Ubuntu 14.04 LTS/ FreeRadius / Postgresql Step-by-step

Step by step instructions for installing
FreeRadius with Postgresql on
Ubuntu 14.04 LTS

Why 14.04, well it is the current LTS release, and for production environments, I tend to stick to the latest LTS.

I am not going to be going into detail into how to install Ubuntu 14.04 Server, there are enough tutorials on that elsewhere. I need you to get to the point where you have a clean server, with SSH access, and a root prompt.

Installing software

First, let us update the apt-get info:

apt-get update

Now we need to install the basic components, these include:
Freeradius, Postgresql and it's utilities as well as the postgresql module for freeradius:

apt-get install freeradius freeradius-postgresql postgresql postgresql-contrib

This will install all the necessary components, it is normal for the DH Parameter generation to take a couple of minutes.

Configure Postgres

The Postgres installation automatically creates a user called postgres, in order to configure Postgres, you need to log into that account.

sudo -i -u postgres

Now we create the radius user and database, when creating the user, you will be prompted to create a password, make it nice and secure, and make a note for later use:

createuser radius --no-superuser --no-createdb --no-createrole -P
createdb radius --owner=radius exit

Change the database authentication from peer to md5 to allow login from the console:

vim /etc/postgresql/9.3/main/pg_hba.conf

Find the line that matches:

local    all    postgres    peer

and change it to:

local    all    postgres    md5

also find:

local    all          peer

and change it to:

local    all          md5

Reload postgresql

service postgresql restart

Import the database schema using the command below:

cd /etc/freeradius/sql/postgresql
psql -U radius radius < schema.sql

Configure FreeRadius to use Postgres

Change the sql configuration as follows:

cd /etc/freeradius
vim sql.conf

change the following lines to suit your setup:

database = "postgresql"
password = "yourpassword"

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You will also need to change the login name to leave out the realm when logging in:

Change the sql configuration as follows:

vim radiusd.conf

change the following line:

sql_user_name = "%{User-Name}"

To:

sql_user_name = "%{Stripped-User-Name}"

Also uncomment the line that reads:

$INCLUDE sql.conf

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Now uncomment the line that reads "sql" under the authorize{} section, on my default config it is line 177,
also uncomment the "sql" line under the accounting{} section,
also uncomment the "sql" line under the post-auth{} section

cd /etc/freeradius/sites-available vim default

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Also uncomment the line that reads "sql" under the authorize{} section of /etc/freeradius/sites-available/inner-tunnel, on my default config it is line 131

vim inner-tunnel

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Restart the FreeRadius server to load the new config, and you should be good to go.

service freeradius restart