Administrator Guide

Security Commands 964
key
Use the key command in TACACS Configuration mode to specify the
authentication and encryption key for all TACACS communications between
the device and the TACACS server. This key must match the key used on the
TACACS daemon.
Syntax
key [0|7] key-string
no key
• 0—The key string that follows is the unencrypted shared secret. The
length is 1–128 characters.
• 7—The key string that follows is the encrypted shared secret. The length is
256 characters.
• key-string — Specifies the key string in encrypted or unencrypted form. It
may be up to 128 characters in length in unencrypted format and 256
characters in length in encrypted format.
Default Configuration
If left unspecified, the key-string parameter defaults to the global value.
Command Mode
TACACS Configuration mode
User Guidelines
The key command accepts any printable characters for the key except a
question mark. Enclose the string in double quotes to include spaces within
the key. The surrounding quotes are not used as part of the name. The CLI
does not filter illegal characters and may accept entries up to the first illegal
character or reject the entry entirely.
If no encryption parameter is present, the key string is interpreted as an un-
encrypted shared secret.
show tacacs tacacs-server timeout
– timeout