FreeRADIUS

FreeRADIUS is an open-source implementation of the RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) protocol, serving as a server for AAA (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting) functions. It is designed to cater to organizations of all sizes, from small businesses to large enterprises and service providers. FreeRADIUS finds extensive use in various professions and industries, including Internet Service Providers (ISPs), telecommunications companies, educational institutions, enterprise networks, and network equipment vendors, for centralized user authentication and authorization purposes.

Key Features

AAA for millions: According to the vendor, FreeRADIUS provides AAA (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting) services for a large number of subscribers. It can handle a high volume of authentication requests and supports various authentication methods and protocols.

Infinitely flexible policy language: The vendor claims that FreeRADIUS offers an infinitely flexible policy language, allowing administrators to define and enforce fine-grained access control policies. This feature enables organizations to customize their authentication and authorization rules based on their specific requirements.

Global AAA servers: FreeRADIUS supports the deployment of global AAA (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting) servers, as stated by the vendor. This functionality enables organizations with distributed networks to have centralized authentication and authorization services, ensuring consistent access control across multiple locations.

Active Directory integration: According to the vendor, FreeRADIUS seamlessly integrates with Active Directory, allowing organizations to leverage their existing user directory infrastructure for authentication and authorization purposes. This integration simplifies user management and enhances security by leveraging Active Directory's robust features.

Eduroam and WiFi: FreeRADIUS is widely used in educational institutions, supporting services like eduroam and WiFi, according to the vendor. It enables institutions to provide secure and seamless authentication for their students, faculty, and staff, ensuring reliable access to network resources.

Flexible protocol support: According to the vendor, FreeRADIUS supports a wide range of protocols, including RADIUS, DHCP, BFD (Bidirectional Forwarding Detection), and ARP (Address Resolution Protocol). This flexibility allows organizations to leverage FreeRADIUS for various network authentication and authorization needs.

Extensive data store support: FreeRADIUS provides support for various data stores, including LDAP, SQL databases (such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Oracle), Redis, and more, as stated by the vendor. This allows organizations to choose the most suitable data store for their user and policy information, ensuring efficient and scalable operations.

Modular architecture: The vendor claims that FreeRADIUS follows a modular architecture, allowing administrators to extend its functionality by adding custom modules. This modular approach enables organizations to tailor FreeRADIUS to their specific requirements and seamlessly integrate it with other systems.

Comprehensive logging and auditing: According to the vendor, FreeRADIUS offers comprehensive logging and auditing capabilities, enabling administrators to track and monitor authentication and accounting activities. This feature helps in troubleshooting, compliance adherence, and detecting security incidents.

Scalability and high availability: FreeRADIUS is designed to be highly scalable and supports clustering and load balancing for high availability deployments, as stated by the vendor. This ensures that organizations can handle increasing authentication loads and maintain uninterrupted services.