Aaa Overview; Introduction To Aaa; Authentication; Authorization - 3Com 4210 9-Port Configuration Manual

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AAA Overview

Introduction to AAA

AAA is the acronym for the three security functions: authentication, authorization and accounting. It
provides a uniform framework for you to configure these three functions to implement network security
management.
Authentication: Defines what users can access the network,
Authorization: Defines what services can be available to the users who can access the network,
and
Accounting: Defines how to charge the users who are using network resources.
Typically, AAA operates in the client/server model: the client runs on the managed resources side while
the server stores the user information. Thus, AAA is well scalable and can easily implement centralized
management of user information.

Authentication

AAA supports the following authentication methods:
None authentication: Users are trusted and are not checked for their validity. Generally, this
method is not recommended.
Local authentication: User information (including user name, password, and some other attributes)
is configured on this device, and users are authenticated on this device instead of on a remote
device. Local authentication is fast and requires lower operational cost, but has the deficiency that
information storage capacity is limited by device hardware.
Remote authentication: Users are authenticated remotely through RADIUS or HWTACACS
protocol. This device (for example, a 3Com series switch) acts as the client to communicate with
the RADIUS or TACACS server. You can use standard or extended RADIUS protocols in
conjunction with such systems as iTELLIN/CAMS for user authentication. Remote authentication
allows convenient centralized management and is feature-rich. However, to implement remote
authentication, a server is needed and must be configured properly.

Authorization

AAA supports the following authorization methods:
Direct authorization: Users are trusted and directly authorized.
Local authorization: Users are authorized according to the related attributes configured for their
local accounts on this device.
RADIUS authorization: Users are authorized after they pass RADIUS authentication. In RADIUS
protocol, authentication and authorization are combined together, and authorization cannot be
performed alone without authentication.
HWTACACS authorization: Users are authorized by a TACACS server.
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