RFC 2619 PROPOSED STANDARD MANAGEMENT · RADIUS · SECURITY

RADIUS Server MIB: RADIUS Authentication Server MIB

Monitoring system objects for RADIUS authentication servers.

On rfc-editor.org ↗
PUBLISHED
June 1999
AUTHORS
G. Zorn, B. Aboba
STREAM
IETF
OBSOLETED BY
RFC 4669 — RADIUS auth server MIB
SERVER SCALARS
14 statistics objects
CLIENT TABLE
1 row per client, with 12 columns per row
MIB COMPLIANCE
SMIv2
READ-WRITE OBJECTS
Server reset control
DOI
10.17487/RFC2619

RFC text

Contents
Original text · RFC Editor View on rfc-editor.org ↗
Network Working Group                                             G. Zorn
Request for Comments: 2619                                       B. Aboba
Category: Standards Track                                       Microsoft
                                                                June 1999


                    RADIUS Authentication Server MIB

Status of this Memo

   This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
   Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
   improvements.  Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
   Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
   and status of this protocol.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1999).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

   This memo defines a set of extensions which instrument RADIUS
   authentication server functions. These extensions represent a portion
   of the Management Information Base (MIB) for use with network
   management protocols in the Internet community.  Using these
   extensions IP-based management stations can manage RADIUS
   authentication servers.

1.  Introduction

   This memo defines a portion of the Management Information Base (MIB)
   for use with network management protocols in the Internet community.
   In particular, it describes managed objects used for managing RADIUS
   authentication servers.

   RADIUS authentication servers are today widely deployed by dialup
   Internet Service Providers, in order to provide authentication
   services.  As a result, the effective management of RADIUS
   authentication servers is of considerable importance.

2.  The SNMP Management Framework

   The SNMP Management Framework presently consists of five major
   components:

    o   An overall architecture, described in RFC 2571 [1].

    o   Mechanisms for describing and naming objects and events for the
        purpose of management.  The first version of this Structure of
        Management Information (SMI) is called SMIv1 and described in
        STD 16, RFC 1155 [2], STD 16, RFC 1212 [3] and RFC 1215 [4].
        The second version, called SMIv2, is described in STD 58, RFC
        2578 [5], RFC 2579 [6] and RFC 2580 [7].

    o   Message protocols for transferring management information. The
        first version of the SNMP message protocol is called SNMPv1 and
        described in STD 15, RFC 1157 [8]. A second version of the
        SNMP message protocol, which is not an Internet standards
        track protocol, is called SNMPv2c and described in RFC 1901
        [9] and RFC 1906 [10].  The third version of the message
        protocol is called SNMPv3 and described in RFC 1906 [10], RFC
        2572 [11] and RFC 2574 [12].

    o   Protocol operations for accessing management information. The
        first set of protocol operations and associated PDU formats is
        described in STD 15, RFC 1157 [8]. A second set of protocol
        operations and associated PDU formats is described in RFC 1905
        [13].

    o   A set of fundamental applications described in RFC 2573 [14] and
        the view-based access control mechanism described in RFC 2575
        [15].

   Managed objects are accessed via a virtual information store, termed
   the Management Information Base or MIB.  Objects in the MIB are
   defined using the mechanisms defined in the SMI.

   This memo specifies a MIB module that is compliant to the SMIv2.  A
   MIB conforming to the SMIv1 can be produced through the appropriate
   translations.  The resulting translated MIB must be semantically
   equivalent, except where objects or events are omitted because no
   translation is possible (use of Counter64).  Some machine readable
   information in SMIv2 will be converted into textual descriptions in
   SMIv1 during the translation process.  However, this loss of machine
   readable information is not considered to change the semantics of the
   MIB.

3.  Overview

   The RADIUS authentication protocol, described in [16], distinguishes
   between the client function and the server function.  In RADIUS
   authentication, clients send Access-Requests, and servers reply with
   Access-Accepts, Access-Rejects, and Access-Challenges.  Typically NAS
   devices implement the client function, and thus would be expected to
   implement the RADIUS authentication client MIB, while RADIUS
   authentication servers implement the server function, and thus would
   be expected to implement the RADIUS authentication server MIB.

