Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Security Configuration Guide, Release 5.x - Configuring User Accounts and RBAC [Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Switches]

Contents
Configuring User Accounts and RBAC
Information About User Accounts and RBAC
User Accounts
Characteristics of Strong Passwords
User Roles
User Role Rules
User Role Configuration Distribution
Virtualization Support for RBAC
Licensing Requirements for User Accounts and RBAC
Guidelines and Limitations for User Accounts and RBAC
Default Settings for User Accounts and RBAC
Enabling Password-Strength Checking
Configuring User Accounts
Configuring Roles
Enabling User Role Configuration Distribution
Creating User Roles and Rules
Creating Feature Groups
Changing User Role Interface Policies
Changing User Role VLAN Policies
Changing User Role VRF Policies
Committing the User Role Configuration to Distribution
Discarding the User Role Distribution Session
Clearing the User Role Distribution Session
Verifying User Accounts and RBAC Configuration
Configuration Examples for User Accounts and RBAC
Additional References for User Accounts and RBAC
Related Documents for User Accounts and RBAC
Standards for User Accounts and RBAC
MIBs for User Accounts and RBAC
Feature History for User Accounts and RBAC
Configuring User Accounts and RBAC

This chapter describes how to configure user accounts and role-based access control (RBAC) on Cisco NX-OS devices.

This chapter includes the following sections:

Information About User Accounts and RBAC
Licensing Requirements for User Accounts and RBAC
Guidelines and Limitations for User Accounts and RBAC
Default Settings for User Accounts and RBAC
Enabling Password-Strength Checking
Configuring User Accounts
Configuring Roles
Verifying User Accounts and RBAC Configuration
Configuration Examples for User Accounts and RBAC
Additional References for User Accounts and RBAC
Feature History for User Accounts and RBAC

Information About User Accounts and RBAC

You can create and manage users accounts and assign roles that limit access to operations on the Cisco NX-OS device. RBAC allows you to define the rules for an assign role that restrict the authorization that the user has to access management operations.

User Accounts
Characteristics of Strong Passwords
User Roles
User Role Rules
User Role Configuration Distribution
Virtualization Support for RBAC

User Accounts

You can configure up to a maximum of 256 user accounts. By default, the user account does not expire unless you explicitly configure it to expire. The expire option determines the date when the user account is disabled.

Users can have user accounts on multiple VDCs. These users can move between VDCs after an initial connection to a VDC.

The following words are reserved and cannot be used to configure users: bin, daemon, adm, lp, sync, shutdown, halt, mail, news, uucp, operator, games, gopher, ftp, nobody, nscd, mailnull, root, rpc, rpcuser, xfs, gdm, mtsuser, ftpuser, man, and sys.

Note

User passwords are not displayed in the configuration files.

Caution

Usernames must begin with an alphanumeric character and can contain only these special characters: ( + = . _ \ -). The # and ! symbols are not supported. If the username contains characters that are not allowed, the specified user is unable to log in.

Characteristics of Strong Passwords

A strong password has the following characteristics:

Is at least eight characters long

Does not contain many consecutive characters (such as abcd)

Does not contain many repeating characters (such as aaabbb)

Does not contain dictionary words

Does not contain proper names

Contains both uppercase and lowercase characters

Contains numbers

The following are examples of strong passwords:

If2CoM18

2004AsdfLkj30

Cb1955S21

Note
All printable ASCII characters are supported in the password string if they are enclosed in quotation marks.

If a password is trivial (such as a short, easy-to-decipher password), the Cisco NX-OS software will reject your password configuration if password-strength checking is enabled. Be sure to configure a strong password as shown in the sample configuration. Passwords are case sensitive.

User Roles

User roles contain rules that define the operations allowed for the user who is assigned the role. Each user role can contain multiple rules and each user can have multiple roles. For example, if role1 allows access only to configuration operations, and role2 allows access only to debug operations, then users who belong to both role1 and role2 can access configuration and debug operations. You can also limit access to specific VLANs, virtual routing and forwarding instances (VRFs), and interfaces.

