hints processing for Accounting-On / Off packets?

[Lewis Bergman]

Stefan Winter wrote:
>>>That's not how I read the comments in hints:
>>>
>>>#       The hints file.   This file is used to match
>>>#       a request, and then add attributes to it.
>>>
>>>There's some mention of some special rules "Prefix" and "Suffix", and
>>>_these_ can only work on the User-Name. Anything else should be doable
>>>anyway.
>>
>>That's definitely what that file does. The "hints" the filename refer to
>>are hints that the USER submits in their authentication request, by
> 
> 
> Well, I am probably not long enough in the RADIUS business to remember the 
> historical reasons for the hints file. For me, hints is the only means to 
> manipulate input avp items in a packet. And a very flexible solution too, 
> since it does "users" style mangling. And the comments in the file don't say 
> "but whatever you put in here will be ignored if there is no attribute 
> User-Name in the request".
> 
> 
>>prefixing, suffixing or otherwise formatting their username (the only
>>value the user has total, sensible control over). It's an old method
>>that the ancestors of FreeRadius used extensively. The examples in the
>>default hints file make it pretty clear how it was originally intended
>>to be used.
> 
> 
> Yeah, but what if I want to go beyond the examples? This file is so flexible, 
> it would be a shame to arbitrarily limit it by requiring User-Name to be 
> present.
You don't have to have a User-Name in the request to use that file. If 
it isn't there and you need it for further processing you can add it.

-- 
Lewis Bergman
Texas Communications
4309 Maple St.
Abilene, TX 79602-8044
Off. 325-691-3301
Cell 325-439-0533
fax  325-695-6841