Local authentication uses PKI or usernames and passwords as authentication credentials to authenticate login attempts. The authentication credentials are local to each router, not to user profiles.
By default, local authentication is enabled. When one or more of the other security methods are enabled, local authentication is used in case it is configured as first method in the authentication order, or if other authentication methods are configured before local in the authentication order and fail.
Locally, usernames, public keys, and password management information can be configured. This is referred to as local authentication.