Configuring CLI Credentials

SNMP protocols provide a powerful means of querying devices for broad arrays of information. The CLI discovery feature is required for port control tasks including port configuration and network provisioning and de-provisioning, but is not used for other discovery operations or to otherwise manage devices. By default, Probe appliances inherit their member discovery properties, including CLI credential sets, from the Grid level. Enable passwords are entered in separate records and kept as a separate list in Grid Manager.

For CLI credentials, you define a global set of Admin account/password tuples, as well as Enable passwords, at the Grid level. You can also specify credentials and Enable passwords for individual devices at the member level. Should such a credential not work for a given device, or if command-line access is lost for a device, Network Insight re-guesses credentials from the Grid-level credential list, including vendor defaults if available.

To add a CLI credential, complete the following:

1. From the Grid tab, select the Grid Manager tab, and then click Discovery.

2. For the Grid: Click Edit > Grid Discovery Properties in the Toolbar.
   For the Probe member: Select a member checkbox, and then click Edit > Member Discovery Properties in the Toolbar.

3. Click the Credentials tab > CLI tab.

4. To override the inherited Grid settings for a Probe member, click Override.

5. Click the Add icon to add a new CLI username/password entry to the list. Select the Credential Type, which can be one of two choices.

6. In Login Credentials, click the Add icon and specify the credential details in the corresponding cells:

   • Protocol: Select SSH or Telnet. Infoblox recommends the use of SSH.

     • SSH: SSH credentials require both a username and a password. The default protocol is SSH.

     • Telnet: In Network Insight, Telnet credentials must use both a username and a password.

       Note that should you choose to use a Telnet-based credential, Network Insight requires both the username and password for the login account. This also applies when you override the CLI credentials on objects such as a fixed address, host, or IPv4 reservation. For more information, see the section Defining CLI Credentials for Objects below.

   • Name: Username for the CLI login account.

   • Password: Login password for the CLI login account.

   • Credential Group: For the Grid, select a group to which you want to assign the credential. For the Probe member, the table displays settings that were configured on the Grid, but only the default credential group is used for the member. You can edit the credentials list making up the default group by clicking Override.

   • Comment: A text comment describing the CLI login account.

   • Order: By default, Network Insight inserts the new credential record at the bottom of the credentials list, which is reflected by its Order value, showing the order used for attempting the use of CLI credentials. Enter a new value in the Order field if you want the new credential to be in a position other than the last in order.

7. In Enable Credentials, click the Add icon and specify the credential details in the corresponding cells:

   • Protocol: SSH or Telnet. Infoblox recommends the use of SSH.

   • Password: Enable password for device configuration access.

   • Credential Group: For the Grid, select a group to which you want to assign the current credential. For the Probe member, this setting is inherited and cannot be changed.

   • Comment: A text comment about the credential.

   • Order: By default, Network Insight inserts the new record at the bottom of the list, reflected by its Order value, showing the order used for attempting use of the CLI credentials. Enter a new value in the Order field if you want the new credential to be in a position other than the last in order.

8. Optionally, you can test the credentials you added to the list. For more information, see Testing SNMP and CLI Credentials below.

9. Click Save & Close.