Chapter 22 AAA
GS1350 Series User’s Guide
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CHAPTER 22
AAA
22.1  AAA Overview
This chapter describes how to configure authentication, authorization and accounting settings on the 
Switch.
The external servers that perform authentication, authorization and accounting functions are known as 
AAA servers. The Switch supports RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service, see RADIUS on 
page 177) as external authentication and authorization servers.
Figure 131   AAA Server
22.1.1  What You Can Do
• Use the AAA screen (Section 22.2 on page 177) to display the links to the screens where you can 
enable authentication and authorization or both of them on the Switch.
• use the RADIUS Server Setup screen (Section 22.3 on page 177) to configure your RADIUS server 
settings.
• Use the AAA Setup screen (Section 22.4 on page 179) to configure authentication, authorization and 
accounting settings, such as the methods used to authenticate users accessing the Switch and which 
database the Switch should use first.
22.1.2  What You Need to Know
Authentication is the process of determining who a user is and validating access to the Switch. The 
Switch can authenticate users who try to log in based on user accounts configured on the Switch itself. 
The Switch can also use an external authentication server to authenticate a large number of users.
Authorization is the process of determining what a user is allowed to do. Different user accounts may 
have higher or lower privilege levels associated with them. For example, user A may have the right to 
create new login accounts on the Switch but user B cannot. The Switch can authorize users based on 
user accounts configured on the Switch itself or it can use an external server to authorize a large number 
of users.
Accounting is the process of recording what a user is doing. The Switch can use an external server to 
track when users log in, log out, execute commands and so on. Accounting can also record system 
related actions such as boot up and shut down times of the Switch.