Building from source

Sometimes there is a need to install the latest available version of software or to include support for a specific module not included with the pre-built binaries. This requires building the software from source. Most open source packages are distributed as compressed TAR files. TAR can actually refer to the program used to create the TAR file (the name is short for tape archive) or the file format of the resultant file. A TAR file is also typically compressed to reduce the size. The file name will indicate the compression format. A filename ending with .tgz or .tar.gz used gzip. A filename ending with .tbz, .tb2, or .tar.bz2 used bzip2. To build the software we extract this file and then execute the commands configure, make, and make install inside the extracted directory.

There is, however, a preferred way by utilizing the Linux distribution's package management system when building the software. Not all TAR files facilitate doing this with ease, but FreeRADIUS...