New post on ignaonline.com by Sarah Chen:

Cisco AAA with TACACS+ and ISE: Centralized Authentication and Authorization for IOS-XE Devices

If you're still relying on local usernames and enable passwords to control access to your Cisco routers and switches, you're one compromised credential away from a very bad day. This guide walks through configuring TACACS+ on IOS-XE from scratch and integrating it with Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) — including real CLI command output.

In this post:

• TACACS+ vs RADIUS: when to use which
• Step-by-step IOS-XE AAA configuration (authentication, authorization, accounting)
• Cisco ISE 3.3 policy setup: device groups, command sets, TACACS+ profiles
• Verification commands and debug output
• Hardening tips: Type 6 key encryption, management VRF, EEM monitoring
• Common troubleshooting scenarios

Read the full post →

— Sarah Chen, ignaonline.com