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 rules for assigned roles that restrict the authorization a user has to access management operations.
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.
These words are reserved and cannot be used to configure users:
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bin
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daemon
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adm
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lp
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sync
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shutdown
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halt
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mail
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news
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uucp
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operator
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games
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gopher
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ftp
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nobody
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nscd
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mailnull
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root
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rpc
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rpcuser
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xfs
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gdm
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mtsuser
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ftpuser
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man
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sys
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 . Usernames can contain only these special characters: ( + = . _ \ - ). The #, @, and ! symbols are not supported. If you use any other characters, the specified user cannot log in. |
Characteristics of Strong Passwords
This section explains strong passwords and their essential attributes for securing access to network devices such as NX-OS systems.
A strong password is a password type that
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is at least eight characters long,
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contains both uppercase and lowercase letters and numbers, and
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avoids dictionary words, personal information, consecutive or repeating characters.
Special characters, such as the dollar sign ($) or percent sign (%), can be used in Cisco Nexus device passwords. All printable ASCII characters are allowed if enclosed in quotation marks.
The following are examples of strong passwords:
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If2CoM18
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2004AsdfLkj30
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Cb1955S21
Additional reference information
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Clear text passwords cannot start with: quotation marks (" or '), vertical bars (|), or right angle brackets (>).
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Trivial passwords (such as short or easily decoded values) are rejected if password-strength checking is enabled.
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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 a user who belongs to both role1 and role2 can access both configuration and debug operations. You can also limit access to specific virtual routing and forwarding instances (VRFs), VLANs, and interfaces.
The Cisco NX-OS software provides these user roles:
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network-admin—Complete read-and-write access to the entire Cisco NX-OS device
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network-operator or vdc-operator—Complete read access to the entire Cisco NX-OS device

Note
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The Cisco Nexus 9000 Series switches support a single VDC. Therefore, the vdc-admin has the same privileges and limitations as the network-admin.
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The Cisco Nexus 9000 Series switches support a single VDC due to which the vdc-admin has the same privileges and limitations as the network-admin.
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![]() Note |
You cannot change the user roles. |
![]() Note |
Some show commands may be hidden from network-operator users. Some non- show commands, such as telnet , may be available for this user role. |
By default, the user accounts without an administrator role can access only the show , exit , end , and configure terminal commands. You can add rules to allow users to configure features.
![]() 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 denies access to configuration commands, and RoleB, which allows access to configuration commands. In this case, the user has access to 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 these parameters:
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Command—command or group of commands defined in a regular expression,
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Feature—command or group of commands defined in a regular expression,
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Feature group—default or user-defined group of features, and
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OID—an SNMP object identifier (OID).
The command, feature, and feature group parameters form a hierarchy. The command is the most basic control parameter. The feature parameter represents all commands associated with a feature. The feature group is the highest-level control parameter, combining related features for simplified rule management. The Cisco NX-OS software supports the predefined feature group L3 for your use.
SNMP OID is supported for RBAC. You can configure a read-only or read-and-write rule for an SNMP OID.
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.

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