Set Auxiliary Password

Auxiliary Password

To configure the auxiliary password, go into global configuration mode and type line aux ?. You can see that you only get a choice of 0–0 (that’s because there’s only one port):

Router#config t

Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.

Router(config)#line aux ?

Command-Line Interface 167

<0-0> First Line number

Router(config)#line aux 0 Router(config-line)#login

Router(config-line)#password adam

It’s important to remember the login command, or the auxiliary port won’t prompt for authentication.

Okay, now watch what happens when I try to set the Aux on the “newer” IOS that Cisco has released:

2600A#config t

Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.

2600A(config)#line aux 0

2600A(config-line)#login

% Login disabled on line 65, until ‘password’ is set

2600A(config-line)#

Cisco has begun this process of not letting you set the “login” command before a password is set on a line because if you set the login command under a line, and then don’t set a password, the line won’t be usable. And it will prompt for a password that doesn’t exist. So this is a good thing—a feature, not a hassle!

Definitely remember that although Cisco has this new “password feature” on their routers starting in their newer IOS (12.2 and above), it’s not in all their IOSes, and it is not on the Cisco CCNA exam.