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User Guide for Cisco Secure ACS for Windows Server
78-16592-01
Chapter 1 Overview
AAA Server Functions and Concepts
When you install Cisco Secure ACS, the installation adds several Windows
services. The services provide the core of Cisco Secure ACS functionality. For a
full discussion of each service, see Appendix G, “Internal Architecture”. The
Cisco Secure ACS services on the computer running Cisco Secure ACS include
the following:
• CSAdmin—Provides the HTML interface for administration of Cisco Secure
ACS.
• CSAuth—Provides authentication services.
• CSDBSync—Provides synchronization of the CiscoSecure user database
with an external RDBMS application.
• CSLog—Provides logging services, both for accounting and system activity.
• CSMon—Provides monitoring, recording, and notification of Cisco Secure
ACS performance, and includes automatic response to some scenarios.
• CSTacacs—Provides communication between TACACS+ AAA clients and
the CSAuth service.
• CSRadius—Provides communication between RADIUS AAA clients and
the CSAuth service.
Each module can be started and stopped individually from within the Microsoft
Service Control Panel or as a group from within the Cisco Secure ACS HTML
interface. For information about stopping and starting Cisco Secure ACS services,
see Service Control, page 8-1.
AAA Server Functions and Concepts
Cisco Secure ACS is a AAA server, providing AAA services to network devices
that can act as AAA clients.
As a AAA server, Cisco Secure ACS incorporates many technologies to render
AAA services to AAA clients. Understanding Cisco Secure ACS requires
knowledge of many of these technologies.
This section contains the following topics:
• Cisco Secure ACS and the AAA Client, page 1-6
• AAA Protocols—TACACS+ and RADIUS, page 1-6
• Authentication, page 1-8