Cisco Ccna (640-553) Exam Security Training: Using The “clear Authentication Sessions” Command

In today’s article, I’m going to inform you about the Cisco IOS privileged EXEC mode command named “clear authentication sessions”.


CCNAs (like you) use the “clear authentication sessions” command to clear information about current Auth Manager sessions.

Below is the command’s syntax:

clear authentication sessions [handle handle-id] [interface type number] [mac mac-address] [method method-name]

As you can see, the command uses several keywords and arguments:

handle handle-id – This (optional) keyword with argument is used to indicate the particular handle for which Auth Manager information is to be displayed.

interface type number – This (optional) keyword with argument is used to indicate a specific interface type and number for which Auth Manager information is to be displayed.

mac mac-address – This (optional) keyword with argument is used to indicate the specific MAC address for which you want to display information.

method method-name – And, this (optional) keyword with argument is used to indicate the specific authentication method for which Auth Manager information is to be displayed.

Note: This command is mainly performed on switches.

Below are 3 examples of the command being used:

Switch#clear authentication sessions

Example number 1 (above), the command is being used to clear information for all Auth Manager sessions.

Switch#clear authentication sessions interface GigabitEthernet/0/7

Example number 2 (above), the command is being used to clear information for the Auth Manager session on a specific interface.

Switch#clear authentication sessions mac 000f.54af.59bd

And example number three (above), the command is being used to clear information for the Auth Manager session on a specific MAC address.

By the way, if you decide to use the command, make sure your switch(es) is running Cisco IOS 12.2(33)SXI or higher.

I hope this article was very informative and helped you quickly understand the usage of the clear authentication sessions command. If you need to learn more; I suggest you visit my website, were you’ll find the latest information regarding the Cisco CCNA (640-553) Security exam techniques.

To your success,

By: Charles E Ross

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Charles Ross, CCNP #CSCO10444244 is the owner of Ittechtips.com; where you'll find free comprehensive information and videos on how to pass the CCNA (640-553) security exam. Sign-Up for "100 Free Videos" and, also learn more about the new "Cisco CCNA (640-553) Video Accelerated Training Course" at his website. www.ccnaittechtips.com