Authorization in FreeRADIUS

This section can be seen as an overview of subjects we have covered up to now and as a refresher before moving on to more hands-on exercises with authorization.

• Requests are sent from an NAS (the client) to FreeRADIUS (the server).
• These requests are handled by virtual servers, which are defined in the FreeRADIUS configuration. The default virtual server is called default.
• The manner in which incoming requests are handled depends on the configuration of the various sections inside a virtual server file.
• The request itself is handled by the various sections in a logical order. The authorize section always handles Access-Request packets before the authenticate section does. The preacct section likewise always handles Accounting-Request packets before the accounting section does.
• Although the section order cannot be changed, we have much flexibility inside the section to manipulate the request.

The next part will be a basic introduction to ways to process a request. With...