The Cisco NX-OS software provides four default user roles:

network-admin—Complete read-and-write access to the entire Cisco NX-OS device (only available in the default VDC)

network-operator—Complete read access to the entire Cisco NX-OS device (only available in the default VDC)

vdc-admin—Read-and-write access limited to a VDC

vdc-operator—Read access limited to a VDC

Note

You cannot change the default user roles.

Note
Some show commands may be hidden from network-operator and vdc-operator users. In addition, some non-show commands (such as telnet) may be available for these user roles.

You can create custom roles within a VDC. By default, the user accounts without administrator roles can access only the show, exit, end, and configure terminal commands. You can add rules to allow users to configure features.
The VDCs on the same physical device do not share user roles. Each VDC maintains an independent user role database. Within a VDC, roles are configured by rule and attribute assignment.

Note

If you belong to multiple roles, you can execute a combination of all the commands permitted by these roles. Access to a command takes priority over being denied access to a command. For example, suppose a user has RoleA, which denied access to the configuration commands. However, the user also has RoleB, which has access to the configuration commands. In this case, the user has access to the configuration commands.

User Role Rules

The rule is the basic element of a role. A rule defines what operations the role allows the user to perform. You can apply rules for the following parameters:

Command

A command or group of commands defined in a regular expression.

Feature

A command or group of commands defined in a regular expression.

Feature group

Default or user-defined group of features.

The command, feature, and feature group parameters create a hierarchical relationship. The most basic control parameter is the command. The next control parameter is the feature, which represents all commands associated with the feature. The last control parameter is the feature group. The feature group combines related features and allows you to easily manage the rules. The Cisco NX-OS software also supports the predefined feature group L3 that you can use.

You can configure up to 256 rules for each role. The user-specified rule number determines the order in which the rules are applied. Rules are applied in descending order. For example, if a role has three rules, rule 3 is applied before rule 2, which is applied before rule 1.

User Role Configuration Distribution

Cisco Fabric Services (CFS) allows the Cisco NX-OS device to distribute the user role configuration to other Cisco NX-OS devices in the network. When you enable CFS distribution for a feature on your device, the device belongs to a CFS region containing other devices in the network that you have also enabled for CFS distribution for the feature. CFS distribution for the user role feature is disabled by default.

Note

You must explicitly enable CFS for user roles on each device to which you want to distribute configuration changes.

After you enable CFS distribution for user roles on your Cisco NX-OS device, the first user role configuration command that you enter causes the Cisco NX-OS software to take the following actions:

Creates a CFS session on your Cisco NX-OS device.

Locks the user role configuration on all Cisco NX-OS devices in the CFS region with CFS enabled for the user role feature.

Saves the user role configuration changes in a temporary buffer on the Cisco NX-OS device.

The changes stay in the temporary buffer on the Cisco NX-OS device until you explicitly commit them to be distributed to the devices in the CFS region. When you commit the changes, the Cisco NX-OS software takes the following actions:

Applies the changes to the running configuration on your Cisco NX-OS device.

Distributes the updated user role configuration to the other Cisco NX-OS devices in the CFS region.

Unlocks the user role configuration in the devices in the CFS region.

Terminates the CFS session.

For detailed information on CFS, see the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS System Management Configuration Guide.

Virtualization Support for RBAC

The users with the network-admin and network-operator roles can operate in all virtual device contexts (VDCs) when logged in from the default VDC and use the switchto vdc command to access other VDCs. All other user roles are local to the VDC. Roles are not shared between VDCs. Each VDC maintains an independent user role database.

The following guidelines and limitations apply to the switchto vdc command:
Only users with the network-admin or network-operator role can use the switchto vdc command. No other users are permitted to use it.

No user can grant permission to another role to use the switchto vdc command.

After a network-admin uses the switchto vdc command, this user becomes a vdc-admin for the new VDC. Similarly, after a network-operator uses the switchto vdc command, this user becomes a vdc-operator for the new VDC. Any other roles associated with the user are not valid after the switchto vdc command is entered.

