--- /dev/null
+The FreeRADIUS server
+=====================
+
+0. BRANCH STATE
+---------------
+|BuildStatus|_
+
+.. |BuildStatus| image:: https://travis-ci.org/FreeRADIUS/freeradius-server.png?branch=v2.x.x
+.. _BuildStatus: https://travis-ci.org/FreeRADIUS/freeradius-server
+
+1. INTRODUCTION
+---------------
+
+The FreeRADIUS Server Project is a high performance and highly
+configurable RADIUS server that is available under the terms of the
+GNU GPLv2. Using RADIUS allows authentication and authorization for a
+network to be centralized, and minimizes the number of changes that
+have to be done when adding or deleting new users to a network.
+
+FreeRADIUS can authenticate users on systems such as 802.1x (WiFi),
+dialup, PPPoE, VPN's, VoIP, and many others. It supports back-end
+databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, Microsoft Active
+Directory, OpenLDAP, and many more. It is used daily to authenticate
+the Internet access for hundreds of millions of people, in sites
+ranging from 10 users, to 10 million and more users.
+
+Version 2.0 of the server is intended to be backwards compatible
+with previous versions, but also to have many new features, such as:
+
+* simple policy language (see ``man unlang``)
+* virtual servers (raddb/sites-available/README)
+* IPv6 support
+* better proxy support (raddb/proxy.conf)
+* More EAP types
+* Debugging output should be MUCH easier to understand
+* VMPS support
+* More modules are marked "stable" (python, etc.)
+* SQL configuration has been cleaned up (see raddb/sql/*)
+* limited support for HUP
+* check configuration and exit (``radiusd -C``)
+* Server core is now event based (simpler, more powerful)
+
+Administrators upgrading from a previous version should install this
+version in a different location from their existing systems. Any
+existing configuration should be carefully migrated to the new
+version, in order to take advantage of the new features which can
+greatly simply configuration.
+
+While every attempt has been made to ensure that this version is
+backwards compatible with previous versions, there may be cases where
+it is not backwards compatible. In most cases, incompatibilities are
+a side-effect of fixing bugs, or of adding new features. Some
+configuration differences are noted below:
+
+* The recommended format for clients has changed. See "clients.conf".
+ The old format should still work, but should be changed to use the
+ new format.
+
+* The recommended formant for realms has changed. See "proxy.conf"
+ The old format should still work, but should be changed to use the
+ new format. In addition, the new format has much more flexibility.
+
+* Any configuration using TTLS or PEAP should be updated to use
+ virtual servers. See "virtual_server" in "eap.conf", and
+ "raddb/sites-available/inner-tunnel". In most cases, using an
+ "inner-tunnel" virtual server will make the configuration MUCH
+ simpler.
+
+* A number of deprecated command-line options have been removed.
+ (``-y -z -A -l -g``) See "man radiusd". These configurations can be
+ controlled in "radiusd.conf", so it is not necessary to have them
+ as command-line options.
+
+Please see http://freeradius.org and http://wiki.freeradius.org for
+more information.
+
+
+2. INSTALLATION
+---------------
+
+To install the server, please see the INSTALL file in this directory.
+
+
+3. DEBUGGING THE SERVER
+-----------------------
+
+Run the server in debugging mode, (``radiusd -X``) and READ the output.
+We cannot emphasize this point strongly enough. The vast majority of
+problems can be solved by carefully reading the debugging output,
+which includes WARNINGs about common issues, and suggestions for how
+they may be fixed.
+
+Read the FAQ. Many questions are answered there. See the Wiki
+
+http://wiki.freeradius.org
+
+Read the configuration files. Many parts of the server have NO
+documentation, other than comments in the configuration file.
+
+Search the mailing lists. There is a Google link on the bottom of
+the page:
+
+http://www.freeradius.org/list/users.html
+
+Type some key words into the search box, and you should find
+discussions about common problems and solution.
+
+
+4. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
+-------------------------
+
+See 'doc/README' for more information about FreeRADIUS.
+
+There is an O'Reilly book available. It serves as a good
+introduction for anyone new to RADIUS. However, it is almost 5 years
+old, and is not much more than a basic introduction to the subject.
+
+http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596003226/freeradiusorg-20/
+
+For other RADIUS information, the Livington internet site had a lot
+of information about radius online. Unfortunately Livingston, and the
+site, don't exist anymore but there is a copy of the site still at:
+
+http://portmasters.com/www.livingston.com/
+
+Especially worth reading is the "RADIUS for Unix administrators guide"
+
+* HTML: http://portmasters.com/tech/docs/radius/1185title.html
+* PDF: http://portmasters.com/tech/docs/pdf/radius.pdf
+
+
+5. PROBLEMS AND CONCERNS
+------------------------
+
+We understand that the server may be difficult to configure,
+install, or administer. It is, after all, a complex system with many
+different configuration possibilities.
+
+The most common problem is that people change large amounts of the
+configuration without understanding what they're doing, and without
+testing their changes. The preferred method of operation is the
+following:
+
+1. Start off with the default configuration files.
+2. Save a copy of the default configuration: It WORKS. Don't change it!
+3. Verify that the server starts. (You ARE using debugging mode, right?)
+4. Send it test packets using "radclient", or a NAS or AP.
+5. Verify that the server does what you expect.
+ - If it does not work, change the configuration, and go to step (3)
+ If you're stuck, revert to using the "last working" configuration.
+ - If it works, proceed to step (6).
+6. Save a copy of the working configuration, along with a note of what
+ you changed, and why.
+7. Make a SMALL change to the configuration.
+8. Repeat from step (3).
+
+This method will ensure that you have a working configuration that
+is customized to your site as quickly as possible. While it may seem
+frustrating to proceed via a series of small steps, the alternative
+will always take more time. The "fast and loose" way will be MORE
+frustrating than quickly making forward progress!
+
+
+6. FEEDBACK
+-----------
+
+If you have any comments, bug reports, problems, or concerns, please
+send them to the 'freeradius-users' list (see the URL above). We will
+do our best to answer your questions, to fix the problems, and to
+generally improve the server in any way we can.
+
+Please do NOT complain that the developers aren't answering your
+questions quickly enough, or aren't fixing the problems quickly
+enough. Please do NOT complain if you're told to go read
+documentation. We recognize that the documentation isn't perfect, but
+it *does* exist, and reading it can solve most common questions.
+
+FreeRADIUS is the cumulative effort of many years of work by many
+people, and you've gotten it for free. No one gets paid to work on
+FreeRADIUS, and no one is getting paid to answer your questions. This
+is free software, and the only way it gets better is if you make a
+contribution back to the project ($$, code, or documentation).
+
+We will note that the people who get most upset about any answers to
+their questions usually do not have any intention of contributing to
+the project. We will repeat the comments above: no one is getting
+paid to answer your questions or to fix your bugs. If you don't like
+the responses you are getting, then fix the bug yourself, or pay
+someone to address your concerns. Either way, make sure that any fix
+is contributed back to the project so that no one else runs into the
+same issue.
+
+Support is available. See the "support" link at the top of the main
+web page:
+
+http://freeradius.org
+
+Please submit bug reports, suggestions, or patches. That feedback
+gives the developers a guide as to where they should focus their work.
+If you like the server, feel free to mail the list and say so.
projects / thirdparty / freeradius-server.git / commitdiff
