The Evolution of RADIUS

This is a great look at the history of RADIUS -- and the problems facing it today, especially in a wireless world. Most people haven't considered the identity implications of security on wireless networks -- but the Enterprise sure is. Quoting:

Interestingly, the use of 802.1X for authenticating wireless access based on user identity has engendered a similar effort for traditional wired LANs. Leading switch manufacturers such as 3Com Corp., Alcatel, Cisco Systems Inc., Enterasys Networks Inc., Extreme Networks Inc., and Juniper Networks Inc. have embraced 802.1X as a means of authenticating users to a wired LAN port and assigning them to an appropriate virtual LAN. This essentially allows each user's access to the LAN to be conditioned on who the user is, not which Ethernet receptacle he happened to plug into. To the extent that use of 802.1X becomes the norm, both for wireless and wired LAN access, the RADIUS server occupies an increasingly critical position in the network infrastructure.