After a network-admin or network-operator uses the switchto vdc command, this user cannot use this command to switch to another VDC. The only option is to use the switchback command to return to the original VDC.

Beginning with Cisco NX-OS Release 5.2, you can configure RBAC in the storage VDC. Note that RBAC in the storage VDC is RBAC for the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series switches, which is different from that for the Cisco MDS 9500 Series switches.

Note
For more information on VDCs, see the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Virtual Device Context Configuration Guide.

Licensing Requirements for User Accounts and RBAC

The following table shows the licensing requirements for this feature:

Product

License Requirement

Cisco NX-OS

User accounts and RBAC require no license. Any feature not included in a license package is bundled with the Cisco NX-OS system images and is provided at no extra charge to you. For an explanation of the Cisco NX-OS licensing scheme, see the Cisco NX-OS Licensing Guide.

Guidelines and Limitations for User Accounts and RBAC

User accounts and RBAC have the following configuration guidelines and limitations:

You can create up to 64 user-defined roles in a VDC in addition to the four default user roles in the default VDC and the two default user roles in the nondefault VDCs.

You can add up to 256 rules to a user role.

You can add up to 64 user-defined feature groups to a VDC in addition to the default feature group, L3.

You can configure up to 256 users in a VDC.

You can assign a maximum of 64 user roles to a user account.

If you have a user account configured on the local Cisco NX-OS device that has the same name as a remote user account on an AAA server, the Cisco NX-OS software applies the user roles for the local user account to the remote user, not the user roles configured on the AAA server.

You cannot delete the default admin, adminbackup, and SNMP user accounts.

You cannot remove the default user roles from the default admin and adminbackup user accounts.

You cannot change the network-admin, vdc-admin, network-operator, and vdc-operator default user roles.

The network-operator and vdc-operator roles cannot run the show running-config and show startup-config commands.

RBAC is not supported for traffic between F1 Series module ports and M1 Series module ports in the same VLAN.

Note

If you are familiar with the Cisco IOS CLI, be aware that the Cisco NX-OS commands for this feature might differ from the Cisco IOS commands that you would use.

Default Settings for User Accounts and RBAC

This table lists the default settings for user accounts and RBAC parameters.

Table 1 Default User Accounts and RBAC Parameters

Parameters

Default

User account password

Undefined.

User account expiry date

None.

User account role in the default VDC

Network-operator if the creating user has the network-admin role, or vdc-operator if the creating user has the vdc-admin role.

User account role in the non-VDCs

Vdc-operator if the creating user has the vdc-admin role.

Default user roles in the default VDC

Network-operator.

Default user roles in the non-default VDCs

Vdc-operator.

Interface policy

All interfaces are accessible.

VLAN policy

All VLANs are accessible.

VRF policy

All VRFs are accessible.

Feature group

L3.
Enabling Password-Strength Checking
You can enable password-strength checking which prevents you from creating weak passwords for user accounts.

Note
When you enable password-strength checking, the Cisco NX-OS software does not check the strength of existing passwords.

SUMMARY STEPS
1.    configure terminal

2.    password strength-check

3.    exit

4.    (Optional) show password strength-check

5.    (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS
Command or Action Purpose
Step 1
configure terminal

Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2
password strength-check

Example:
switch(config)# password strength-check
Enables password-strength checking. The default is enabled.

You can disable password-strength checking by using the no form of this command.
Step 3
exit

Example:
switch(config)# exit
switch#
Exits global configuration mode.
Step 4
show password strength-check

Example:
switch# show password strength-check
(Optional)
Displays the password-strength check configuration.
Step 5
copy running-config startup-config

Example:
switch# copy running-config startup-config
(Optional)
Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.
Configuring User Accounts
You can create a maximum of 256 user accounts on a Cisco NX-OS device. User accounts have the following attributes:

Username

Password

Expiry date

User roles

You can enter the password in clear text format or encrypted format. The Cisco NX-OS password encrypts clear text passwords before saving them to the running configuration. Encrypted format passwords are saved to the running configuration without further encryption.

User accounts can have a maximum of 64 user roles. The user can determine what commands are available by using the command-line interface (CLI) context sensitive help utility.