   However, it is possible for a RADIUS authentication entity to perform
   both client and server functions. For example, a RADIUS proxy may act
   as a server to one or more RADIUS authentication clients, while
   simultaneously acting as an authentication client to one or more
   authentication servers.  In such situations, it is expected that
   RADIUS entities combining client and server functionality will
   support both the client and server MIBs.

3.1.  Selected objects

   This MIB module contains fourteen scalars as well as a single table:

   (1)  the RADIUS Authentication Client Table contains one row for
        each RADIUS authentication client that the server shares a
        secret with.

   Each entry in the RADIUS Authentication Client Table includes twelve
   columns presenting a view of the activity of the RADIUS
   authentication server.

4.  Definitions

RADIUS-AUTH-SERVER-MIB DEFINITIONS ::= BEGIN

IMPORTS
       MODULE-IDENTITY, OBJECT-TYPE, OBJECT-IDENTITY,
       Counter32, Integer32,
       IpAddress, TimeTicks, mib-2      FROM SNMPv2-SMI
       SnmpAdminString                  FROM SNMP-FRAMEWORK-MIB
       MODULE-COMPLIANCE, OBJECT-GROUP  FROM SNMPv2-CONF;

radiusAuthServMIB MODULE-IDENTITY
       LAST-UPDATED "9906110000Z"
       ORGANIZATION "IETF RADIUS Working Group."
       CONTACT-INFO
              " Bernard Aboba
                Microsoft
                One Microsoft Way
                Redmond, WA  98052
                US

                Phone: +1 425 936 6605
                EMail: bernarda@microsoft.com"
       DESCRIPTION
             "The MIB module for entities implementing the server
              side of the Remote Access Dialin User Service (RADIUS)
              authentication protocol."
       REVISION "9906110000Z"    --  11 Jun 1999
       DESCRIPTION "Initial version as published in RFC 2619"
       ::= { radiusAuthentication 1 }

radiusMIB OBJECT-IDENTITY
       STATUS  current
       DESCRIPTION
             "The OID assigned to RADIUS MIB work by the IANA."
        ::= { mib-2 67 }

radiusAuthentication  OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= {radiusMIB 1}

radiusAuthServMIBObjects     OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::=
                                                 { radiusAuthServMIB 1 }

radiusAuthServ      OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { radiusAuthServMIBObjects 1 }

radiusAuthServIdent OBJECT-TYPE
       SYNTAX      SnmpAdminString
       MAX-ACCESS  read-only
       STATUS      current
       DESCRIPTION
             "The implementation identification string for the
              RADIUS authentication server software in use on the
              system, for example; `FNS-2.1'"
       ::= {radiusAuthServ 1}

radiusAuthServUpTime OBJECT-TYPE
       SYNTAX      TimeTicks
       MAX-ACCESS  read-only
       STATUS      current
       DESCRIPTION
             "If the server has a persistent state (e.g., a process),
              this value will be the time elapsed (in hundredths of a
              seco) since the server process was started.
              For software without persistent state, this value will
              be zero."
       ::= {radiusAuthServ 2}

radiusAuthServResetTime OBJECT-TYPE
       SYNTAX      TimeTicks
       MAX-ACCESS  read-only
       STATUS      current
       DESCRIPTION
             "If the server has a persistent state (e.g., a process)
              and supports a `reset' operation (e.g., can be told to
              re-read configuration files), this value will be the
              time elapsed (in hundredths of a second) since the
              server was `reset.'  For software that does not
              have persistence or does not support a `reset' operation,
              this value will be zero."
       ::= {radiusAuthServ 3}

radiusAuthServConfigReset OBJECT-TYPE
       SYNTAX INTEGER { other(1),
                        reset(2),
                        initializing(3),
                        running(4)}
       MAX-ACCESS  read-write
       STATUS      current
       DESCRIPTION
              "Status/action object to reinitialize any persistent
               server state.  When set to reset(2), any persistent
               server state (such as a process) is reinitialized as if
               the server had just been started.  This value will
               never be returned by a read operation.  When read, one of
               the following values will be returned:
                   other(1) - server in some unknown state;
                   initializing(3) - server (re)initializing;
                   running(4) - server currently running."
       ::= {radiusAuthServ 4}

