Portnox local RADIUS server container/VM

In this topic, you will learn what is the Portnox™ local RADIUS server software, its requirements, and where to find deployment, troubleshooting, and update instructions.

Overview

The Portnox local RADIUS server is a lightweight standalone server that provides RADIUS services within your local network. It receives RADIUS messages, communicates with Portnox Cloud over an encrypted TLS connection, and responds to authentication and accounting requests based on the policies defined in the Portnox Cloud Portal.

The local RADIUS server is available as a Docker container (recommended), in the public Docker repository as portnox/portnox-radius, and as OVA (Open Virtualization Appliance) and VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) images for virtual machines downloadable directly from Portnox Cloud. The virtual machine version of the local RADIUS server runs on a minimal Tiny Core Linux system that includes only the components required to operate the server, for security reasons.

For an overview of how the local RADIUS server interacts with Portnox Cloud, see the following topic: How do local RADIUS servers work?.
For guidance on when to use local RADIUS servers and how many to deploy, see the following topic: Portnox Cloud best practices.

Requirements

The following are the recommended minimum resources when installing the local RADIUS server, whether on a virtual machine or as a Docker container:

CPU: at least 1 vCPU
RAM: at least 4 GB
Internet connectivity

Warning:

The performance of a local RADIUS server depends on how many RADIUS authentication and accounting packets it processes, which cannot be predicted in advance. At a minimum, a local RADIUS server needs 1 CPU and 4 GB of RAM. This is enough for most customers, but actual results may vary. Customers should monitor the server’s performance and add more resources if needed to avoid overloading it. For very large setups, it’s recommended to use up to 8 CPUs with a combined PassMark score above 14,000, 32 GB of RAM, and SSD storage. This setup is similar to a higher-end laptop.

Notes:

If the host machine runs additional containers or software, allocate resources accordingly.
The local RADIUS Docker container can run on Linux, or on Windows or macOS via Docker Desktop, or in a cloud container service. If running in a VM environment, we recommend Linux for the best results, since Windows and macOS would require double virtualization.
To make sure the local RADIUS server can reach Portnox Cloud, see the following topic: How to set up the firewall for the local RADIUS instance to connect to Portnox Cloud.
To make sure the local RADIUS server can accept incoming connections from your NAS devices, open the standard RADIUS ports, UDP 1812 (authentication) and UDP 1813 (accounting), on your local network firewall only, between the NAS devices and the local RADIUS server.

Deployment

To deploy the local RADIUS server as a Docker container on a local Linux machine, see the following topic: Deploy the local RADIUS server container using Docker on Linux.
To deploy the local RADIUS server as a Docker container using Docker Desktop on Windows, see the following topic: Deploy the local RADIUS server container using Docker Desktop on Windows.
To deploy the local RADIUS server as a Docker container in Microsoft Azure using Azure Container Instances, see the following topic: Deploy the local RADIUS server container in Microsoft Azure.
To deploy the local RADIUS server as a Docker container in Amazon Web Services (AWS) using AWS Fargate, see the following topic: Deploy the local RADIUS server container in Amazon Web Services (AWS).
To deploy the local RADIUS server as a Docker container in Google Cloud Platform (GCP) using Google Compute Engine, see the following topic: Deploy the local RADIUS server container in Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
To run the local RADIUS server as a virtual machine in Microsoft Hyper-V, see the following topic: Run the local RADIUS server in Microsoft Hyper-V.
To run the local RADIUS server as a virtual machine in VMware Workstation, see the following topic: Run the local RADIUS server in VMware Workstation.
To run the local RADIUS server as a virtual machine in Oracle VirtualBox, see the following topic: Run the local RADIUS server in Oracle VirtualBox.

Troubleshooting

To monitor the performance of a local RADIUS instance, see the following topic: How to monitor the performance of a local RADIUS instance.
To collect Docker container logs for troubleshooting, see the following topic: How to collect Portnox Docker container logs for support.
To troubleshoot a local RADIUS virtual machine over SSH, see the following topic: How to access virtual machine logs using SSH.
To troubleshoot a local RADIUS server that becomes dormant on an Azure container instance, see the following topic: Troubleshooting when the Local RADIUS server running on an Azure container instance becomes dormant.

Updates

When a new version of the local RADIUS server is available:

If you use a virtual machine, it updates automatically and you do not need to do anything. The virtual machine restarts during the update, so there may be a short service interruption.
If you use a Docker container running on a local Docker host, it does not update automatically, unless you also use the autoupdate container. The autoupdate container updates all Portnox Docker containers when new versions are available. Updating requires recreating the Docker container, so there may be a short service interruption.
If you deploy the Docker container in a cloud environment, you cannot use the autoupdate container, because it requires direct access to the local Docker engine, which these managed cloud services do not expose. You must update containers deployed this way manually by redeploying them with the latest image.