Note

Changes to user account attributes do not take effect until the user logs in and creates a new session.

SUMMARY STEPS
1.    configure terminal

2.    (Optional) show role

3.    username user-id [password [0 | 5] password] [expire date] [role role-name]

4.    exit

5.    (Optional) show user-account

6.    (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS
Command or Action Purpose
Step 1
configure terminal

Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2
show role

Example:
switch(config)# show role
(Optional)
Displays the user roles available. You can configure other user roles, if necessary.
Step 3
username user-id [password [0 | 5] password] [expire date] [role role-name]

Example:
switch(config)# username NewUser password 4Ty18Rnt
Configures a user account. The user-id argument is a case-sensitive, alphanumeric character string with a maximum length of 28 characters. Valid characters are uppercase letters A through Z, lowercase letters a through z, numbers 0 through 9, hypen (-), period (.), underscore (_), plus sign (+), and equal sign (=). The at symbol (@) is supported in remote usernames but not in local usernames.

The default password is undefined. The 0 option indicates that the password is clear text, and the 5 option indicates that the password is encrypted. The default is 0 (clear text).

Note
If you do not specify a password, the user might not be able to log in to the Cisco NX-OS device.

Note
If you create a user account with the encrypted password option, the corresponding SNMP user will not be created.

The expire date option format is YYYY-MM-DD. The default is no expiry date.

User accounts can have a maximum of 64 user roles.
Step 4
exit

Example:
switch(config)# exit
switch#
Exits global configuration mode.
Step 5
show user-account

Example:
switch# show user-account
(Optional)
Displays the role configuration.
Step 6
copy running-config startup-config

Example:
switch# copy running-config startup-config
(Optional)
Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.
Configuring Roles

This section describes how to configure user roles.

Enabling User Role Configuration Distribution
Creating User Roles and Rules
Creating Feature Groups
Changing User Role Interface Policies
Changing User Role VLAN Policies
Changing User Role VRF Policies
Committing the User Role Configuration to Distribution
Discarding the User Role Distribution Session
Clearing the User Role Distribution Session
Enabling User Role Configuration Distribution
To distribute the user roles configuration to other Cisco NX-OS devices in the network, you must first enable CFS distribution for user roles.

SUMMARY STEPS
1.    configure terminal

2.    role distribute

3.    exit

4.    (Optional) show role session status

5.    (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS
Command or Action Purpose
Step 1
configure terminal

Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2
role distribute

Example:
switch(config)# role distribute
Enables user role configuration distribution. The default is disabled.
Step 3
exit

Example:
switch(config)# exit
switch#
Exits configuration mode.
Step 4
show role session status

Example:
switch# show role session status
(Optional)
Displays the user role distribution status information.
Step 5
copy running-config startup-config

Example:
switch# copy running-config startup-config
(Optional)
Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.
Creating User Roles and Rules
You can configure up to 64 user roles in a VDC. Each user role can have up to 256 rules. You can assign a user role to more than one user account.

The rule number that you specify determines the order in which the rules are applied. Rules are applied in descending order. For example, if a role has three rules, rule 3 is applied before rule 2, which is applied before rule 1.

Note
Regardless of the read-write rule configured for a user role, some commands can be executed only through the predefined network-admin and vdc-admin roles. For more information on user roles, see the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Virtual Device Context Configuration Guide.

Before You Begin
If you want to distribute the user role configuration, enable user role configuration distribution on all Cisco NX-OS devices to which you want the configuration distributed.

SUMMARY STEPS
1.    configure terminal

2.    role name role-name

3.    rule number {deny | permit} command command-string

4.    rule number {deny | permit} {read | read-write}

5.    rule number {deny | permit} {read | read-write} feature feature-name

6.    rule number {deny | permit} {read | read-write} feature-group group-name

7.    (Optional) description text

8.    exit

9.    (Optional) show role

10.    (Optional) show role {pending | pending-diff}

11.    (Optional) role commit

12.    (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS
Command or Action Purpose
Step 1
configure terminal

Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2
role name role-name

Example:
switch(config)# role name UserA
switch(config-role)# 
Specifies a user role and enters role configuration mode. The role-name argument is a case-sensitive, alphanumeric character string with a maximum length of 16 characters.
Step 3
rule number {deny | permit} command command-string

Example:
switch(config-role)# rule 1 deny command clear users
Configures a command rule.

