RADIUS

Name

Session-Timeout

Synopsis

Attribute Number	27
Length	6
Value	INTEGER
Allowed in	Access-Accept, Access-Challenge
Prohibited in	Access-Request, Access-Reject
Presence in Packet	Not required
Maximum Iterations	1

This attribute indicates the maximum length of time in seconds that a user may remain connected to the network before the RADIUS client will kick him off. This is primarily used to enforce connect-time limits on certain account package types or to prevent camping on a line. (Camping is when a user treats a non-dedicated connection, such as a dial-up account, as a dedicated connection by keeping the line up 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.)

Much like the Idle-Timeout attribute, there are many software packages meant for the client side that detect a disconnected session and immediately reconnect it. There is no inherent mechanism on the RADIUS server, at least as specified in the RFC, to prevent usage of this software, since the Session-Timeout value is just a counter that is stateless and memory-less. It can be and is reset each time a new connection is made.