The FreeRADIUS project, the open source implementation of RADIUS, is an IETF protocol for AAA (Authorisation, Authentication, and Accounting).
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Microsoft Entra ID
Score 8.9 out of 10
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Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Microsoft Azure Active Directory or Azure AD) is a cloud-based identity and access management (IAM) solution supporting restricted access to applications with Azure Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) built-in, single sign-on (SSO), B2B collaboration controls, self-service password, and integration with Microsoft productivity and cloud storage (Office 365, OneDrive, etc) as well as 3rd party services.
Back in the days when our company was primarily Linux and tiny we used to use free radius from Linux for our basic authentication. We only had around 3-4 Microsoft devices then and a few apple devices. But we outgrew the solution as soon as we started growing. We stuck with …
FreeRADIUS is completely scalable and supports both large and small user databases. Because it doesn't take up a lot of server resources, FreeRADIUS is well-suited for organizations with small budgets (it's in the name!) and limited networking hardware. While there is a port of it for Windows, FreeRADIUS is native to Linux so that would be a limitation for many companies who don't use it.
It is well suited for creating and updating and deleting employee attributes through Azure AD provisioning. But there can be some scenarios such as installation of provisioning agent documentation can be improved with proper screenshots. This will help consultants better in further implementations in future. The integration perspective is good but still the documentation available has scope of improvement.
Microsoft Entra ID's biometric authentication improves security and streamlines user access through facial recognition and fingerprint scanning, which are reliable and practical.
Users can easily confirm their identities using biometrics, smart cards, or PINs, increasing security without disrupting business operations.
Microsoft Entra ID provides us with a thorough security comprehension by allowing us to effectively manage user identities, regulate access entitlements, and track authentication events.
It has been an essential tool and we have had very few problems using it. Nothing comes close that I have seen, though given how well it has worked out for us I really don't look very hard. The value is extremely high when you consider you get Microsoft Entra ID and the rest of the Microsoft 365 platform for one price.
Easy rollout across organizations, accessible from any device securely, and easy integration with Microsoft products and its services. Microsoft technical consulting services and team helps an organization to connect all dots which make Organization IT professionals' life easier. Easy to use hence adaption is faster and no major training needs to conduct for users.
Microsoft has offered Azure Active Directory as a solution for a couple of decades now, so they have seen and anticipated almost any issue that an organization may face and can therefore help. The cloud offering of Azure Active Directory offers some additional "self healing" or monitoring services that can minimize the need for a service call. However, as with most large companies supporting a fast growing market, there may be some gaps in service knowledge (and particularly processing) from the front line / tier one staff as they follow a corporate script at first contact.
Make sure you use a good partner. Our implementation was a bit longer and more problematic than we expected. Our partner got it done, but, in my opinion, some of their inexperience and staffing issues were evident.
Microsoft seems to be the better service for cloud identity syncing and is still a leader in this realm. Their service is reliable, and we use it with all of our clients. Compared to Okta, the cost is more affordable and they include a lot of services in the Microsoft licensing plans. This makes it the better option for most cases.
Microsoft Professional Services' technical knowledge is appreciable as consultants design the solution as per customer requirements. Mapping of features per user specifications and assisting Customer IT engineers to implement so they can manage and administer the services.
We previously used Microsoft Network Policy Server for our RADIUS authentication which works ok but was pretty clunky and requires Windows Server. Switching to FreeRADIUS brought our cost down to zero.
Because FreeRADIUS works natively in Linux it's easy to setup and works with all distros.
FreeRADIUS allows us to have user authentication for wifi which is much more secure than a simple shared password solution.
I believe that the reduction in requests for lost access passwords has been considerably reduced by 20%.
There has been an increase in the productivity of each user who has used Entra ID; what these types of programs do is act as a motivator for users so that they can work more comfortably and avoid procrastinating.