-- New Stats proposed by Dale E. Reed Jr (daler@iea-software.com)

radiusAuthServTotalAccessRequests OBJECT-TYPE
        SYNTAX Counter32
        MAX-ACCESS read-only
        STATUS current
        DESCRIPTION
               "The number of packets received on the
                authentication port."
        ::= { radiusAuthServ 5}

radiusAuthServTotalInvalidRequests OBJECT-TYPE
        SYNTAX Counter32
        MAX-ACCESS read-only
        STATUS current
        DESCRIPTION
              "The number of RADIUS Access-Request packets
               received from unknown addresses."
        ::= { radiusAuthServ 6 }

radiusAuthServTotalDupAccessRequests OBJECT-TYPE
       SYNTAX Counter32
       MAX-ACCESS read-only
       STATUS current
       DESCRIPTION
             "The number of duplicate RADIUS Access-Request
              packets received."
       ::= { radiusAuthServ 7 }

radiusAuthServTotalAccessAccepts OBJECT-TYPE
       SYNTAX Counter32
       MAX-ACCESS read-only
       STATUS current
       DESCRIPTION
             "The number of RADIUS Access-Accept packets sent."
       ::= { radiusAuthServ 8 }

radiusAuthServTotalAccessRejects OBJECT-TYPE
      SYNTAX Counter32
      MAX-ACCESS read-only
      STATUS current
      DESCRIPTION
            "The number of RADIUS Access-Reject packets sent."
      ::= { radiusAuthServ 9 }

radiusAuthServTotalAccessChallenges OBJECT-TYPE
      SYNTAX Counter32
      MAX-ACCESS read-only
      STATUS current
      DESCRIPTION
            "The number of RADIUS Access-Challenge packets sent."
      ::= { radiusAuthServ 10 }

radiusAuthServTotalMalformedAccessRequests OBJECT-TYPE
      SYNTAX Counter32
      MAX-ACCESS read-only
      STATUS current
      DESCRIPTION
            "The number of malformed RADIUS Access-Request
             packets received. Bad authenticators
             and unknown types are not included as
             malformed Access-Requests."
      ::= { radiusAuthServ 11 }

radiusAuthServTotalBadAuthenticators OBJECT-TYPE
      SYNTAX Counter32
      MAX-ACCESS read-only
      STATUS current
      DESCRIPTION
            "The number of RADIUS Authentication-Request packets
             which contained invalid Signature attributes received."
      ::= { radiusAuthServ 12 }

radiusAuthServTotalPacketsDropped OBJECT-TYPE
      SYNTAX Counter32
      MAX-ACCESS read-only
      STATUS current
      DESCRIPTION
            "The number of incoming packets
             silently discarded for some reason other
             than malformed, bad authenticators or
             unknown types."
      ::= { radiusAuthServ 13 }

radiusAuthServTotalUnknownTypes OBJECT-TYPE
      SYNTAX Counter32
      MAX-ACCESS read-only
      STATUS current
      DESCRIPTION
            "The number of RADIUS packets of unknown type which
             were received."
      ::= { radiusAuthServ 14 }

-- End of new

radiusAuthClientTable OBJECT-TYPE
       SYNTAX     SEQUENCE OF RadiusAuthClientEntry
       MAX-ACCESS not-accessible
       STATUS     current
       DESCRIPTION
             "The (conceptual) table listing the RADIUS authentication
              clients with which the server shares a secret."
       ::= { radiusAuthServ 15 }

radiusAuthClientEntry OBJECT-TYPE
       SYNTAX     RadiusAuthClientEntry
       MAX-ACCESS not-accessible
       STATUS     current
       DESCRIPTION
             "An entry (conceptual row) representing a RADIUS
              authentication client with which the server shares a
              secret."

