Using MySQL with FreeRADIUS
Many FreeRADIUS users have been toying with interacting radiusd with MySQL, which is a wonderful open source database product. Using a database allows the administrator to query data and produce reports after transactions are complete using a standard language, SQL, which is supported across platforms. Also, a database allows users and passwords to be kept in a central place, and other services can access it and make said database an extensible, complete resource. Additionally, it’s a centralized administration point, which reduces the administrative headache of offering a service to the public. This section describes one possible setup to allow FreeRADIUS to authenticate against a user database held inside MySQL.
By using MySQL, you put the contents of the users file inside the database, and instead of storing all of the user information in one file, with separate stanzas for each user, the data will now exist in several different database tables. This majorly improves speed and scalability and offers a modicum of flexibility, too.
First, download, compile, and install MySQL for your RADIUS machine. There are several web resources available to assist you in doing this:
The MySQL web site (http://www.mysql.com) offers database downloads as well as API information, graphical tools to manage the database, applications contributed by third parties, and complete documentation for the core database product.
There is also a convenient Windows-based tool ...
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