The command-string argument can contain spaces and regular expressions. For example, interface ethernet includes all Ethernet interfaces.

Repeat this command for as many rules as needed.
Step 4
rule number {deny | permit} {read | read-write}

Example:
switch(config-role)# rule 2 deny read-write
Configures a read-only or read-and-write rule for all operations.
Step 5
rule number {deny | permit} {read | read-write} feature feature-name

Example:
switch(config-role)# rule 3 permit read feature router-bgp
Configures a read-only or read-and-write rule for a feature.

Use the show role feature command to display a list of features.

Repeat this command for as many rules as needed.
Step 6
rule number {deny | permit} {read | read-write} feature-group group-name

Example:
switch(config-role)# rule 4 deny read-write feature-group L3
Configures a read-only or read-and-write rule for a feature group.

Use the show role feature-group command to display a list of feature groups.

Repeat this command for as many rules as needed.
Step 7
description text

Example:
switch(config-role)# description This role does not allow users to use clear commands
(Optional)
Configures the role description. You can include spaces in the description.
Step 8
exit

Example:
switch(config-role)# exit
switch(config)#
Exits role configuration mode.
Step 9
show role

Example:
switch(config)# show role
(Optional)
Displays the user role configuration.
Step 10
show role {pending | pending-diff}

Example:
switch(config)# show role pending
(Optional)
Displays the user role configuration pending for distribution.
Step 11
role commit

Example:
switch(config)# role commit
(Optional)
Applies the user role configuration changes in the temporary database to the running configuration and distributes user role configuration to other Cisco NX-OS devices if you have enabled CFS configuration distribution for the user role feature.
Step 12
copy running-config startup-config

Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config
(Optional)
Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.
Creating Feature Groups
You can create custom feature groups to add to the default list of features provided by the Cisco NX-OS software. These groups contain one or more of the features. You can create up to 64 feature groups in a VDC.

Note

You cannot change the default feature group L3.

Before You Begin
If you want to distribute the user role configuration, enable user role configuration distribution on all Cisco NX-OS devices to which you want the configuration distributed.

SUMMARY STEPS
1.    configure terminal

2.    role feature-group name group-name

3.    feature feature-name

4.    exit

5.    (Optional) show role feature-group

6.    (Optional) show role {pending | pending-diff}

7.    (Optional) role commit

8.    (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS
Command or Action Purpose
Step 1
configure terminal

Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2
role feature-group name group-name

Example:
switch(config)# role feature-group name GroupA
switch(config-role-featuregrp)# 
Specifies a user role feature group and enters role feature group configuration mode.

The group-name argument is a case-sensitive, alphanumeric character string with a maximum length of 32 characters.
Step 3
feature feature-name

Example:
switch(config-role-featuregrp)# feature vdc
Specifies a feature for the feature group.

Repeat this command for as many features as needed.

Note
Use the show role component command to display a list of features.
Step 4
exit

Example:
switch(config-role-featuregrp)# exit
switch(config)#
Exits role feature group configuration mode.
Step 5
show role feature-group

Example:
switch(config)# show role feature-group
(Optional)
Displays the role feature group configuration.
Step 6
show role {pending | pending-diff}

Example:
switch(config)# show role pending
(Optional)
Displays the user role configuration pending for distribution.
Step 7
role commit

Example:
switch(config)# role commit
(Optional)
Applies the user role configuration changes in the temporary database to the running configuration and distributes user role configuration to other Cisco NX-OS devices if you have enabled CFS configuration distribution for the user role feature.
Step 8
copy running-config startup-config

Example:
switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config
(Optional)
Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.
Changing User Role Interface Policies
You can change a user role interface policy to limit the interfaces that the user can access. By default, a user role allows access to all interfaces in the VDC.

