Cisco 7609-S Configuration Guide - Page 285

Configuring Failover Communication Authentication/Encryption, Verifying the Failover Configuration

Page 285 highlights

Chapter 14 Configuring Failover Configuring Failover Configuring Failover Communication Authentication/Encryption You can encrypt and authenticate the communication between failover peers by specifying a shared secret or hexadecimal key. Caution All information sent over the failover and Stateful Failover links is sent in clear text unless you secure the communication with a failover key. If FWSM is used to terminate VPN tunnels, this information includes any usernames, passwords and preshared keys used for establishing the tunnels. Transmitting this sensitive data in clear text could pose a significant security risk. We recommend securing the failover communication with a failover key if you are using FWSM to terminate VPN tunnels. Enter the following command on the active unit of an Active/Standby failover pair or on the unit that has failover group 1 in the active state of an Active/Active failover pair: hostname(config)# failover key {secret | hex key} The secret argument specifies a shared secret that is used to generate the encryption key. It can be from 1 to 63 characters. The characters can be any combination of numbers, letters, or punctuation. The hex key argument specifies a hexadecimal encryption key. The key must be 32 hexadecimal characters (0-9, a-f). Note To prevent the failover key from being replicated to the peer unit in clear text for an existing failover configuration, disable failover on the active unit (or in the system execution space on the unit that has failover group 1 in the active state), enter the failover key on both units, and then reenable failover. When failover is reenabled, the failover communication will be encrypted with the key. For new failover configurations, the failover key command should be part of the initial failover pair configuration. Verifying the Failover Configuration This section describes how to verify your failover configuration. This section includes the following topics: • Viewing Failover Status, page 14-31 • Viewing Monitored Interfaces, page 14-39 • Viewing the Failover Configuration, page 14-39 • Testing the Failover Functionality, page 14-39 Viewing Failover Status This section describes how to view the failover status. On each unit you can verify the failover status by entering the show failover command. The information displayed depends upon whether you are using Active/Standby or Active/Active failover. This section includes the following topics: • Viewing Failover Status for Active/Standby, page 14-32 • Viewing Failover Status for Active/Active, page 14-35 OL-20748-01 Catalyst 6500 Series Switch and Cisco 7600 Series Router Firewall Services Module Configuration Guide using ASDM 14-31

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14-31
Catalyst 6500 Series Switch and Cisco 7600 Series Router Firewall Services Module Configuration Guide using ASDM
OL-20748-01
Chapter 14
Configuring Failover
Configuring Failover
Configuring Failover Communication Authentication/Encryption
You can encrypt and authenticate the communication between failover peers by specifying a shared
secret or hexadecimal key.
Caution
All information sent over the failover and Stateful Failover links is sent in clear text unless you secure
the communication with a failover key. If FWSM is used to terminate VPN tunnels, this information
includes any usernames, passwords and preshared keys used for establishing the tunnels. Transmitting
this sensitive data in clear text could pose a significant security risk. We recommend securing the failover
communication with a failover key if you are using FWSM to terminate VPN tunnels.
Enter the following command on the active unit of an Active/Standby failover pair or on the unit that has
failover group 1 in the active state of an Active/Active failover pair:
hostname(config)#
failover key
{
secret
|
hex
key
}
The
secret
argument specifies a shared secret that is used to generate the encryption key. It can be from
1 to 63 characters. The characters can be any combination of numbers, letters, or punctuation. The
hex
key
argument specifies a hexadecimal encryption key. The key must be 32 hexadecimal characters (0-9,
a-f).
Note
To prevent the failover key from being replicated to the peer unit in clear text for an existing failover
configuration, disable failover on the active unit (or in the system execution space on the unit that has
failover group 1 in the active state), enter the failover key on both units, and then reenable failover. When
failover is reenabled, the failover communication will be encrypted with the key.
For new failover configurations, the
failover key
command should be part of the initial failover pair
configuration.
Verifying the Failover Configuration
This section describes how to verify your failover configuration. This section includes the following
topics:
Viewing Failover Status, page 14-31
Viewing Monitored Interfaces, page 14-39
Viewing the Failover Configuration, page 14-39
Testing the Failover Functionality, page 14-39
Viewing Failover Status
This section describes how to view the failover status. On each unit you can verify the failover status by
entering the
show failover
command. The information displayed depends upon whether you are using
Active/Standby or Active/Active failover.
This section includes the following topics:
Viewing Failover Status for Active/Standby, page 14-32
Viewing Failover Status for Active/Active, page 14-35