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.

Average Customer Review: ( 13 customer reviews )
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The RFCs tend to be full of nitty gritty legalese, by the very nature of their being formal specifications. That is the reason one would want to read a book, such as this one, in the hope of gaining implementation and deployment perspective that may be lacking in the the RFCs. This book does not measure up.

It is poorly organized, is ridden with glaring errors, and does not explain key concepts well, if at all. If the author has brought any technical expertise on the subject matter to bear, it certainly does not show up. It looks and feels like a potpourri of hastily put together notes by a sysadmin technician; nothing more.

6 of 7 found the following review helpful:

Radius: Very Impressive BookOct 23, 2002
By Brian Grossman
This book is a complete guide. The author explains the inner workings of RADIUS quite clearly. The practical suggestions on setting up freeradius, while basic, are very helpful; plus, it's the only book out there, and it's of typical O'Reilly quality. In closing, this book is very good, in-depth, and handy. I'd recommend it to anyone.

8 of 10 found the following review helpful:

Acceptable as an intro, but severly lacking detailsAug 06, 2003

This book may not be bad for someone looking for a brief overview of the RADIUS protocol (perhaps a manager), but is virtually useless for anything beyond that. The book is poorly organized, severly lacks detail, and has its share of errors. Technical readers should look elsewhere.

3 of 3 found the following review helpful:

Good overview and referenceJan 06, 2004

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.

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