Set Access Control Configuration

Restricting remote access to a controller or service platform ensures only trusted hosts can communicate with enabled management services. This ensures only trusted hosts can perform management tasks and provide protection from brute force attacks from hosts attempting to break into the controller or service platform managed network.

Administrators can permit management connections to be established on any IP interface on the controller or service platform (including IP interfaces used to provide captive portal guest access).

Administrators can restrict management access by limiting access to a specific host (IP address), subnet, or ACL on the controller or service platform.

Refer to the Access Control dashboard to allow or deny management access to the network using strategically selected protocols (HTTP, HTTPS, Telnet, SSH or SNMP). Access options can be either activated or deactivated as required. Consider deactivating unused interfaces to close unnecessary security holes. The Access Control tab is not meant to function as an ACL (in routers or other firewalls), where you can specify and customize specific IPs to access specific interfaces.
  • Source hosts - Management access can be restricted to one or more hosts by specifying their IP addresses
  • Source subnets - Management access can be restricted to one or more subnets
  • IP ACL - Management access can be based on the policies defined in an IP based ACL
In the following example, a controller has two IP interfaces defined with VLAN10 hosting management and network services and VLAN70 providing guest services. For security, the guest network is separated from all trusted VLANs by a firewall.
Interface Description IP Address Management
VLAN10 Services Yes Yes
VLAN70 Guest Yes No

By default, management services are accessible on both VLAN10 and VLAN70. By restricting access to VLAN10, the controller only accepts management sessions on VLAN10. Management access on VLAN70 is longer available.

Administrators can secure access to a controller or service platform by disabling less secure interfaces. By default, the CLI, SNMP and FTP disable interfaces that do not support encryption or authentication. However, Web management using HTTP is enabled. Insecure management interfaces such as Telnet, HTTP and SNMP should be disabled, and only secure management interfaces, like SSH and HTTPS should be used to access the controller or service platform managed network.

The following table provides interfaces security comparison information:
Access type Encryption Authentication Default state
Telnet No Yes Deactivated
SNMPv2 No No Activated
SNMPv3 Yes Yes Activated
HTTP No Yes Deactivated
HTTPS Yes Yes Deactivated
FTP No Yes Deactivated
SSHv2 Yes Yes Deactivated

To set an access control configuration for the Management Access policy:

  1. Select the Access control tab.
  2. Set the following parameters required for Telnet access:
    Setting Description
    Activate Telnet Select the toggle button to activate Telnet device access. Telnet provides a command line interface to a remote host over TCP. Telnet provides no encryption, but it does provide a measure of authentication. Telnet access is not selected by default. Select telnet for a user to activate Remote CLI login
    Telnet port Set the port on which Telnet connections are made (1 - 65,535). The default port is 23. Change this value using the spinner control next to this field or by entering the port number in the field
  3. Set the following parameters for SSH access:
    Setting Description
    Enable SSH Select the toggle button to activate SSH device access. The Weak MAC Algo (Algorithm) option is enabled by default.
    Activate SSHv2 SSH (Secure Shell) version 2, like Telnet, provides a command line interface to a remote host. SSH transmissions are encrypted and authenticated, increasing the security of transmission. SSH access is not selected by default
    SSHv2 port Set the port on which SSH connections are made. The default port is 22. Change this value using the spinner control next to this field or by entering the port number in the field
  4. Set the following HTTP and HTTPS parameters:
    Setting Description
    Enable HTTP Select Enable HTTP to activate HTTP device access. HTTP provides limited authentication and no encryption
    Enable HTTPS Select Enable HTTPS to activate HTTPS device access. HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is more secure than plain HTTP. HTTPS provides both authentication and data encryption
    Note

    Note

    If the a RADIUS server is not reachable, HTTPS or SSH management access to the controller or service platform may be denied
  5. Set the following General parameters:
    Setting Description
    Idle Session Timeout Specify an inactivity timeout for management connects (in seconds) between 1 - 4,320. The default setting is 30
    Message of the Day Type a message no longer than 255 characters to be displayed at login for clients connecting via Telnet or SSH
  6. Select Enable Rest Server option to facilitate device on-boarding.
    When selected, the REST server allows vendor-specific users access to the online device registration portal. All requests and responses to and from the on-boarding portal are handled by the REST server through restful Application Programming Interface (API) transactions. The REST server serves the Web pages used to associate a device‘s MAC address with a specific vendor group. This option is selected by default.
  7. Select Enable NOVA option to facilitate NOVA access.
  8. Set the following parameters required for FTP access:
    Setting Description
    Activate FTP Select the toggle button to activate FTP (File Transfer Protocol) device access. FTP is the standard protocol for transferring files over a TCP or IP network. FTP requires administrators enter a valid username and password authenticated locally on the controller. FTP access is not activated by default
    Username Specify a username required when logging in to the FTP server. The username cannot exceed 32 characters
    Password Specify a password required when logging in to the FTP server. Reconfirm the password in the field provided to ensure it has been entered correctly. The password cannot exceed 63 characters
    Root Directory Provide the complete path to the root directory in the root directory field. The default setting has the root directory set to flash:/
  9. Set the following access restrictions parameters:
    Setting Description
    Filter Type Select a filter type for access restriction. Options include IP access list, Source Address, or None. To restrict management access to specific hosts, select Source Address as the filter type and provide the allowed addresses within the Source Hosts field
    IP Access List If the selected filter type is IP access list, select an access list from the drop-down list box. IP based firewalls function like Access Control Lists (ACLs) to filter or mark packets based on the IP from which they arrive, as opposed to filtering packets on layer 2 ports. IP firewalls implement uniquely defined access control policies, so if you do not have an idea of what kind of access to allow or deny, a firewall is of little value, and could provide a false sense of network security
    Source Hosts If the selected filter type is Source Address, type an IP Address or IP Addresses for the source hosts. To restrict management access to specific hosts, select Source Address as the filter type and provide the allowed addresses within the Source Hosts field
    Source Subnets If the selected filter type is Source Address, type a source subnet or subnets for the source hosts. To restrict management access to specific subnets, select Source Address as the filter type and provide the allowed addresses within the Source Subnets field
    Logging Policy If the selected filter is Source Address, select a logging policy for administrative access. Options includes None, Denied Only, or All
  10. Set the User Lockout Settings. Select Add to configure the following role-based user-account lockout and unlock criteria:
    Setting Description
    Role Select a user role to set account lockout. The options are:
    • Device Provisioning admin
    • Help Desk
    • Monitor
    • Network Admin
    • Rest API User
    • Security Admin
    • Superuser
    • System Admin
    • Vendor Admin
    • Web User admin
    Note: You can set account lockout for multiple roles. After specifying the role, set the Lockout Time and Number of Password Attempts.

    User-account lockout is individually applied to each account within the specified role. For example, consider the ‘monitor‘ role having two users: ‘user1‘ and ‘user2‘. The Number of Password Attempts and Lockout Time is set at ‘5‘ attempts and ‘10‘ minutes respectively. In this scenario, user2 makes 5 consecutive, failed login attempts, and the user2 account is locked out for 10 minutes. However, during this lockout time the user1 account remains active
    Lockout Time Specify the maximum time for which an account remains locked. Specify a value from 0 to 600 minutes. The value ‘0‘ indicates that the account is permanently locked
    Number of Password Attempts Specify the maximum number of consecutive, failed attempts allowed before an account is locked. Specify a value from 1 to 100
    Action Use the action option to delete a user lockout setting
  11. Select Apply or Save to set the user access control settings.
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