Configuring the device to use AAA server groups provides a way to group existing server hosts. Grouping existing server hosts allows you to select a subset of the configured server hosts and use them for a particular service. A server group is used with a global server-host list. The server group lists the IP addresses of the selected server hosts.
Server groups can also include multiple host entries for the same server, as long as each entry has a unique identifier. The combination of an IP address and a UDP port number creates a unique identifier, allowing different ports to be individually defined as RADIUS hosts providing a specific AAA service. This unique identifier enables RADIUS requests to be sent to different UDP ports on a server at the same IP address. If two different host entries on the same RADIUS server are configured for the same service—for example, accounting—the second host entry that is configured acts as a failover backup to the first one. If the first host entry fails to provide accounting services, the network access server tries the second host entry configured on the same device for accounting services. (The RADIUS host entries are tried in the order in which they are configured.)
Examples: AAA Server Groups
The following example shows how to create server group radgroup1 with three different RADIUS server members, each using the default authentication port (1645) and accounting port (1646):
aaa group server radius radgroup1
server 172.16.1.11
server 172.17.1.21
server 172.18.1.31
The following example shows how to create server group radgroup2 with three RADIUS server members, each with the same IP address but with unique authentication and accounting ports:
aaa group server radius radgroup2
server 172.16.1.1 auth-port 1000 acct-port 1001
server 172.16.1.1 auth-port 2000 acct-port 2001
server 172.16.1.1 auth-port 3000 acct-port 300
Example: Multiple RADIUS Server Entries Using AAA Server Groups
The following example shows how to configure the network access server to recognize two different RADIUS server groups. One of these groups, group1, has two different host entries on the same RADIUS server configured for the same services. The second host entry configured acts as failover backup to the first one. Each group is individually configured for the deadtime; the deadtime for group 1 is one minute, and the deadtime for group 2 is two minutes.
 Note |
In cases where both global commands and server commands are used, the server command takes precedence over the global command. |
! This command enables AAA.
aaa new-model
! The next command configures default RADIUS parameters.
aaa authentication ppp default group group1
! The following commands define the group1 RADIUS server group and associate servers
! with it and configures a deadtime of one minute.
aaa group server radius group1
server 10.1.1.1 auth-port 1645 acct-port 1646
server 10.2.2.2 auth-port 2000 acct-port 2001
deadtime 1
! The following commands define the group2 RADIUS server group and associate servers
! with it and configures a deadtime of two minutes.
aaa group server radius group2
server 10.2.2.2 auth-port 2000 acct-port 2001
server 10.3.3.3 auth-port 1645 acct-port 1646
deadtime 2
! The following set of commands configures the RADIUS attributes for each host entry
! associated with one of the defined server groups.
radius-server host 10.1.1.1 auth-port 1645 acct-port 1646
radius-server host 10.2.2.2 auth-port 2000 acct-port 2001
radius-server host 10.3.3.3 auth-port 1645 acct-port 1646
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/ios-xml/ios/sec_usr_rad/configuration/15-mt/sec-usr-rad-15-mt-book/sec-rad-aaa-server-groups.html