Cisco - TACACS and XTACACS are Considered End-of Maintenance

Table Of Contents

Product Bulletin No. 622

Summary

Announcement

Substitute Protocols

Product Bulletin No. 622

TACACS and XTACACS are Considered End-of-Maintenance

Summary

This product bulletin covers the issues associated with the end of maintenance of Cisco's TACACS and XTACACS implementations. This document does not affect users of TACACS+ or Cisco Secure^TM ACS. Effective immediately, the TACACS and XTACACS protocols in Cisco IOS^TM software and the associated freeware server code are officially considered end-of-maintenance.

Announcement

Cisco first introduced support for TACACS in 1989, and XTACACS in 1990. Since the introduction of TACACS+ and RADIUS support in Cisco IOS software, interest in the TACACS and XTACACS protocols has steadily declined to the point where it makes no sense to continue maintenance of the protocols.

Effective immediately, the TACACS and XTACACS protocols in Cisco IOS software are officially considered end of maintenance. In addition, the TACACS and XTACACS freeware server code provided by Cisco are also classified as end-of-maintenance. No further engineering development or bug fixes will be provided for these products.

Because a number of customers continue to use TACACS and XTACACS as their authentication protocols, for now the TACACS and XTACACS clients will continue to be included in Cisco IOS software.

Substitute Protocols

While TACACS and XTACACS clients will continue to be supplied in Cisco IOS software for the foreseeable future, users are encouraged to investigate migrating to more modern protocols to support their authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) requirements.

Cisco IOS currently offers several preferred options for authentication of remote dial-in users. These options include TACACS+, RADIUS, and Kerberos v5. TACACS+ and RADIUS server daemons are available in Cisco Secure ACS and Cisco Easy ACS.