Policy Server Guides › Policy Server Configuration Guide › Using the Policy Server as a RADIUS Server › RADIUS Agents Group Overview

RADIUS Agents Group Overview

Creating a RADIUS Agent group enables you to manage multiple RADIUS Agents at once and eliminates the need to create and configure separate realms for each RADIUS Agent. Using one realm saves time because you can define the same session timeouts and the same authentication scheme for all RADIUS Agents simultaneously.

A group of RADIUS Agents could include Agents for different types of NAS devices. For instance, an Agent group could contain Agents for a Shiva LAN Rover RAS, a Checkpoint firewall, and a Cisco RAS. The Agent group containing all of these RADIUS Agents would be associated with a single realm, which defined the authentication scheme and session timeout requirements.

Agent groups are best suited for static environments that do not change often; Agent groups enable you to quickly configure CA SiteMinder® to authenticate users of many NAS devices. If your environment is not static and frequently changes as new NAS devices are added or removed, you should probably avoid using Agent groups. Instead, it is usually easier to add and remove RADIUS Agents if they are not located in groups. If the Agents are separated and not grouped together, you can usually find specific Agents faster, and modify or remove policies more quickly.