       INDEX      { radiusAuthClientIndex }
       ::= { radiusAuthClientTable 1 }

RadiusAuthClientEntry ::= SEQUENCE {
       radiusAuthClientIndex                           Integer32,
       radiusAuthClientAddress                         IpAddress,
       radiusAuthClientID                        SnmpAdminString,
       radiusAuthServAccessRequests                    Counter32,
       radiusAuthServDupAccessRequests                 Counter32,
       radiusAuthServAccessAccepts                     Counter32,
       radiusAuthServAccessRejects                     Counter32,
       radiusAuthServAccessChallenges                  Counter32,
       radiusAuthServMalformedAccessRequests           Counter32,
       radiusAuthServBadAuthenticators                 Counter32,
       radiusAuthServPacketsDropped                    Counter32,
       radiusAuthServUnknownTypes                      Counter32
}

radiusAuthClientIndex OBJECT-TYPE
       SYNTAX     Integer32 (1..2147483647)
       MAX-ACCESS not-accessible
       STATUS     current
       DESCRIPTION
             "A number uniquely identifying each RADIUS
              authentication client with which this server
              communicates."
       ::= { radiusAuthClientEntry 1 }

radiusAuthClientAddress OBJECT-TYPE
       SYNTAX     IpAddress
       MAX-ACCESS read-only
       STATUS     current
       DESCRIPTION
             "The NAS-IP-Address of the RADIUS authentication client
              referred to in this table entry."
       ::= { radiusAuthClientEntry 2 }

radiusAuthClientID OBJECT-TYPE
       SYNTAX     SnmpAdminString
       MAX-ACCESS read-only
       STATUS     current
       DESCRIPTION
             "The NAS-Identifier of the RADIUS authentication client
              referred to in this table entry. This is not necessarily
              the same as sysName in MIB II."
       ::= { radiusAuthClientEntry 3 }

-- Server Counters

--
-- Responses = AccessAccepts + AccessRejects + AccessChallenges
--
-- Requests - DupRequests - BadAuthenticators - MalformedRequests -
-- UnknownTypes -  PacketsDropped - Responses = Pending
--
-- Requests - DupRequests - BadAuthenticators - MalformedRequests -
-- UnknownTypes - PacketsDropped = entries logged

radiusAuthServAccessRequests OBJECT-TYPE
       SYNTAX Counter32
       MAX-ACCESS read-only
       STATUS current
       DESCRIPTION
             "The number of packets received on the authentication
              port from this client."
       ::= { radiusAuthClientEntry  4 }

radiusAuthServDupAccessRequests OBJECT-TYPE
       SYNTAX Counter32
       MAX-ACCESS read-only
       STATUS current
       DESCRIPTION
             "The number of duplicate RADIUS Access-Request
              packets received from this client."
       ::= { radiusAuthClientEntry  5 }

radiusAuthServAccessAccepts OBJECT-TYPE
       SYNTAX Counter32
       MAX-ACCESS read-only
       STATUS current
       DESCRIPTION
             "The number of RADIUS Access-Accept packets
              sent to this client."
       ::= { radiusAuthClientEntry  6 }

radiusAuthServAccessRejects OBJECT-TYPE
      SYNTAX Counter32
      MAX-ACCESS read-only
      STATUS current
      DESCRIPTION
             "The number of RADIUS Access-Reject packets
              sent to this client."
       ::= { radiusAuthClientEntry  7 }

radiusAuthServAccessChallenges OBJECT-TYPE
       SYNTAX Counter32
       MAX-ACCESS read-only
       STATUS current
       DESCRIPTION
             "The number of RADIUS Access-Challenge packets
              sent to this client."
       ::= { radiusAuthClientEntry  8 }

radiusAuthServMalformedAccessRequests OBJECT-TYPE
       SYNTAX Counter32
       MAX-ACCESS read-only
       STATUS current
       DESCRIPTION
             "The number of malformed RADIUS Access-Request
              packets received from this client.
              Bad authenticators and unknown types are not included as
              malformed Access-Requests."
       ::= { radiusAuthClientEntry  9 }

radiusAuthServBadAuthenticators OBJECT-TYPE
       SYNTAX Counter32
       MAX-ACCESS read-only
       STATUS current
       DESCRIPTION
             "The number of RADIUS Authentication-Request packets
              which contained invalid Signature attributes received
              from this client."
       ::= { radiusAuthClientEntry  10 }

radiusAuthServPacketsDropped OBJECT-TYPE
      SYNTAX Counter32
      MAX-ACCESS read-only
      STATUS current
      DESCRIPTION
              "The number of incoming packets from this
               client silently discarded for some reason other
               than malformed, bad authenticators or
               unknown types."
       ::= { radiusAuthClientEntry  11 }

radiusAuthServUnknownTypes OBJECT-TYPE
       SYNTAX Counter32
       MAX-ACCESS read-only
       STATUS current
       DESCRIPTION
             "The number of RADIUS packets of unknown type which
              were received from this client."
       ::= { radiusAuthClientEntry  12 }

