Just your impression.
RADIUS is a standard on the standards track for RFC. Anyone can use
that to write a server or build a NAS that uses it.
Our RADIUS server uses that standard, just like any other. But there is
no reason for us to give away our server. And the standard is just that,
the standard you use to build a server or a NAS - what you *do* with the
standard is original. Menuing is not part of the RADIUS standard, but
it is done *with* the standard fields. All of the menuing code is part
of the server and that is our work and we are not giving it away.
Think of it this way - PPP is a standard, yet there are competing PPP
dialers. TCP/IP is a standard, and there are competing TCP/IP stacks.
RADIUS is a standard, and there are competing RADIUS servers.
Our RADIUS server has features others lack, and that is a selling point
for Livingston products. You aren't allowed to use it unless you are
a customer (as of 2.0). We've seen too many incidents where someone has
purchased, say, USR TC units but use our RADIUS because they 'like it
better'. And when asked said they never would have gone with the TC if
they couldn't use our RADIUS with it. We have been enabling the sales
of competing products. While we're nice about things, we are a business
in a highly competitive environment. All this move does is help prevent
non-customers and our competitors from profiting from our work. It
doesn't change anything for our customers.
And it doesn't change the fact that RADIUS is a standard being developed
by the IETF - there is nothing proprietary about it.
The proprietary part is what we do with the server software. People need
to see that the RADIUS protocol definitions are a seperate thing from
the actual RADIUS server implementation.
This is no different from Merit Licensing the LAS extensions they
developed.
-MZ
-- Livingston Enterprises - Chair, Department of Interstitial Affairs Phone: 800-458-9966 510-426-0770 FAX: 510-426-8951 megazone@livingston.com For support requests: support@livingston.com <http://www.livingston.com/> Snail mail: 6920 Koll Center Parkway #220, Pleasanton, CA 94566 See me in person: Internet Expo, Boston, MA, October 16-17, Booth 422 ;-)