Cisco CCNA (640-553) Security Training
Using the “aaa configuration” command
By Charles Ross CCNA - CCNP #CSCO10444244
In today’s article, I’m going to inform you about the Cisco IOS global configuration mode command named “aaa configuration”.
Network administrators (like you) use the “aaa configuration” command to configure the username and password that are to be used when users attempt to download configuration requests from either a RADIUS server or an DHCP IP address pool.
Below is the command’s syntax:
aaa configuration {config-username | pool | route} username username [password [0 | 7] password]
As you can see, this command can use a lot of keywords; like the following:
config-username – This keyword is used to configure the username and password used in configuration requests that can be downloaded.
pool – This keyword is used to configure the username and password used for downloading an IP pool. IP pools are used to define range of IP addresses that are used for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) servers and point-to-point servers.
route – This keyword is used to configure the username and password used when downloading static routes through RADIUS.
username username -- This keyword and argument are used to define a username to be used instead of the router’s hostname.
password password – This (optional) keyword and argument are used to define an alphanumeric password to be used instead of the default “cisco” password. And, if you type the number “0” after the alphanumeric password, the password will not be encrypted. But, if you type the number “7” after the alphanumeric password, the password will be encrypted using a Cisco-defined encryption algorithm.
Below is an example of the command being used:
Router>enable
Router#configure terminal
Router(config)#aaa new-model
Router(config)#aaa group server radius radius1
Router(config-sg-radius)#server 10.1.1.1
Router(config-sg-radius)#exit
Router(config)#aaa authorization configuration default group radius
Router(config)#aaa authorization configuration foo group radius1
Router(config)#aaa route download 1 authorization foo
Router(config)#aaa configuration route username cross password 0 ittechtips
Router(config)#radius-server host 10.2.2.2
Router(config)#radius-server key 0 RadKey
Router(config)#exit
Router#copy run start
In the above example, we are using the “aaa configuration” command to specify that the username “cross” and the password “ittechtips” be used when downloading a static route configuration.
And, just like mostly all Cisco IOS commands; you can use the word “no” in front of the command to remove (disable) the configured command; like you see below:
Router(config)#no aaa configuration route
By the way, if you decide to use the command, make sure your router(s) is running Cisco IOS 12.2(11)T or higher.
I hope this article was very informative and helped you quickly understand the usage of the aaa configuration command. If you need to learn more; I suggest you visit my website, (www.ccnaittechtips.com) were you’ll find the latest information regarding the Cisco CCNA (640-553) Security exam techniques.
To your success,
Charles Ross
CCNA- CCNP #CSCO10444244