How to Install FreeRADIUS on Arch Linux

FreeRADIUS is an open-source, high-performance, and easy-to-use RADIUS server. It provides centralized authentication, authorization, and accounting for remote access to network services. If you want to install FreeRADIUS on Arch Linux, follow the step-by-step guide below.

Step 1: Update your System

First, update your Arch Linux system by running the following command in your terminal:

sudo pacman -Syu

This will ensure that your system is up-to-date and includes any recent patches and bug fixes.

Step 2: Install the Dependencies

Before you can install FreeRADIUS, you need to install its dependencies. Run the following command in your terminal:

sudo pacman -S freeradius freeradius-utils

This command will install both the FreeRADIUS packages and the utilities.

Step 3: Configure FreeRADIUS

After installation, you can configure FreeRADIUS by editing the radiusd.conf file. Run the following command in your terminal:

sudo nano /etc/raddb/radiusd.conf

This will open the configuration file in the nano text editor. You can now make any necessary changes to the file.

Step 4: Start FreeRADIUS

To start FreeRADIUS, run the following command in your terminal:

sudo systemctl start radiusd.service

This command will start the FreeRADIUS service in the background. If you want to check the status of the service, run the following command:

sudo systemctl status radiusd.service

Step 5: Verify FreeRADIUS

To verify that FreeRADIUS is working correctly, you can use the radtest utility. Run the following command in your terminal:

radtest username password 127.0.0.1 0 testing123

Replace username and password with your own username and password. If everything is working correctly, you should see the following output:

Sending Access-Request of id 52 to 127.0.0.1 port 1812
    User-Name = "username"
    User-Password = "password"
    NAS-IP-Address = 192.168.0.2
    NAS-Port = 0
    Message-Authenticator = 0x00000000000000000000000000000000
rad_recv: Access-Accept packet from host 127.0.0.1 port 1812, id=52, length=20

If you see an Access-Reject message, make sure that you have configured FreeRADIUS correctly.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and configured FreeRADIUS on Arch Linux. Now you can use it for centralized authentication, authorization, and accounting for remote access to network services.

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