Skip to content
rConfig Documentation

Authentication Verification

Authentication Verification

Section titled “Authentication Verification”

Verify that rConfig’s stored credentials authenticate correctly against a target device, isolating login failures from connectivity or prompt-matching issues.

When to use this

Section titled “When to use this”

Use this page when a device backup fails with an authentication or login error, or when basic connectivity (ping, port reachability) succeeds but rConfig still cannot log in to the device.

Prerequisites

Section titled “Prerequisites”
  • Interactive access to the device (SSH or Telnet client) from a machine that can reach it.
  • The credential set assigned to the device in rConfig.
  • devicecredential.view permission to review configured credentials.

The most common cause of connectivity failures is incorrect credentials. Verify credentials work through interactive login before debugging deeper issues.

Testing Credentials Interactively

Section titled “Testing Credentials Interactively”

SSH credential verification:

Terminal window
ssh admin@192.168.1.1

Enter password when prompted. Successful login confirms:

  • Username is correct
  • Password is correct
  • Account is not disabled or locked
  • Authentication method is compatible

Telnet credential verification:

Terminal window
telnet 192.168.1.1

Enter username and password when prompted. Successful login confirms credentials are valid.

Enable password verification (for devices requiring privilege escalation):

After logging in, attempt privilege escalation:

enable

Enter enable password when prompted. Successful escalation confirms enable password is correct.

Common Authentication Issues

Section titled “Common Authentication Issues”

Case sensitivity: Device usernames and passwords are typically case-sensitive. Verify exact case matches configured credentials in rConfig.

Special characters: Passwords containing special characters ($, !, @, #, etc.) may require escaping or cause parsing issues. Test passwords without special characters first to isolate issue.

Account lockouts: Repeated failed login attempts may trigger account lockout policies. Check device logs for lockout events and wait for lockout timer to expire or manually unlock account.

Privilege levels: Some devices require specific privilege levels for configuration access. Ensure credentials provide adequate privileges to execute show commands and retrieve configurations.

Authentication methods: SSH supports multiple authentication methods (password, public key, keyboard-interactive). Ensure device and rConfig are configured for compatible authentication methods.

Password expiration: Expired passwords prevent login. Check device for password expiration policies and update expired passwords.

Credential Configuration in rConfig

Section titled “Credential Configuration in rConfig”

After confirming credentials work interactively, verify they are correctly configured in rConfig:

  1. Navigate to System Settings → Security & Access → Device Credentials
  2. Locate the credential set assigned to the device
  3. Verify username and password match tested credentials exactly (including case)
  4. Verify enable password is configured (if device requires privilege escalation)
  5. Test credentials using device connection test functionality
  6. Review the Application Log for authentication failure messages providing specific error details

For credential management details, see Device Credentials.

What’s next

Section titled “What’s next”