Cisco MDS 9000 Series Configuration Manual page 78

Configuring the Dead Timer
Configures the test user (testuser) and assigns a strong password.
Configuring the Dead Timer
The dead timer specifies the interval that the MDS switch waits, after declaring that a RADIUS server is dead,
before sending out a test packet to determine if the server is now alive.
Note The default dead timer value is 0 minutes. When the dead timer interval is 0 minutes, RADIUS server
monitoring is not performed unless the RADIUS server is part of a server group and the dead-time interval
for the group is greater than 0 minutes. (See the
Note
If the dead timer of a dead RADIUS server expires before it is sent a RADIUS test message, that server is
marked as alive again even if it is still not responding. To avoid this scenario, configure a test user with a
shorter idle time than the dead timer time.
To configure the dead timer, follow these steps:
Procedure
Step 1
switch# configure terminal
Enters configuration mode.
Step 2
switch(config)# radius-server deadtime 30
Configures the dead timer interval value in minutes. The valid range is 1 to 1440 minutes.
Step 3 switch(config)# no radius-server deadtime 30
Reverts to the default value (0 minutes).
About RADIUS Servers
You can add up to 64 RADIUS servers. RADIUS keys are always stored in encrypted form in persistent
storage. The running configuration also displays encrypted keys. When you configure a new RADIUS server,
you can use the default configuration or modify any of the parameters to override the default RADIUS
configuration.
Configuring the Test Idle Timer
The test idle timer specifies the interval during which a RADIUS server receives no requests before the MDS
switch sends out a test packet.
Cisco MDS 9000 Series Security Configuration Guide, Release 8.x
60
Configuring Security Features on an External AAA Server
Server Groups, on page 32).