-- conformance information

radiusAuthServMIBConformance
              OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { radiusAuthServMIB 2 }
radiusAuthServMIBCompliances
              OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { radiusAuthServMIBConformance 1 }
radiusAuthServMIBGroups
              OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { radiusAuthServMIBConformance 2 }


-- compliance statements

radiusAuthServMIBCompliance MODULE-COMPLIANCE
            STATUS  current
            DESCRIPTION
                  "The compliance statement for authentication servers
                   implementing the RADIUS Authentication Server MIB."
            MODULE  -- this module
            MANDATORY-GROUPS { radiusAuthServMIBGroup }

            OBJECT        radiusAuthServConfigReset
            WRITE-SYNTAX  INTEGER { reset(2) }
            DESCRIPTION  "The only SETable value is 'reset' (2)."

            ::= { radiusAuthServMIBCompliances 1 }

-- units of conformance

radiusAuthServMIBGroup OBJECT-GROUP
      OBJECTS {radiusAuthServIdent,
               radiusAuthServUpTime,
               radiusAuthServResetTime,
               radiusAuthServConfigReset,
               radiusAuthServTotalAccessRequests,
               radiusAuthServTotalInvalidRequests,
               radiusAuthServTotalDupAccessRequests,
               radiusAuthServTotalAccessAccepts,
               radiusAuthServTotalAccessRejects,
               radiusAuthServTotalAccessChallenges,
               radiusAuthServTotalMalformedAccessRequests,
               radiusAuthServTotalBadAuthenticators,
               radiusAuthServTotalPacketsDropped,
               radiusAuthServTotalUnknownTypes,
               radiusAuthClientAddress,
               radiusAuthClientID,
               radiusAuthServAccessRequests,
               radiusAuthServDupAccessRequests,
               radiusAuthServAccessAccepts,
               radiusAuthServAccessRejects,
               radiusAuthServAccessChallenges,
               radiusAuthServMalformedAccessRequests,
               radiusAuthServBadAuthenticators,
               radiusAuthServPacketsDropped,
               radiusAuthServUnknownTypes
              }
      STATUS  current
      DESCRIPTION
            "The collection of objects providing management of
             a RADIUS Authentication Server."
      ::= { radiusAuthServMIBGroups 1 }

END

5.  References

   [1]  Harrington, D., Presuhn, R., and B. Wijnen, "An Architecture for
        Describing SNMP Management Frameworks", RFC 2571, April 1999.

   [2]  Rose, M., and K. McCloghrie, "Structure and Identification of
        Management Information for TCP/IP-based Internets", STD 16, RFC
        1155, May 1990.

   [3]  Rose, M., and K. McCloghrie, "Concise MIB Definitions", STD 16,
        RFC 1212, March 1991.

   [4]  Rose, M., "A Convention for Defining Traps for use with the
        SNMP", RFC 1215, March 1991.

   [5]  McCloghrie, K., Perkins, D., Schoenwaelder, J., Case, J., Rose,
        M. and S. Waldbusser, "Structure of Management Information
        Version 2 (SMIv2)", STD 58, RFC 2578, April 1999.

   [6]  McCloghrie, K., Perkins, D., Schoenwaelder, J., Case, J., Rose,
        M. and S. Waldbusser, "Textual Conventions for SMIv2", STD 58,
        RFC 2579, April 1999.

   [7]  McCloghrie, K., Perkins, D., Schoenwaelder, J., Case, J., Rose,
        M. and S. Waldbusser, "Conformance Statements for SMIv2", STD
        58, RFC 2580, April 1999.

