RADIUS Billing for ISPs — Automate Authentication, Accounting & Billing
Automate ISP billing with FreeRADIUS RADIUS AAA integration. Real-time authentication, session accounting, prepaid/postpaid billing, CoA, and FUP enforcement.
Quick answer
RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) is the backbone of ISP subscriber management. Every PPPoE connection, every bandwidth limit, every session timeout flows through your RADIUS server. But RADIUS alone doesn't bill subscribers. NowaCRM bridges the gap — integrating directly with FreeRADIUS to create a unified authentication, accounting, and billing platform.
How RADIUS Billing Works with NowaCRM
NowaCRM uses FreeRADIUS's rlm_rest module for live API-based authentication. When a subscriber connects via PPPoE, FreeRADIUS calls NowaCRM's API to verify credentials, check plan status, and return the correct bandwidth attributes. No pre-populated radcheck tables — everything is resolved in real-time from your subscriber database. This means plan changes, suspensions, and activations take effect immediately.
Real-Time Session Monitoring & Accounting
Every RADIUS accounting packet (Start, Interim-Update, Stop) is ingested into NowaCRM's radacct table. You get real-time visibility into who's online, their session duration, upload/download bytes, and NAS device. The dashboard shows live session counts, bandwidth utilization, and per-subscriber usage graphs. Accounting data feeds directly into the billing engine for usage-based plans.
Change of Authorization (CoA) for Instant Plan Changes
When a subscriber upgrades their plan or hits an FUP limit, NowaCRM sends a RADIUS Change of Authorization (CoA) packet to the NAS device. The subscriber's bandwidth changes instantly — no disconnection, no session restart. CoA is also used for mid-cycle plan upgrades, speed boosters, and FUP throttling. Failed CoA attempts are retried with exponential backoff.
FUP Enforcement via RADIUS
Fair Usage Policy enforcement is built into the RADIUS billing pipeline. NowaCRM tracks per-subscriber daily and monthly data usage from RADIUS accounting records. When a subscriber crosses their FUP limit (e.g., 500GB/month), a CoA is automatically triggered to reduce their speed to the configured FUP rate. Usage resets on billing cycle renewal.
Multi-NAS Support & Device Management
NowaCRM supports multiple NAS devices across your network — MikroTik, Cisco, Huawei, or any RADIUS-compliant device. Each NAS is configured with its IP, shared secret, and CoA port. Subscriber authentication is NAS-aware, and CoA packets are routed to the correct device. NAS health monitoring alerts you if a device stops sending accounting packets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does NowaCRM work with FreeRADIUS?
Yes. NowaCRM integrates with FreeRADIUS via the rlm_rest module for live API-based authentication and accounting. No radcheck pre-population required.
What is RADIUS Change of Authorization (CoA)?
CoA allows NowaCRM to push bandwidth changes to a subscriber's active session without disconnecting them. It's used for plan changes, FUP throttling, and speed boosters.
Can I monitor live RADIUS sessions?
Yes. NowaCRM's dashboard shows real-time session data including online subscribers, session duration, upload/download bytes, and NAS device information.
Does it support MikroTik NAS devices?
NowaCRM supports any RADIUS-compliant NAS including MikroTik, Cisco, Huawei, and others. Each NAS is individually configured with its IP, shared secret, and CoA port.
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