Question

A network administrator has issued the snmp-server user admin1 admin v3 encrypted auth md5 abc789 priv des 256 key99 command. What are two features of this command?

Answer 1

The command configures SNMPv3 user with MD5 authentication and DES encryption, enhancing security for SNMP communications by preventing unauthorized access and eavesdropping.

Step-by-step explanation:

The command snmp-server user admin1 admin v3 encrypted auth md5 abc789 priv des 256 key99 configures an SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) user with the name admin1 in the SNMP group admin using SNMPv3, which is the latest version of SNMP providing improved security features. Two important features of this command are:

• Authentication: The user is configured with MD5 authentication, which is indicated by auth md5. 'abc789' is the passphrase that gets hashed using MD5 algorithm to authenticate SNMP messages.
• Privacy: The privacy of SNMP messages is ensured by using DES encryption with a 256-bit key length specified by priv des 256. 'key99' serves as the passphrase from which the encryption key is derived.

Implementing both authentication and privacy ensures that SNMP communications are not only secure from unauthorized access but also protected from eavesdropping.