Migrating from FreeRADIUS to Managed Cloud RADIUS
FreeRADIUS is powerful software — but you own the Linux servers, the patching, the high availability, and the backups. Here is how to hand that stack to a managed multi-region service while keeping your 802.1X and EAP intact.
Last fact-checked: July 10, 2026
FreeRADIUS is the open-source RADIUS server behind a large share of 802.1X deployments. It is flexible and free to download, but running it in production means owning Linux servers, security patching, high-availability configuration, and backups. IronWiFi replaces that self-hosted stack with a managed, multi-region cloud RADIUS service — you import your existing policies, keep the same 802.1X and EAP methods, and drop the server maintenance. Pricing is published, from $13/AP + $6.50/user per month, $65/month per venue minimum ($50/month if paying annually). See pricing.
Why Teams Move Off Self-Hosted FreeRADIUS
FreeRADIUS is excellent software, and for teams with RADIUS expertise it is hard to beat on flexibility. The cost is not the license — it is everything around it. You run the Linux hosts, apply security patches, build and test the high-availability pair, manage the backend database, handle backups, and carry the on-call when authentication is down. Certificates for EAP-TLS mean maintaining your own CA. None of that shows up on an invoice, but it is real work.
Moving to a managed service keeps the RADIUS behavior your network already depends on and hands off the operational tail. For a side-by-side of the two approaches, see our IronWiFi vs FreeRADIUS comparison. If your FreeRADIUS runs behind a daloRADIUS web front end, the same migration path applies — you are replacing the whole stack, management UI included.
Self-Hosted vs Managed
| Area | FreeRADIUS (self-hosted) | IronWiFi (managed) |
|---|---|---|
| Servers | You provision and run Linux hosts | None — fully hosted |
| Patching & upgrades | Your responsibility | Handled for you |
| High availability | You build and test it | Multi-region, automatic failover |
| 802.1X / EAP | EAP-TLS, PEAP, EAP-TTLS | EAP-TLS, PEAP, EAP-TTLS |
| Certificates | Run your own CA | Cloud PKI + SCEP included |
| Management | Config files / CLI (or daloRADIUS) | Web console + API |
| Identity sources | AD / LDAP (manual) | Entra ID, Okta, Google, AD, LDAP, SCIM |
How the Migration Works
FreeRADIUS and IronWiFi both speak standard RADIUS, so your access points do not need reconfiguring beyond where they send requests. A typical migration:
- Stand up your IronWiFi tenant and connect your identity source (Active Directory, LDAP, Entra ID, Okta, or Google).
- Translate your existing FreeRADIUS policies — realms, EAP settings, VLAN assignment, and reply attributes — into IronWiFi authentication rules.
- Add your access points and controllers as RADIUS clients (200+ AP vendors including Cisco, Meraki, Aruba, UniFi, and Ruckus).
- Cut one test SSID over to IronWiFi and confirm EAP-TLS/PEAP and any CoA behavior.
- Repoint the remaining APs, then decommission the FreeRADIUS servers and their database.
If you are running your own CA for EAP-TLS, IronWiFi's Cloud PKI and SCEP take over certificate issuance and renewal, so there is no separate CA to keep alive after the cutover.
What You Keep
- 802.1X with WPA2/WPA3-Enterprise, exactly as configured today
- The same EAP methods (EAP-TLS, PEAP, EAP-TTLS)
- RADIUS CoA for dynamic authorization changes
- VLAN assignment and reply-attribute logic, recreated as rules
- Your existing access points — no hardware changes
What You Drop
- Linux servers, OS patching, and package upgrades for the auth tier
- Building and testing your own HA pair
- Running and backing up the RADIUS database
- Maintaining your own certificate authority
When Staying on FreeRADIUS Makes Sense
We are not going to pretend managed is right for everyone. FreeRADIUS may still be the better call if you have Linux/RADIUS experts in-house, need customization beyond standard RADIUS, or have a strict requirement that everything stays on-premise. If that is you, our comparison page lays out the trade-offs honestly.
The Bottom Line
FreeRADIUS gives you total control — and total responsibility for the servers underneath it. Migrating to IronWiFi keeps your 802.1X and EAP methods while replacing self-hosting with a managed, multi-region service, Cloud PKI, and a web console. Import your policies, cut over one SSID at a time, and retire the boxes. Read the full comparison first if you want the detail.
Hand Off the Servers, Keep the 802.1X
Start a 14-day free trial and migrate your FreeRADIUS stack to managed cloud RADIUS.