= The ALIAS keyword

.Syntax
----
ALIAS <name> <reference>
----

.Description
The `ALIAS` keyword a name which references a particular OID.

<name>:: The name of the attribute.  The name can contain alphanumeric
characters, `-`, and `_`.  The name should be short and descriptive.
+
The `ALIAS` names are global, and placed at the dictionary root as
with earlier versions of the server.  The `ALIAS` names must not
overlap with the name of any other attribute.

<reference>:: An OID by name `Vendor.Cisco.AVPair`, or by number `26.9.1`.
+
The full name or number must be given.

.Example
----
ALIAS Cisco-AVPair 26.9.1
----

== Purpose of the ALIAS keyword

The purpose of the `ALIAS` keyword is to allow for easier transition
from earlier versions of FreeRADIUS to version 4.  We recognize that
the old attribute names are used in many places such as databases.  It
can be difficult to change many thousands of existing entries in a
"live" system.

As such, we provide some ability to use names which are compatible
with version 3 of FreeRADIUS.

NOTE: The `ALIAS` names are not enabled by default.  They must be
manually enabled on each system by editing the `raddb/dictionary`
file.

== v3 Compatible names

All of the attributes have been renamed from v3.  This change was
necessary in order to support new funtionality in v4.  The unfortunate
side effect of this change is that all of the names which are
currently in SQL, LDAP, and the "files" module for use with v3, are
incompatible with v4.

We recognize that is is difficult to change every entry in a
database, especially when there's no clear mapping between the
"old" and "new" names.  This renaming is made more complex because
the "new" names need to be grouped and arranged in ways that the
old ones were not.

The "old" names were all in flat lists, so that `User-Name` appeared
next to `Cisco-AVPAir`.  This organization was simple enough to work
for 20 years, but its time has come.  The new names are hierarchical,
and are contained in "parent" attributes.  This arrangment does not
ysyakky change the length of most attribute names.

For v4, the `Cisco-AVPair` attribute is called `AVPair`, and it lives
inside of the `Cisco` namespace, which in turn lives inside of the
`Vendor-Specific` namespace.  So the new name for `Cisco-AVPair` is
`Vendor-Specific.Cisco.AVPair`.

This process continues for many thousands of vendor-specific
attributes.

Happily, it is possible to (mostly) use the old names with v4.
There are limitations, but it will mostly work.  The main reason
for enabling the old names is to try out v4 with a database that is
also used by v3.  This lets you test that v4 works, without going
through a complex "upgrade everything" process.

The old v3 names are in "alias" dictionaries, in the `${dictdir}`
directory.  To find out where this directory is on your local
system, run `radiusd -h` or `radclient -h`.  Then look for the `-D`
command-line option, and it will tell you where the dictionary
files are located.

The v3 names are in `${dictdir}/radius/alias/VENDOR.txt` where
`VENDOR` is the (lowercase) name of the vendor, which is taken from the `VENDOR`
definition in the v3 dictionaries.

You will need to add a `$INCLUDE` line for each vendor-specific
dictionary which is used by your local system.  The default v4
dictionaries do not enable all of v3 compatibilty names.

Yes, we recognize that this process is a bit of work.  However, we
wish to encourage everyone using v4 to upgrade to using the new v4
features.  Our experience shows that if we automatically enable
"compatibility functions", then those compatiblity functions will
be used for a decade.  So we need to find a balance between
upgrades and ongoing support.  Easy upgrades will mean complex
ongoing support.  Complex upgrades make ongoing support easier, but
also make it less likely that people will upgrade.


// Copyright (C) 2023 Network RADIUS SAS.  Licenced under CC-by-NC 4.0.
// This documentation was developed by Network RADIUS SAS.