   [8]  Case, J., Fedor, M., Schoffstall, M., and J. Davin, "Simple
        Network Management Protocol", STD 15, RFC 1157, May 1990.

   [9]  Case, J., McCloghrie, K., Rose, M., and S.  Waldbusser,
        "Introduction  to Community-based SNMPv2", RFC 1901, January
        1996.

   [10] Case, J., McCloghrie, K., Rose, M., and S. Waldbusser,
        "Transport Mappings for Version 2 of the Simple  Network
        Management  Protocol (SNMPv2)", RFC 1906, January 1996.

   [11] Case, J., Harrington D., Presuhn R., and B. Wijnen, "Message
        Processing  and  Dispatching  for  the  Simple  Network
        Management Protocol (SNMP)", RFC 2572, April 1999.

   [12] Blumenthal, U., and B. Wijnen, "User-based Security Model for
        Version 3 of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv3)",
        RFC 2574, April 1999.

   [13] Case, J., McCloghrie, K., Rose, M., and S. Waldbusser, "Protocol
        Operations for Version 2 of the Simple Network Management
        Protocol (SNMPv2)", RFC 1905, January 1996.

   [14] Levi, D., Meyer, P., and B. Stewart, "SNMP Applications", RFC
        2573, April 1999.

   [15] Wijnen, B., Presuhn, R., and K. McCloghrie, "View-based Access
        Control Model for the Simple Network Management Protocol
        (SNMP)", RFC 2575, April 1999.

   [16] Rigney, C., Rubens, A., Simpson W. and S. Willens, "Remote
        Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS)", RFC 2138, April
        1997.

6.  Security Considerations

   There are a number of management objects defined in this MIB that
   have a MAX-ACCESS clause of read-write and/or read-create.  Such
   objects may be considered sensitive or vulnerable in some network
   environments.  The support for SET operations in a non-secure
   environment without proper protection can have a negative effect on
   network operations.

   There are a number of managed objects in this MIB that may contain
   sensitive information. These are:

   radiusAuthClientAddress
             This can be used to determine the address of the RADIUS
             authentication client with which the server is
             communicating.  This information could be useful in
             impersonating the client.

   radiusAuthClientID This can be used to determine the client ID of the
             authentication client with which the server is
             communicating.  This information could be useful in
             impersonating the client.

   It is thus important to control even GET access to these objects and
   possibly to even encrypt the values of these object when sending them
   over the network via SNMP.  Not all versions of SNMP provide features
   for such a secure environment.

   SNMPv1 by itself is not a secure environment. Even if the network
   itself is secure (for example by using IPSec), there is no control as
   to who on the secure network is allowed to access and GET/SET
   (read/change/create/delete) the objects in this MIB.

   It is recommended that the implementers consider the security
   features as provided by the SNMPv3 framework. Specifically, the use
   of the User-based Security Model RFC 2574 [12] and the View-based
   Access Control Model RFC 2575 [15] is recommended.  Using these
   security features, customer/users can give access to the objects only
   to those principals (users) that have legitimate rights to GET or SET
   (change/create/delete) them.

7.  Acknowledgments

   The authors acknowledge the contributions of the RADIUS Working Group
   in the development of this MIB.  Thanks to Narendra Gidwani of
   Microsoft, Allan C. Rubens of MERIT, Carl Rigney of Livingston and
   Peter Heitman of American Internet Corporation for useful discussions
   of this problem space.

8.  Authors' Addresses

   Bernard Aboba
   Microsoft Corporation
   One Microsoft Way
   Redmond, WA 98052

   Phone: 425-936-6605
   EMail: bernarda@microsoft.com

   Glen Zorn
   Microsoft Corporation
   One Microsoft Way
   Redmond, WA 98052

   Phone: 425-703-1559
   EMail: glennz@microsoft.com

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Acknowledgement

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AI ELI5

On this page
PROBLEMAdministrators running RADIUS authentication servers need to monitor the server's performance, see how many authentication requests it is handling, track errors, and diagnose problems.
MECHANISMThis RFC defines an SNMP MIB module that exposes the internal state and detailed statistics of a RADIUS authentication server, including counters for successful and failed authentications, duplicates, malformed requests, and bad authenticators.
REPLACED BY RFC 4669Administrators can now use SNMP to remotely monitor RADIUS servers and track metrics like request volume, authentication acceptance rates, and error conditions. RFC 4669 replaced this standard.

