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Catalyst 2950 and Catalyst 2955 Switch Software Configuration Guide
OL-10101-02
Chapter 8 Configuring Switch-Based Authentication
Protecting Access to Privileged EXEC Commands
Use the level keyword to define a password for a specific privilege level. After you specify the level and
set a password, give the password only to users who need to have access at this level. Use the privilege
level global configuration command to specify commands accessible at various levels. For more
information, see the
“Configuring Multiple Privilege Levels” section on page 8-8.
If you enable password encryption, it applies to all passwords including username passwords,
authentication key passwords, the privileged command password, and virtual terminal line passwords.
To remove a password and level, use the no enable password [level level] or no enable secret [level
level] global configuration command. To disable password encryption, use the no service
password-encryption global configuration command.
This example shows how to configure the encrypted password $1$FaD0$Xyti5Rkls3LoyxzS8 for
privilege level 2:
Switch(config)# enable secret level 2 5 $1$FaD0$Xyti5Rkls3LoyxzS8
Disabling Password Recovery
By default, any end user with physical access to the Catalyst 2950 Long-Reach Ethernet (LRE) switch
can recover from a lost password by interrupting the boot process while the switch is powering on and
then by entering a new password.
The password-recovery disable feature protects access to the switch password by disabling part of this
functionality. When this feature is enabled, the end user can interrupt the boot process only by agreeing
to set the system back to the default configuration. With password recovery disabled, you can still
interrupt the boot process and change the password, but the configuration file (config.text) and the
VLAN database file (vlan.dat) are deleted.
Note The password recovery disable feature is available only on Catalyst 2950 LRE switches; it is not
available for non-LRE Catalyst 2950 switches or for Catalyst 2955 switches.
Note If you disable password recovery, we recommend that you keep a backup copy of the configuration file
on a secure server in case the end user interrupts the boot process and sets the system back to default
values. Do not keep a backup copy of the configuration file on the switch. If the switch is operating in
VTP transparent mode, we recommend that you also keep a backup copy of the VLAN database file on
a secure server. When the switch is returned to the default system configuration, you can download the
saved files to the switch by using the Xmodem protocol. For more information, see the
“Recovering from
Lost or Forgotten Passwords on Non-LRE Catalyst 2950 Switches” section on page 31-2, the
“Recovering from Lost or Forgotten Passwords on Catalyst 2950 LRE Switches” section on page 31-4,
and the “Recovering from Lost or Forgotten Passwords on Catalyst 2955 Switches” section on
page 31-7.