Chapter 3: Using the Web Interface
107
Configuring Authentication
Important: The PDU uses TLS instead of SSL 3.0 due to published security vulnerabilities in SSL 3.0. Make sure your
network infrastructure, such as LDAP and mail services, uses TLS rather than SSL 3.0.
For security purposes, users attempting to log in to the PDU must be authenticated. The PDU supports the following
authentication mechanisms:
•
Local user database on the PDU
•
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)
•
Remote Access Dial-In User Service (Radius) protocol
By default, the PDU is configured for local authentication. If you stay with this method, you only need to create user
accounts. See
If you prefer external authentication, you must provide the PDU with information about the external Authentication,
Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) server.
If both local and external authentication is needed, create user accounts on the PDU in addition to providing the external
AAA server data.
When configured for external authentication, all users must have an account on the external AAA server.
Local-authentication-only users will have no access to the PDU except for the admin, who always can access the PDU.
If the external authentication fails, an "Authentication failed" message is displayed. Details regarding the authentication
failure are available in the event log. See
Viewing or Clearing the Local Event Log
(on page 166).
Note that only users who have both the "Change Authentication Settings" and "Change Security Settings" permissions can
configure or modify the authentication settings.
To enable external authentication:
1.
Collect external AAA server information. See
Gathering LDAP/Radius Information
(on page 108).
2.
Enter required data for external AAA server(s) on the PDU. See
3.
If both the external and local authentication is needed, or you have to return to the local authentication only, see
Managing External Authentication Settings
Special note about the AES cipher:
The PDU's SSL/TLS-based protocols, including LDAPS, support AES 128- and 256-bit ciphers. The exact cipher to use is
negotiated between the PDU and the client (such as a web browser), which is impacted by the cipher priority of the PDU
and the client's cipher availability/settings.
