n use the local users for authentication if the normal external authentication server becomes unavailable. You create and manage users with the username command. Many options are available with this command; I'll focus on those that are useful for Telnet or SSH access to a network device. The first step in creating a local user is to define the username. Here, I'll use the user- name GAD: R1 (config)#username GAD ? access-class Restrict access by access-class autocommand Automatically issue a command after the user logs in callback-dialstring Callback dialstring callback-line Associate a specific line with this callback callback-rotary Associate a rotary group with this callback Do not require password when obtained via DNIS nocallback-verify Do not require authentication after callback noescape Prevent the user from using an escape character nohangup Do not disconnect after an automatic command nopassword No password is required for the user to log in password Specify the password for the user privilege Set user privilege level secret Specify the secret for the user user-maxlinks Limit the user's number of inbound links Set view name Simply specifying the command username GAD will create a user named GAD with no password. To add a password, include the password keyword followed by the password: R1 (config)#username GAD password Secret1 Passwords are case-sensitive and can include spaces. Passwords are displayed in clear text in the configuration unless the password-encryption service is running. To include an encrypted password without using the password-encryption service, use the secret keyword instead of the password keyword: (config) #username GAD secret Secret1 This command results in the following configuration entry: username GAD secret 5 $1$uyU6$6iZp6GLI1WGE1hxGDfQxc/ Basic (Non-AAA) Authentication Every command and user has an associated privilege level. The levels range from 0 to 15. The standard user EXEC mode is level 1. When you enter the command enable and authenticate with the enable or enable sec