Information About Authentication Named Method Lists for Authentication A named list of authentication methods is first defined before AAA authentication can be configured, and the named list is then applied to various interfaces. The method list defines the types of authentication and the sequence in which they are performed; it must be applied to a specific interface before any of the defined authentication methods are performed. The only exception is the default method list (which is named “default”). The default method list is automatically applied to all interfaces, except those that have a named method list explicitly defined. A defined method list overrides the default method list.
A method list is a sequential list describing the authentication methods to be queried to authenticate a user. Method lists enable you to designate one or more security protocols to be used for authentication, thus ensuring a backup system for authentication in case the initial method fails. Cisco software uses the first listed method to authenticate users. If that method fails to respond, the Cisco software selects the next authentication method listed in the method list. This process continues until there is successful communication with a listed authentication method, or all methods defined in the method list are exhausted.
Note that the software attempts authentication with the next listed authentication method only when there is no response from the previous method. If authentication fails at any point in this cycle, that is, the security server or local username database responds by denying the user access, then the authentication process stops and no other authentication methods are attempted. Method Lists and Server Groups A server group is a way to group existing RADIUS or TACACS+ server hosts for use in method lists. The figure below shows a typical AAA network configuration that includes four security servers: R1 and R2 are RADIUS servers and T1 and T2 are TACACS+ servers.
R1 and R2 make up the group of RADIUS servers. T1 and T2 make up the group of TACACS+ servers. Figure 1: Configuration of a Typical AAA Network This figure shows a typical AAA network configuration. Configuring Authentication Information About Authentication Configuring Authentication 2