FreeRADIUS as a proxy RADIUS server. ==================================== Introduction ------------ It is possible to use FreeRADIUS as a proxy RADIUS server. This means that it can consult a remote RADIUS server to validate a user. This is handy for roaming setups, or for renting ports to someone else. Files ----- If a user logs in with a defined realm syntax, the "realm" portion is matched against the configuration to determine how the request should be handled. Common realm formats are: :: username@realm realm/username username%realm realm\username The realm parsing syntax ( and search order ) is user definable via the realm module config in the ``/etc/raddb/radiusd.conf`` configuration file. You can define multiple instances of the realm module to support multiple realm syntax's at the same time. Be sure to pay close attention to the search order that you define, as you may inadvertently get unexpected behaviour ( by having a user use ``realm1/username@realm2`` for instance ). If you need to proxy to IPASS, it should go first, because usernames will be in the form ``IPASS/username@realm`` and you want to proxy these users to IPASS, not to the realm behind the ``@``. The realms are configured in the file ``/etc/raddb/proxy.conf``, which is included by ``radiusd.conf``. The formats and sample configurations are included as comments. The realm ``DEFAULT`` (without the quotes) matches all realms. The realm ``NULL`` matches any requests WITHOUT a realm. If you set the remote server to ``LOCAL``, the request will be handled locally as usual, without sending it to a remote radius server. There are several options you can add in both files: - nostrip: By default the realm is stripped from the username before sending it on to the remote radius server. By specifying the "nostrip" option the @realm suffix will not be stripped. - hints By default the original username is sent to the remote radius server. By specifying the "hints" option the username will be sent as it is after the "hints" file was processed. - notrealm: By default if a realm is matched, it will be proxied to the server specified. However, if you are using Replication functionality, you may want to override this behaviour. This option will prevent a user who enters ``user@foobar`` from being proxied if the ``foobar`` realm configuration contains ``notrealm``. This function used to be called ``notsuffix``, and the old syntax is still supported. The ``/etc/raddb/realms`` file is deprecated and should not be used anymore. If you use the ``/etc/raddb/realms`` file to enter realm configurations you will need to add the hostname and secret for the remote server in the file ``/etc/raddb/clients.conf``. It is not recommended to use both the realms file and the proxy.conf file, as that could cause confusion. Accounting ---------- All accounting data for proxied requests does `not` get stored in the standard logfiles, but in a separate directory. The name of this directory is the name of the remote radius server. Remote Server ---------------- When your server proxies requests to another server, it acts as a NAS for the remote server. On the remote server, you need to add the hostname of your server and the same secret to ``/etc/raddb/clients.conf`` as well. As you might not control the remote radius server, you might want to control the attributes sent back by the remote server in an Access-Accept packet. Have a look at the attrs file for this! What Happens --------------- The exact thing that happens is this: - A user logs in with a realm - The hints file gets processed as usual - The user is checked against the huntgroups file. At this point the user `might` already be rejected. - The realm is looked up in the realms file. If it isn't defined, the users file is processed normally. - If the ``notrealm`` option is defined, the user is processed locally. - The realm is stripped from the username unless ``nostrip`` was set, and the request is sent to a remote radius server. Note that any stripping done in the hints file doesn't have an effect on the username sent to the remote radius server unless you set the ``hints`` option. - The remote server replies with Access-Accept or Access-Reject :: On Access-Accept: The initial Auth-Type is set to Accept On Access-Reject: The initial Auth-Type is set to Reject Then the users file is processed as usual. The username used at this point is the one after hints file processing (regardless of the ``hints`` option). It also includes the realm (regardless of the setting of the ``nostrip`` option) unless the realm is ``LOCAL``.