The subject of security never strays far from the minds of IT workers, for good reason. If there is a network with even just one connection to another network, it needs to be secured. RADIUS, or Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service, is a widely deployed protocol that enables companies to authenticate, authorize and account for remote users who want access to a system or service from a central network server. Originally developed for dial-up remote access, RADIUS is now used by virtual private network (VPN) servers, wireless access points, authenticating Ethernet switches, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) access, and other network access types. Extensible, easy to implement, supported, and actively developed, RADIUS is currently the de facto standard for remote authentication. RADIUS provides a complete, detailed guide to the underpinnings of the RADIUS protocol, with particular emphasis on the utility of user accounting. Author Jonathan Hassell draws from his extensive experience in Internet service provider operations to bring practical suggestions and advice for implementing RADIUS. He also provides instructions for using an open-source variation called FreeRADIUS. "RADIUS is an extensible protocol that enjoys the support of a wide range of vendors," says Jonathan Hassell. "Coupled with the amazing efforts of the open source development community to extend RADIUS's capabilities to other applications-Web, calling card security, physical device security, such as RSA's SecureID-RADIUS is possibly the best protocol with which to ensure only the people that need access to a resource indeed gain that access." This unique book covers RADIUS completely, from the history and theory of the architecture around which it was designed, to how the protocol and its ancillaries function on a day-to-day basis, to implementing RADIUS-based security in a variety of corporate and service provider environments. If you are an ISP owner or administrator, corporate IT professional responsible for maintaining mobile user connectivity, or a web presence provider responsible for providing multiple communications resources, you'll want this book to help you master this widely implemented but little understood protocol.

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 12 Ratings

Bad copy of RFC - 2004-01-04
Reviewer Rating:
Let me just compare one sentence from the book and RFC:

The book, page 20:
Authenticator
... In this field, the most important octet is transmitted before any other ...

RFC 2865, page 15:
Authenticator
... The most significant octet is transmitted first. ...

Good overview and reference - 2004-01-06
Reviewer Rating:
I found this book a good reference to RADIUS. While some content is available in the RFCs, it's handy to have it compact and easy to read inside this book. The overview and guide to FreeRADIUS is good to have, especially considering the lack of available documentation from the project. I especially found the security chapter helpful, a candid discussion of where RADIUS fails.

While there could be more coverage in this book, I think it's a great one to have available. Recommended.

Good to start with a Radius - 2004-04-14
Reviewer Rating:
Clear documentation on Radius env but you must read another document, most on freeradius, to build a real solutions.

You should better read the RFC - 2008-10-30
Reviewer Rating:
To express my idea about this book, it is
enough to say this:

I printed and inserted in the book the 5-page
examples from RFC-2865 to understand what is
going on!

It is an awful book; it has not a single negotiation example;
There is not a single reference of real-world use. I kept
searching for overviews of advanced EAP schemes using
RADIUS as the final authenticator, hoped to see examples of
802.1X port authentication controlled by RADIUS, but there is
nothing there:
The only thing this book offers is alphabetically ordered
attributes copied from RFCs but printed in a nice font!

A useful book for non-experts - 2009-08-28
Reviewer Rating:
We had a specific job to do at work which required knowledge of radius servers and their setup. I purchased this book to supplement my knowledge and found it very useful ... Got the job done !!! There was enough information (and helpful hints as to where to get more) to configure the Cisco AV-pairs ...

Browse Similar Topics

Top Level Categories:
IT Management
Networking

Sub-Categories:
IT Management > Network Management
Networking > Remote Access
Networking > VPN