Allied Telesis AT-8700XL Series Switch - Manual (Page 16)

Changing a Password
You should change this password to prevent unauthorised access to the switch.
Enter the command:
SET PASSWORD
The switch prompts you for the current password, for the new password, and
for confirmation of the new password. The password can contain any printable
characters, and must be at least a minimum length, by default six characters.
(To change the default minimum length, see the SET USER command in the
Operations chapter, AT-8700XL Series Software Reference.)
Choosing a Password
All users, including managers, should take care in selecting passwords. Tools
exist that enable hackers to guess or test many combinations of login names
and passwords easily. The User Authentication Facility (UAF) provides some
protection against such attacks by allowing the manager to set the number of
consecutive login failures allowed and a lockout period when the limit is
exceeded.
However, the best protection against password discovery is to select a good
password and keep it secret. When choosing a password:
■ Do make it six or more characters in length. The UAF enforces a minimum
password length, which the manager can change. The default is six
characters.
■ Do include both alphabetic (a–z) and numeric (0–9) characters.
■ Do include both uppercase and lowercase characters. The passwords
stored by the switch are case-sensitive, so “bgz4kal” and “Bgz4Kal” are
different.
■ Do avoid words found in a dictionary, unless combined with other random
alphabetic and numeric characters.
■ Do not use the login name, or the word “password” as the password.
■ Do not use your name, your mother’s name, your spouse’s name, your
pet’s name, or the name of your favourite cologne, actor, food or song.
■ Do not use your birth date, street number or telephone number.
■ Do not write down your password anywhere.
Make sure you remember the new password created as you cannot retrieve a
lost password. Recovery of access to the switch is complex.
Once you have logged into the manager account you are able to enter
commands from this guide and from the AT-8700XL Series Software Reference.