Central User Administration

Steel-Belted Radius manages remote and WLAN users by allowing authentication procedures to be performed from one database. This relieves you of the need to administer separate authentication databases for each network access or WLAN access point device on your LAN.

Steel-Belted Radius performs three main functions:

• Authentication- Validates any remote or WLAN user's username and password against a central security database to ensure that only individuals with valid credentials will be granted network access.
• Authorization- For each new connection, provides information to the remote access or WLAN access point device, such as what IP address to use, session time-limit information, or which type of tunnel to set up.
• Accounting- Logs all remote and WLAN connections, including usernames and connection duration, for tracking and billing.

When a user connects to the network via a remote access server, firewall, router, access point, or any other RADIUS-compliant network access device, that device queries Steel-Belted Radius to determine whether the user is authorized to connect. Steel-Belted Radius accepts or rejects the connection based on user credential information in the central security database, and authorizes the appropriate type of connection or service. When the user logs off, the network access device informs Steel-Belted Radius, which in turn records an accounting transaction.