freeRADIUS? Not for this Internet Service Provider

A premiere Internet Service Provider (ISP) located in the central U.S. offers 56K dial-in, a range of DSL, and T1 and DS3 dedicated access services to thousands of customers. When thier installation of freeRADIUS suffered a hardware failure that could not be easily recovered, the true cost of freeRADIUS was better understood.

Situation

The ISP was using a freeRADIUS server that had worked well for several years.  One day the server suffered a hardware failure that could not be easily recovered.  The engineers purchased a new machine, re-built the system, and re-installed all of the software, including freeRADIUS.  Backups were restored, everything was turned on, but the system did not respond.  Numerous actions were taken to restore the freeRADIUS server, but nothing worked. 

freeRADIUS was down for two days, which meant that the ISP’s users could not be authenticated and thus were denied access to the network.  For two days none of the ISP’s customers could connect to the Internet and they were getting angry.

Solution

The ISP needed a RADIUS server that was more stable than freeRADIUS and they needed to deploy it fast.  The lead network administrator remembered Interlink Networks from a tradeshow, and knew that Interlink’s RADIUS server was based on the proven Merit RADIUS Server, which is widely deployed by ISPs throughout the world.  He needed a stable, high performance RADIUS server at a reasonable price.  He searched the Internet to find Interlink Networks and requested a price quote. He placed an order with his credit card and immediately downloaded the Interlink Networks RAD-Series RADIUS Server.

Easy Installation was Key

The RAD-Series RADIUS Server software was very easy to install, and within one hour, the network was back up and running.  He was extremely pleased with his purchase, and decided to protect his investment and peace-of-mind by purchasing unlimited e-mail and telephone technical support should the unexpected strike again.

A Lesson on freeRADIUS

When a RADIUS server is up and running, it’s “out of sight, out of mind”.  When the RADIUS server is down, an entire business could be down.  For Internet Service Providers, the RADIUS server is a mission critical component. 
                          
Interlink Networks offers the leading supported Linux-based RADIUS server.  The RAD-Series RADIUS server is a fully tested Carrier-grade solution that comes with complete documentation, regularly tested enhancements and upgrades, and both e-mail and call-in support services.

If you’re leery about depending on open source solutions like freeRADIUS that aren’t tested to Carrier-grade standards and don’t provide a dedicated support team to resolve your problems quickly, take a look at Interlink Networks’ RAD-Series RADIUS server.