Resetting forgotten passwords
You can reset any account password by logging in to the VCS as the default
admin
account or as any other
administrator account that has read-write access. If this is not possible you can reset the
admin
or
root
password via a serial connection.
Resetting your root or admin password via a serial
connection
If you have forgotten the password for either the
admin
account or the
root
account, you can reset it using
the following procedure:
1. Connect a PC to the VCS using the serial cable as per the instructions in
VCS Getting Started Guide
.
Serial port / console access is always enabled for one minute following a restart, even if it is normally
disabled.
2. Restart the VCS.
3. Log in from the PC with the username
pwrec
. No password is required.
4. If the administrator account authentication source is set to
Remote
, you are given the option to change the
setting to
Both
; this will allow local administrator accounts to access the system.
5. Select the account (
root
or
admin
) whose password you want to change.
6. You will be prompted for a new password.
The
pwrec
account is only active for one minute following a restart. After that time you will have to restart the
system again to change the password.
Resetting FindMe account passwords
To change a password on behalf of a FindMe user without knowing their existing password (for example,
when a user forgets their password):
1. Go to the
Edit FindMe account
page (
Users > FindMe accounts
, then click
View/Edit
or the username)
for the account whose password you want to reset.
2. Enter the new password to be used when logging into this account into the
New password
and
Confirm
password
fields and click
Save
.
This procedure only applies if local FindMe account authentication is enabled. If
remote authentication
is
enabled, passwords are managed through your remote directory server instead.
Cisco VCS Administrator Guide (X8.1.1)
Page 274 of 507
User accounts
Resetting forgotten passwords