The CTY line-type is the Console Port. On any router, it appears in the router configuration as line con 0 and in the output of the show line command as cty. The console port is mainly used for local system access using a console terminal.
The TTY lines are asynchronous lines used for inbound or outbound modem and terminal connections and can be seen in a router or access server configuration as line x. The specific line numbers are a function of the hardware built into or installed on the router or access server.
The AUX line is the Auxiliary port, seen in the configuration as line aux 0.
The VTY lines are the Virtual Terminal lines of the router, used solely to control inbound Telnet connections. They are virtual, in the sense that they are a function of software - there is no hardware associated with them. They appear in the configuration as line vty 0 4.
Each of these types of lines can be configured with password protection. Lines can be configured to use one password for all users, or for user-specific passwords. User-specific passwords can be configured locally on the router, or you can use an authentication server to provide authentication.
There is no prohibition against configuring different lines with different types of password protection. It is, in fact, common to see routers with a single password for the console and user-specific passwords for other inbound connections.
Below is an example of router output from the show running-config command:
2509#show running-config
Building configuration...
Current configuration : 655 bytes
!
version 12.2
.
.
.
!--- Configuration edited for brevity
line con 0
line 1 8
line aux 0
line vty 0 4
!
end
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