> # Information About Role-Based Authorization

> Switches in the Cisco MDS 9000 Family perform authentication based on roles. Role-based authorization limits access to switch operations by assigning users to roles. This kind of authentication restricts you to management operations based on the roles to which you have been added.

> When you execute a command, perform command completion, or obtain context-sensitive help, the switch software allows the operation to progress if you have permission to access that command.

> This section includes the following topics:

> - About Roles
> - Rules and Features for Each Role
> - About the VSAN Policy
> - Role Distributions
> - About Role Databases
> - Locking the Fabric
> - About Common Roles
> - Mapping of CLI Operations to SNMP
> - Creating Users Guidelines
> - Characteristics of Strong Passwords
> - About SSH
> - Boot Mode SSH
> - SSH Authentication Using Digital Certificates
> - Passwordless File copy and SSH

> Copyright 2010-2013, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.