Cisco 3560G 48TS Software Configuration Guide - Page 159

Chapter 8 Configuring Switch-Based Authentication Protecting Access to Privileged EXEC Commands If both the enable and enable secret passwords are defined, users must enter the enable secret password. Use the level keyword to define a password for a specific privilege level. After you specify the level and set a password, give the password only to users who need to have access at this level. Use the privilege level global configuration command to specify commands accessible at various levels. For more information, see the "Configuring Multiple Privilege Levels" section on page 8-8. If you enable password encryption, it applies to all passwords including username passwords, authentication key passwords, the privileged command password, and console and virtual terminal line passwords. To remove a password and level, use the no enable password [level level] or no enable secret [level level] global configuration command. To disable password encryption, use the no service password-encryption global configuration command. This example shows how to configure the encrypted password $1$FaD0$Xyti5Rkls3LoyxzS8 for privilege level 2: Switch(config)# enable secret level 2 5 $1$FaD0$Xyti5Rkls3LoyxzS8 Disabling Password Recovery By default, any end user with physical access to the switch can recover from a lost password by interrupting the boot process while the switch is powering on and then by entering a new password. The password-recovery disable feature protects access to the switch password by disabling part of this functionality. When this feature is enabled, the end user can interrupt the boot process only by agreeing to set the system back to the default configuration. With password recovery disabled, you can still interrupt the boot process and change the password, but the configuration file (config.text) and the VLAN database file (vlan.dat) are deleted. Note If you disable password recovery, we recommend that you keep a backup copy of the configuration file on a secure server in case the end user interrupts the boot process and sets the system back to default values. Do not keep a backup copy of the configuration file on the switch. If the switch is operating in VTP transparent mode, we recommend that you also keep a backup copy of the VLAN database file on a secure server. When the switch is returned to the default system configuration, you can download the saved files to the switch by using the XMODEM protocol. For more information, see the "Recovering from a Lost or Forgotten Password" section on page 35-4. Beginning in privileged EXEC mode, follow these steps to disable password recovery: Step 1 Step 2 Command configure terminal no service password-recovery Step 3 end Step 4 show version Purpose Enter global configuration mode. Disable password recovery. This setting is saved in an area of the Flash memory that is accessible by the boot loader and the Cisco IOS image, but it is not part of the file system and is not accessible by any user. Return to privileged EXEC mode. Verify the configuration by checking the last few lines of the command output. 78-16156-01 Catalyst 3560 Switch Software Configuration Guide 8-5