual

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Cisco Security Appliance Command Line Configuration Guide
OL-12172-03
Chapter 13 Configuring AAA Servers and the Local Database
AAA Overview
About Authentication
Authentication controls access by requiring valid user credentials, which are typically a username and
password. You can configure the security appliance to authenticate the following items:
•
All administrative connections to the security appliance including the following sessions:
– Telnet
–
SSH
– Serial console
–
ASDM (using HTTPS)
– VPN management access
•
The enable command
• Network access
•
VPN access
About Authorization
Authorization controls access per user after users authenticate. You can configure the security appliance
to authorize the following items:
•
Management commands
• Network access
•
VPN access
Authorization controls the services and commands available to each authenticated user. Were you not to
enable authorization, authentication alone would provide the same access to services for all
authenticated users.
If you need the control that authorization provides, you can configure a broad authentication rule, and
then have a detailed authorization configuration. For example, you authenticate inside users who attempt
to access any server on the outside network and then limit the outside servers that a particular user can
access using authorization.
The security appliance caches the first 16 authorization requests per user, so if the user accesses the same
services during the current authentication session, the security appliance does not resend the request to
the authorization server.
About Accounting
Accounting tracks traffic that passes through the security appliance, enabling you to have a record of
user activity. If you enable authentication for that traffic, you can account for traffic per user. If you do
not authenticate the traffic, you can account for traffic per IP address. Accounting information includes
when sessions start and stop, username, the number of bytes that pass through the security appliance for
the session, the service used, and the duration of each session.