Re: authentication-type = file ?

William Bulley (web@merit.edu)
Mon, 12 Feb 1996 09:13:04 -0500 (EST)

According to Andrew J. Doane:
>
> Somewhere I once read that you can do --
>
> Authentication-Type = File
>
> To grab passwords from someplace other than /etc/passwd. Basically, I want
> to use a unix style password file but not the real /etc/passwd.

The Merit version of RADIUS has had Authentication-Type = FILE for
well over a year now. The "realm file" to which the authfile points
is syntactically identical to the standard Livingston users file.

BTW you don't have to embrace the "realm" concept to use this feature.
The authfile has the concept of a "NULL" realm and that entry may
point to "foobah" if it is of Authentication-Type = FILE, for example:

NULL FILE foobah

and this implies that in your configuration directory (.../raddb) you
have a foobah.users file containing your users and their check-items
and reply-items just like the "real" users file.

You can see how handy the "realm" concept can become since it allows
you to parcel out your users into "n" files, one for each of "n" realms.

Regards,

web...

-- 
William Bulley, N8NXN              Senior Systems Research Programmer
Merit Network Inc.                 Domain: web@merit.edu
4251 Plymouth Road                 MaBell: (313) 764-9993
Ann Arbor, Michigan  48105-2785    Fax:    (313) 747-3185