-.TH radiusd.conf 5 "23 Jan 2004" "" "FreeRADIUS configuration file"
+.TH radiusd.conf 5 "12 Jun 2007" "" "FreeRADIUS configuration file"
.SH NAME
radiusd.conf \- configuration file for the FreeRADIUS server
.SH DESCRIPTION
The \fBradiusd.conf\fP file resides in the radius database directory,
by default \fB/etc/raddb\fP. It defines the global configuration for
-the FreeRADIUS server.
-
+the FreeRADIUS RADIUS server.
+.SH "CONTENTS"
+There are a large number of configuration parameters for the server.
+Most are documented in the file itself as comments. This page
+documents only the format of the file. Please read the
+\fBradiusd.conf\fP file itself for more information.
+
+The configuration file parser is independent of the server
+configuration. This means that you can put almost anything into the
+configuration file. So long as it is properly formatted, the server
+will start.
+
+When the server parses the configuration file, it looks only for those
+configurations it understands. Extra configuration items are ignored.
+This "feature" can be (ab)used in certain interesting ways.
.SH "FILE FORMAT"
-The file consists of attribute-value pairs, sections, and comments.
+The file format is line-based, like many other Unix configuration
+files. Each entry in the file must be placed on a line by itself,
+although continuations are supported.
-Attribute-value pairs are of the form \fBname = value\fP.
+The file consists of configuration items (variable = value pairs),
+sections, and comments.
+.IP Variables
+Variables can be set via:
-A section begins with a section name, followed on the same line by an
-open bracket \fB{\fP. The section may contain other
-sections, or attribute-value pairs. The section ends with a close
-bracket \fB}\fP, on a line by itself.
+.DS
+.br
+ name = value
+.DE
+
+Single and double-quoted strings are permitted:
-Any line beginning with a (\fB#\fP) is deemed to be a comment, and is
-ignored. Lines containing only whitespace are also ignored.
-
-The file is line-based. That is, each newline-terminated line
-represents either a comment, a section name, or an attribute-value
-pair. It is not possible to specify multiple items on the same line,
-and there are no continuation lines.
-
-The value for a particular attribute may reference a previously
-defined attribute by name. The standard shell reference format
-\fB${name}\fP is used. When the variable is in a section or
-subsection, it may be referenced as \fB${section.subsection.name}\fP.
-Forward references are not allowed. Relative references are allowed,
-via pre-pending the name with one or more of '.'.
-
-The individidual configuration directives are too numerous to list
-here, so this manual page only documents the file format. Please read
-the sample configuration file distributed with the server for comments
-describing each of the allowed configuration directives.
-
-.SH EXAMPLES
-.PP
.DS
- foo = bar
+.br
+ string1 = "hello world"
+.br
+ string2 = 'hello mom'
+.DE
+.IP Sections
+A section begins with a section name, followed on the same line by an
+open bracket '\fB{\fP'. Section may contain other sections, comments, or
+variables. Sections may be nested to any depth, limited
+only by available memory. A section ends with a close bracket
+'\fB}\fP', on a line by itself.
+.DS
+.br
+ section {
+.br
+ ...
+.br
+ }
.DE
-Sets variable \fBfoo\fP to have text value \fBbar\fP.
+
+Sections can sometimes have a second name following the first one.
+The situations where this is legal depend on the context. See the
+examples and comments in the \fBradiusd.conf\fP file for more
+information.
.DS
- blogs = ${foo}
+.br
+ section foo {
+.br
+ ...
+.br
+ }
+.DE
+.IP Comments
+Any line beginning with a (\fB#\fP) is deemed to be a comment, and is
+ignored. Comments can appear after a variable or section definitions.
+.DS
+.br
+ # comment
+.br
+ foo = bar # set variable 'foo' to value 'bar'
+.br
+ section { # start of section
+.br
+ ...
+.br
+ } # end of section
.DE
-Sets variable \fBblogs\fP to the value of variable \fBfoo\fP from the
-current section. If there is no variable \fBfoo\fP in the current
-section, then it looks for that variable in the body of the main
-configuration file, e.g. \f${Blogdir}\fP
+.IP Continuations
+Long lines can be broken up via continuations, using '\\' as the last
+character of the line. For example, the following entry:
.DS
- my_section {
.br
- baz = bud
+ foo = "blah \\
.br
- }
+ blah \\
+.br
+ blah"
+.DE
+
+will set the value of the variable "foo" to "blah blah blah". Any CR
+or LF is not turned into a space, but all other whitespace is
+preserved in the final value.
+.SH "REFERENCES"
+The value of a variable can reference another variable. These
+references are evaluated when the configuration file is loaded, which
+means that there is no run-time cost associated with them. This
+feature is most useful for turning long, repeated pieces of text into
+short ones.
+Variables are referenced by ${variable_name}, as in the following examples.
+
+.DS
+ foo = bar # set variable 'foo' to value 'bar'
+.br
+ who = ${foo} # sets variable 'who' to value of variable 'foo'
+.br
+ my = "${foo} a" # sets variable 'my' to "bar a"
.DE
-Defines a section named \fBmy_section\fP, containing variable
-\fBbaz\fP.
+
+If the variable exists in a section or subsection, it can be
+referenced as ${section.subsection.variable}. Forward references are
+not allowed. Relative references are allowed, by pre-pending the name
+with one or more period.
.DS
blogs = ${.foo}
.DE
-Sets variable \fBblogs\fP to the value of variable \fBfoo\fP,
+Will set variable \fBblogs\fP to the value of variable \fBfoo\fP,
from the current section.
.DS
blogs = ${..foo}
.DE
-Sets variable \fBblogs\fP to the value of variable \fBfoo\fP, from the
+Will set variable \fBblogs\fP to the value of variable \fBfoo\fP, from the
section which contains the current section.
.DS
blogs = ${modules.detail.detailfile}
.DE
-Sets variable \fBblogs\fP to the value of variable \fBdetailfile\fP,
+Will set variable \fBblogs\fP to the value of variable \fBdetailfile\fP,
of the \fBdetail\fP module, which is in the \fBmodules\fP section of
the configuration file.
-
-.PP
.SH FILES
/etc/raddb/radiusd.conf
.SH "SEE ALSO"
-.BR radiusd (8),
-.BR users (5)
-.BR clients (5)
-
+.BR radiusd (8)
.SH AUTHOR
-Alan DeKok <aland@ox.org>
+Alan DeKok <aland@freeradius.org>
projects / freeradius.git / commitdiff