RADIUS server for non-MS stuff

[JBruyet]

Hey all,

I purchased some Nortel switches (Baystack 350s and 450s) on Ebay and I'm trying to get into them to change the configuration and I've hit a snag. When I login to the switch it looks for a RADIUS server. I configured a Win2k server as a RADIUS server but I get a "No response from RADIUS server" error message on login. I've looked around on the net and I see that there are "...a lot of different types of RADIUS servers..." Can anyone point me to a FAQ somewhere on how to get a Baystack switch to talk to a Win2k RADIUS server?

Thanks,

Joe

 

[kmcferrin]

Those switches are probably configured to contact a specific RADIUS server (at the company that used to own them) to authenticate the logons. I don't know why, but for some reason companies never reload the default image on their switches when they sell them.

At any rate, just follow Nortel's standard procedure for reloading factory default settings, and you should be fine. As long as you have access via the console port you should be able to do this. If you need more help then post in the Nortel networking forum:

http://www.tek-tips.com/threadminder.cfm?pid=902

Sorry I can't be more helpful, but I've only used Cisco switches.

 

[JBruyet]

Hey kmcferrin,

I don't think I can really say that I have "...access via the console port..." because that's where the switch starts looking for the RADIUS server. What I think I'm going to try is to do a network sniff while I'm trying to get into the switch and see what IP address the switch is looking for. Then I'll setup that IP address as an alternate IP address on the server and see if THAT will enable the switch and the RADIUS server to talk. I'll let you know what happens.

Thanks for the quick response,

Joe

 

[kmcferrin]

Sorry if I was unclear, when I say "access via the console port" I meant that you had physical access to the device so that you could plug into the console. If you are plugged into the console port and you cycle the power on the switch, you will see all of the boot messages. Usually there is a way to interrupt the boot process and either reload the defaults or point it to a TFTP server to load a different config file, without having to actually log into anything. Like I said, check the Nortel forums and you'll probably get a quick solution.

 

[JBruyet]

Got it!

Thanks,

Joe