Before You Begin
Create one or more user roles.

If you want to distribute the user role configuration, enable user role configuration distribution on all Cisco NX-OS devices to which you want the configuration distributed.

SUMMARY STEPS
1.    configure terminal

2.    role name role-name

3.    interface policy deny

4.    permit interface interface-list

5.    exit

6.    (Optional) show role

7.    (Optional) show role {pending | pending-diff}

8.    (Optional) role commit

9.    (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS
Command or Action Purpose
Step 1
configure terminal

Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2
role name role-name

Example:
switch(config)# role name UserA
switch(config-role)# 
Specifies a user role and enters role configuration mode.
Step 3
interface policy deny

Example:
switch(config-role)# interface policy deny
switch(config-role-interface)#
Enters role interface policy configuration mode.
Step 4
permit interface interface-list

Example:
switch(config-role-interface)# permit interface ethernet 2/1-4
Specifies a list of interfaces that the role can access.

Repeat this command for as many interfaces as needed.
Step 5
exit

Example:
switch(config-role-interface)# exit
switch(config-role)#
Exits role interface policy configuration mode.
Step 6
show role

Example:
switch(config-role)# show role
(Optional)
Displays the role configuration.
Step 7
show role {pending | pending-diff}

Example:
switch(config-role)# show role pending
(Optional)
Displays the user role configuration pending for distribution.
Step 8
role commit

Example:
switch(config-role)# role commit
(Optional)
Applies the user role configuration changes in the temporary database to the running configuration and distributes user role configuration to other Cisco NX-OS devices if you have enabled CFS configuration distribution for the user role feature.
Step 9
copy running-config startup-config

Example:
switch(config-role)# copy running-config startup-config
(Optional)
Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.
Changing User Role VLAN Policies
You can change a user role VLAN policy to limit the VLANs that the user can access. By default, a user role allows access to all VLANs in the VDC.

Before You Begin
Create one or more user roles.

If you want to distribute the user role configuration, enable user role configuration distribution on all Cisco NX-OS devices to which you want the configuration distributed.

SUMMARY STEPS
1.    configure terminal

2.    role name role-name

3.    vlan policy deny

4.    permit vlan vlan-list

5.    exit

6.    (Optional) show role

7.    (Optional) show role {pending | pending-diff}

8.    (Optional) role commit

9.    (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS
Command or Action Purpose
Step 1
configure terminal

Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2
role name role-name

Example:
switch(config)# role name UserA
switch(config-role)# 
Specifies a user role and enters role configuration mode.
Step 3
vlan policy deny

Example:
switch(config-role)# vlan policy deny
switch(config-role-vlan)#
Enters role VLAN policy configuration mode.
Step 4
permit vlan vlan-list

Example:
switch(config-role-vlan)# permit vlan 1-4
Specifies a range of VLANs that the role can access.

Repeat this command for as many VLANs as needed.
Step 5
exit

Example:
switch(config-role-vlan)# exit
switch(config-role)#
Exits role VLAN policy configuration mode.
Step 6
show role

Example:
switch(config)# show role
(Optional)
Displays the role configuration.
Step 7
show role {pending | pending-diff}

Example:
switch(config-role)# show role pending
(Optional)
Displays the user role configuration pending for distribution.
Step 8
role commit

Example:
switch(config-role)# role commit
(Optional)
Applies the user role configuration changes in the temporary database to the running configuration and distributes user role configuration to other Cisco NX-OS devices if you have enabled CFS configuration distribution for the user role feature.
Step 9
copy running-config startup-config

Example:
switch(config-role)# copy running-config startup-config
(Optional)
Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.
Changing User Role VRF Policies
You can change a user role VRF policy to limit the VRFs that the user can access. By default, a user role allows access to all VRFs in the VDC.

Before You Begin
Create one or more user roles.

If you want to distribute the user role configuration, enable user role configuration distribution on all Cisco NX-OS devices to which you want the configuration distributed.

