Optimize RADIUS Client Performance

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Because RADIUS clients, such as VPN servers and dial-up access servers, manage access client connections, their performance directly affects access client performance. Providing highly available RADIUS clients ensures that access clients can reliably connect to the network and can always be authenticated by IAS.

You can optimize performance for access clients that are using all types of connections by doing any of the following:

  • Upgrading the hardware of existing RADIUS clients. Choose this option if your hardware is outdated, and it is cost effective to upgrade it.

  • Replacing existing RADIUS clients with higher-performance servers. Choose this option if you cannot upgrade the hardware of your existing resources.

  • Adding RADIUS clients. Choose this option if your hardware is up-to-date, but you require more fault tolerance. Be sure to register redundant RADIUS clients with the IAS servers to ensure proper authentication and accounting.

You can optimize the performance of RADIUS clients that support dial-up connections by assigning remote access clients different primary and backup telephone numbers. This ensures that the remote access clients connect to different RADIUS clients. Choose this option if you require additional load balancing.