§1Monitoring RADIUS Servers

The RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial In User Service) protocol is widely used by Internet Service Providers and network administrators to authenticate users who are trying to access the network. A RADIUS server sits at the center of this system, processing authentication requests from many different clients and making the final decision whether to grant or deny access.

Effectively managing a RADIUS server requires detailed visibility into its operation. Administrators need to know how many authentication requests the server is receiving, how many are being accepted or rejected, whether it is experiencing network problems, and whether requests are malformed or contain invalid authenticators. This RFC defines an SNMP MIB module that exposes all of these metrics and operational details.

A RADIUS server is a machine that decides whether people are allowed to log into a network. The administrators running it need to see detailed statistics about what requests it receives, how many it approves or denies, and whether anything is going wrong.

§2The SNMP Management Framework

The RADIUS Server MIB is a Management Information Base (MIB) module that conforms to SMIv2 (Structure of Management Information Version 2). It can be translated to SMIv1 for use with older SNMP implementations, though some features may be lost.

The MIB defines both server-wide scalar objects and a table of clients. The server-wide objects include the server's implementation identifier, how long the server has been running (uptime), when it was last reset, and a control object for resetting the server's configuration.

The MIB also tracks fourteen different server-level statistical counters, and for each RADIUS client that the server shares a secret with, it maintains a table with twelve columns of per-client statistics.

SNMP is the way network managers peek inside machines to see what is happening. A MIB is a list of things you can look at. This one has general information about the server and detailed statistics for each client it talks to.

§3Server Statistics and Client Counters

The server-level statistics track the overall workload and health of the RADIUS server. Key counters include the total number of Access-Request packets received on the authentication port, the number of invalid requests from unknown addresses, the number of duplicate requests, and the total counts of Access-Accept, Access-Reject, and Access-Challenge responses sent.

The MIB also tracks malformed requests, bad authenticators (integrity check failures), packets dropped for other reasons, and packets of unknown type. For each RADIUS client that the server shares a secret with, the RFC defines a table entry containing per-client statistics including the client's IP address, the port number the client uses, round-trip time estimates, and per-client counters of requests and responses.

These granular per-client statistics help administrators identify which clients are sending malformed requests, experiencing timeouts, or behaving unexpectedly.

The server counts how many login requests it got, how many it accepted, rejected, or asked for more information. It also tracks when requests were broken, bad, or unknown. For each client machine that asks it questions, it keeps separate counters.

§4Server Operation and Status Objects

The RFC defines a radiusAuthServConfigReset object that allows network administrators to command the server to reinitialize its persistent state as if it were just starting up. This provides a way to reset the server's configuration without a full restart. When read, the object returns the server's current state: other (unknown state), initializing (server reinitializing), or running (currently operational).

The MIB also tracks server uptime (how long the server process has been running) and reset time (how long since the server was last reset). These timing objects help administrators understand whether the server is stable or is restarting frequently.

These operational objects are read-write (unlike the client MIB statistics which are read-only), allowing administrators to trigger administrative actions remotely via SNMP.

Administrators can use SNMP to tell the server to reload its settings without turning it off and back on. They can also see how long the server has been running and when it was last restarted, to know if it is stable.

§5Security and Access Control

Like the RADIUS client MIB, the server MIB contains objects that should be protected from unauthorized access. The object that allows remote reset of the server should be carefully controlled, as an attacker who could trigger it could disrupt the server's operation.

Additionally, the identity, uptime, and statistical information about the server could be valuable to an attacker planning an attack. The RFC recommends implementing SNMPv3 with its User-based Security Model and View-based Access Control Model to ensure that only authorized administrators can query these objects and that the information is encrypted in transit. SNMPv1 and SNMPv2c provide no encryption or strong authentication, so they are not recommended for protecting this sensitive information.

The server statistics contain information that attackers could use to plan an attack, and the reset function could be misused. You should use secure SNMP (SNMPv3) to keep this information private and only let authorized people use it.

§6References