8 .. |BuildStatus| image:: https://travis-ci.org/FreeRADIUS/freeradius-server.png
9 .. _BuildStatus: https://travis-ci.org/FreeRADIUS/freeradius-server
14 The FreeRADIUS Server Project is a high performance and highly
15 configurable RADIUS server that is available under the terms of the
16 GNU GPLv2. Using RADIUS allows authentication and authorization for a
17 network to be centralized, and minimizes the number of changes that
18 have to be done when adding or deleting new users to a network.
20 FreeRADIUS can authenticate users on systems such as 802.1x (WiFi),
21 dialup, PPPoE, VPN's, VoIP, and many others. It supports back-end
22 databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, Microsoft Active
23 Directory, OpenLDAP, and many more. It is used daily to authenticate
24 the Internet access for hundreds of millions of people, in sites
25 ranging from 10 users, to 10 million and more users.
27 Version 3.0 of the server is largely compatible with version 2.x, but
28 we highly recommend that you recreate your configuration, rather than
29 trying to get the older configuration to work.
31 For a list of changes in version 3.0, please see ``doc/ChangeLog``.
33 See ``raddb/README.rst`` for information on what to do to update your
36 Administrators upgrading from a previous version should install this
37 version in a different location from their existing systems. Any
38 existing configuration should be carefully migrated to the new
39 version, in order to take advantage of the new features which can
40 greatly simply configuration.
42 Please see http://freeradius.org and http://wiki.freeradius.org for
49 To install the server, please see the INSTALL file in this directory.
52 3. DEBUGGING THE SERVER
53 -----------------------
55 Run the server in debugging mode, (``radiusd -X``) and READ the output.
56 We cannot emphasize this point strongly enough. The vast majority of
57 problems can be solved by carefully reading the debugging output,
58 which includes WARNINGs about common issues, and suggestions for how
61 Read the FAQ. Many questions are answered there. See the Wiki
63 http://wiki.freeradius.org
65 Read the configuration files. Many parts of the server have NO
66 documentation, other than comments in the configuration file.
68 Search the mailing lists. There is a Google link on the bottom of
71 http://www.freeradius.org/list/users.html
73 Type some key words into the search box, and you should find
74 discussions about common problems and solution.
77 4. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
78 -------------------------
80 See ``doc/README`` for more information about FreeRADIUS.
82 There is an O'Reilly book available. It serves as a good
83 introduction for anyone new to RADIUS. However, it is almost 11 years
84 old, and is not much more than a basic introduction to the subject.
86 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596003226/freeradiusorg-20/
88 For other RADIUS information, the Livington internet site had a lot
89 of information about radius online. Unfortunately Livingston, and the
90 site, don't exist anymore but there is a copy of the site still at:
92 http://portmasters.com/www.livingston.com/
94 Especially worth reading is the "RADIUS for Unix administrators guide"
96 * HTML: http://portmasters.com/tech/docs/radius/1185title.html
97 * PDF: http://portmasters.com/tech/docs/pdf/radius.pdf
100 5. PROBLEMS AND CONCERNS
101 ------------------------
103 We understand that the server may be difficult to configure,
104 install, or administer. It is, after all, a complex system with many
105 different configuration possibilities.
107 The most common problem is that people change large amounts of the
108 configuration without understanding what they're doing, and without
109 testing their changes. The preferred method of operation is the
112 1. Start off with the default configuration files.
113 2. Save a copy of the default configuration: It WORKS. Don't change it!
114 3. Verify that the server starts. (You ARE using debugging mode, right?)
115 4. Send it test packets using "radclient", or a NAS or AP.
116 5. Verify that the server does what you expect.
117 - If it does not work, change the configuration, and go to step (3)
118 If you're stuck, revert to using the "last working" configuration.
119 - If it works, proceed to step (6).
120 6. Save a copy of the working configuration, along with a note of what
121 you changed, and why.
122 7. Make a SMALL change to the configuration.
123 8. Repeat from step (3).
125 This method will ensure that you have a working configuration that
126 is customized to your site as quickly as possible. While it may seem
127 frustrating to proceed via a series of small steps, the alternative
128 will always take more time. The "fast and loose" way will be MORE
129 frustrating than quickly making forward progress!
135 If you have any comments, bug reports, problems, or concerns, please
136 send them to the 'freeradius-users' list (see the URL above). We will
137 do our best to answer your questions, to fix the problems, and to
138 generally improve the server in any way we can.
140 Please do NOT complain that the developers aren't answering your
141 questions quickly enough, or aren't fixing the problems quickly
142 enough. Please do NOT complain if you're told to go read
143 documentation. We recognize that the documentation isn't perfect, but
144 it *does* exist, and reading it can solve most common questions.
146 FreeRADIUS is the cumulative effort of many years of work by many
147 people, and you've gotten it for free. No one gets paid to work on
148 FreeRADIUS, and no one is getting paid to answer your questions. This
149 is free software, and the only way it gets better is if you make a
150 contribution back to the project ($$, code, or documentation).
152 We will note that the people who get most upset about any answers to
153 their questions usually do not have any intention of contributing to
154 the project. We will repeat the comments above: no one is getting
155 paid to answer your questions or to fix your bugs. If you don't like
156 the responses you are getting, then fix the bug yourself, or pay
157 someone to address your concerns. Either way, make sure that any fix
158 is contributed back to the project so that no one else runs into the
161 Support is available. See the "support" link at the top of the main
164 http://freeradius.org
166 Please submit bug reports, suggestions, or patches. That feedback
167 gives the developers a guide as to where they should focus their work.
168 If you like the server, feel free to mail the list and say so.