SUMMARY STEPS
1.    configure terminal

2.    role name role-name

3.    vrf policy deny

4.    permit vrf vrf-name

5.    exit

6.    (Optional) show role

7.    (Optional) show role {pending | pending-diff}

8.    (Optional) role commit

9.    (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS
Command or Action Purpose
Step 1
configure terminal

Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2
role name role-name

Example:
switch(config)# role name UserA
switch(config-role)# 
Specifies a user role and enters role configuration mode.
Step 3
vrf policy deny

Example:
switch(config-role)# vrf policy deny
switch(config-role-vrf)#
Enters role VRF policy configuration mode.
Step 4
permit vrf vrf-name

Example:
switch(config-role-vrf)# permit vrf vrf1
Specifies the VRF that the role can access.

Repeat this command for as many VRFs as needed.
Step 5
exit

Example:
switch(config-role-vrf)# exit
switch(config-role)#
Exits role VRF policy configuration mode.
Step 6
show role

Example:
switch(config-role)# show role
(Optional)
Displays the role configuration.
Step 7
show role {pending | pending-diff}

Example:
switch(config-role)# show role pending
(Optional)
Displays the user role configuration pending for distribution.
Step 8
role commit

Example:
switch(config-role)# role commit
(Optional)
Applies the user role configuration changes in the temporary database to the running configuration and distributes user role configuration to other Cisco NX-OS devices if you have enabled CFS configuration distribution for the user role feature.
Step 9
copy running-config startup-config

Example:
switch(config-role)# copy running-config startup-config
(Optional)
Copies the running configuration to the startup configuration.
Committing the User Role Configuration to Distribution
You can apply the user role global and/or server configuration stored in the temporary buffer to the running configuration across all switches in the fabric (including the originating switch).

Before You Begin
You have enabled user role configuration distribution on the Cisco NX-OS device.

SUMMARY STEPS
1.    configure terminal

2.    (Optional) show role {pending | pending-diff}

3.    (Optional) role commit

4.    exit

5.    (Optional) show role session status

6.    (Optional) copy running-config startup-config

DETAILED STEPS
Command or Action Purpose
Step 1
configure terminal

Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2
show role {pending | pending-diff}

Example:
switch(config)# show role pending
(Optional)
Displays the user role configuration pending for distribution.
Step 3
role commit

Example:
switch(config)# role commit
(Optional)
Applies the user role configuration changes in the temporary database to the running configuration and distributes user role configuration to other Cisco NX-OS devices if you have enabled CFS configuration distribution for the user role feature.
Step 4
exit

Example:
switch(config)# exit
switch#
Exits configuration mode.
Step 5
show role session status

Example:
switch# show role session status
(Optional)
Displays the user role CFS session status.
Step 6
copy running-config startup-config

Example:
switch# copy running-config startup-config
(Optional)
Applies the running configuration to the startup configuration on all Cisco NX-OS devices in the network that have CFS enabled.
Discarding the User Role Distribution Session
You can discard the temporary database of user role changes and end the CFS distribution session.

Before You Begin
You have enabled user role configuration distribution on the Cisco NX-OS device.

SUMMARY STEPS
1.    configure terminal

2.    (Optional) show role {pending | pending-diff}

3.    role abort

4.    exit

5.    (Optional) show role session status

DETAILED STEPS
Command or Action Purpose
Step 1
configure terminal

Example:
switch# configure terminal
switch(config)#
Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2
show role {pending | pending-diff}

Example:
switch(config)# show role pending
(Optional)
Displays the user role configuration pending for distribution.
Step 3
role abort

Example:
switch(config)# role abort
Discards the user role configuration in the temporary storage and ends the session.
Step 4
exit

Example:
switch(config)# exit
switch#
Exits configuration mode.
Step 5
show role session status

Example:
switch# show role session status
(Optional)
Displays the user role CFS session status.
Clearing the User Role Distribution Session
You can clear the ongoing Cisco Fabric Services distribution session (if any) and unlock the fabric for the user role feature.

You have enabled user role configuration distribution on the Cisco NX-OS device.

