Configuring The Switch For Vendor-Proprietary Radius Server Communication; Configuring Radius Server Load Balancing - Cisco IE-3000-8TC Software Configuration Manual

Chapter 11 Configuring Switch-Based Authentication

Configuring the Switch for Vendor-Proprietary RADIUS Server Communication

Although an IETF draft standard for RADIUS specifies a method for communicating vendor-proprietary
information between the switch and the RADIUS server, some vendors have extended the RADIUS
attribute set in a unique way. Cisco IOS software supports a subset of vendor-proprietary RADIUS
attributes.
As mentioned earlier, to configure RADIUS (whether vendor-proprietary or IETF draft-compliant), you
must specify the host running the RADIUS server daemon and the secret text string it shares with the
switch. You specify the RADIUS host and secret text string by using the radius-server global
configuration commands.
Beginning in privileged EXEC mode, follow these steps to specify a vendor-proprietary RADIUS server
host and a shared secret text string:
Command
Step 1 configure terminal
Step 2 radius-server host {hostname | ip-address} non-standard
Step 3 radius-server key string
Step 4
end
Step 5 show running-config
Step 6 copy running-config startup-config
To delete the vendor-proprietary RADIUS host, use the no radius-server host {hostname | ip-address}
non-standard global configuration command. To disable the key, use the no radius-server key global
configuration command.
This example shows how to specify a vendor-proprietary RADIUS host and to use a secret key of rad124
between the switch and the server:
Switch(config)# radius-server host 172.20.30.15 nonstandard
Switch(config)# radius-server key rad124

Configuring RADIUS Server Load Balancing

This feature allows access and authentication requests to be evenly across all RADIUS servers in a server
group. For more information, see the "RADIUS Server Load Balancing" chapter of the "Cisco IOS
Security Configuration Guide", Release 12.2:
http://www.ciscosystems.com/en/US/docs/ios/12_2sb/feature/guide/sbrdldbl.html
OL-13018-03
Controlling Switch Access with RADIUS
Purpose
Enter global configuration mode.
Specify the IP address or hostname of the remote
RADIUS server host and identify that it is using a
vendor-proprietary implementation of RADIUS.
Specify the shared secret text string used between the
switch and the vendor-proprietary RADIUS server.
The switch and the RADIUS server use this text
string to encrypt passwords and exchange responses.
The key is a text string that must match the
Note
encryption key used on the RADIUS server.
Leading spaces are ignored, but spaces within
and at the end of the key are used. If you use
spaces in your key, do not enclose the key in
quotation marks unless the quotation marks
are part of the key.
Return to privileged EXEC mode.
Verify your settings.
(Optional) Save your entries in the configuration file.
Cisco IE 3000 Switch Software Configuration Guide
11-31