Configuring the TACACS+ Client Accounting Timeout Value

To configure the timeout if a server fails to respond, use the following command:
configure tacacs-accounting timeout seconds

To detect and recover from a TACACS+ accounting server failure when the timeout has expired, the switch makes one authentication attempt before trying the next designated TACACS+ accounting server or reverting to the local database for authentication. In the event that the switch still has IP connectivity to the TACACS+ accounting server, but a TCP session cannot be established, (such as a failed TACACS+ daemon on the accounting server), failover happens immediately regardless of the configured timeout value. If the user does not have a local account or the user is disabled locally, the user‘s login will fail.

For example, if the timeout value is set for three seconds (the default value), it takes three seconds to failover from the primary TACACS+ accounting server to the secondary TACACS+ accounting server. If both the primary and the secondary servers fail or are unavailable, it takes approximately six seconds to revert to the local database for authentication.