SUMMARY STEPS
1. clear role session

2. (Optional) show role session status

DETAILED STEPS
Command or Action Purpose
Step 1
clear role session

Example:
switch# clear role session
Clears the session and unlocks the fabric.
Step 2
show role session status

Example:
switch# show role session status
(Optional)
Displays the user role CFS session status.
Verifying User Accounts and RBAC Configuration

To display user account and RBAC configuration information, perform one of the following tasks:

Command

Purpose

show cli syntax roles network-admin

Displays the syntax of the commands that the network-admin role can use but the vdc-admin role cannot.

show cli syntax roles network-operator

Displays the syntax of the commands that the network-operator role can use but the vdc-operator role cannot.

show role

Displays the user role configuration.

show role feature

Displays the feature list.

show role feature-group

Displays the feature group configuration.

show startup-config security

Displays the user account configuration in the startup configuration.

show running-config security [all]

Displays the user account configuration in the running configuration. The all keyword displays the default values for the user accounts.

show user-account

Displays user account information.

For detailed information about the fields in the output from these commands, see the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Security Command Reference.
Configuration Examples for User Accounts and RBAC
The following example shows how to configure a user role:
role name User-role-A
  rule 3 permit read-write feature l2nac
  rule 2 permit read-write feature dot1x
  rule 1 deny command clear *
The following example shows how to create a user role that can configure an interface to enable and show HSRP and show GLBP:
role name iftest
	  rule 1 permit command config t; interface *; hsrp *
	  rule 2 permit read-write feature hsrp
	  rule 3 permit read feature glbp
In the above example, rule 1 allows you to configure HSRP on an interface, rule 2 allows you to configure the config hsrp commands and enable the exec-level show and debug commands for HSRP, and rule 3 allows you to enable the exec-level show and debug glbp commands.

The following example shows how to configure a user role that can configure only a specific interface:
role name Int_Eth2-3_only
  rule 1 permit command configure terminal; interface *
  interface policy deny
    permit interface Ethernet2/3
The following example shows how to configure a user role feature group:
role feature-group name Security-features
  feature radius
  feature tacacs
  feature dot1x
  feature aaa
  feature l2nac
  feature acl
  feature access-list
The following example shows how to configure a user account:
username user1 password A1s2D4f5 role User-role-A
Additional References for User Accounts and RBAC

This section includes additional information related to implementing user accounts and RBAC.

Related Documents

Related Topic

Document Title

Cisco NX-OS Licensing

Cisco NX-OS Licensing Guide

Command reference

Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Security Command Reference

VRF configuration

Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Unicast Routing Configuration Guide

Standards

Standards

Title

No new or modified standards are supported by this feature, and support for existing standards has not been modified by this feature.

—

MIBs

MIBs

MIBs Link

CISCO-COMMON-MGMT-MIB

To locate and download MIBs, go to the following URL:

http://www.cisco.com/public/sw-center/netmgmt/cmtk/mibs.shtml

Related Documents for User Accounts and RBAC
Standards for User Accounts and RBAC
MIBs for User Accounts and RBAC

Related Documents for User Accounts and RBAC

Related Topic

Document Title

Cisco NX-OS Licensing

Cisco NX-OS Licensing Guide

Command reference

Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Security Command Reference

VRF configuration

Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Unicast Routing Configuration Guide

Standards for User Accounts and RBAC

Standards

Title

No new or modified standards are supported by this feature, and support for existing standards has not been modified by this feature.

—

MIBs for User Accounts and RBAC

MIBs

MIBs Link

CISCO-COMMON-MGMT-MIB

To locate and download MIBs, go to the following URL:

http://www.cisco.com/public/sw-center/netmgmt/cmtk/mibs.shtml

Feature History for User Accounts and RBAC

This table lists the release history for this feature.

Table 2 Feature History for User Accounts and RBAC

Feature Name

Releases

Feature Information

User accounts and RBAC

5.2(1)

No change from Release 5.1.

User roles

5.1(1)

Added the ability to display the syntax of the commands that the network-admin and network-operator roles can use.

User accounts and RBAC

5.0(2)

Added the ability to support the at symbol (@) in remote usernames.