RADIUS Accounting Records and Billing Entitlement

WayaDesk / FreeRADIUS

Accounting information describes reported session activity. Billing entitlement describes what service a customer is allowed to use. They support each other, but one should not silently replace the other.

Read records for their actual purpose

A session total can help investigate usage or connection history. It is not automatically a payment, a monthly invoice or an enforced data quota. LinkDesk’s retained RADIUS traffic totals should not be presented as a complete calendar-month bill.

Match the correct identity

Check that accounting activity is attached to the intended subscriber and service path. An identifier mismatch can make a paying account appear unused while another record accumulates activity. Compare the timestamps and router source before concluding that the customer used the reported service.

• Distinguish reported session activity from purchased entitlement.
• Check the period and retention represented by a total.
• Investigate missing or stale observations without inventing usage values.

Review after interruptions

Network or host interruptions can affect the observations available to the operator. Keep uncertainty visible. If the record does not establish when a session ended, do not describe its last observed state as a guaranteed live connection.

Use accounting in a pilot

For a controlled subscriber, compare the activity observed on the network with the record presented to the operator. This is a practical integration check. It should be completed separately from the test that verifies a payment creates the correct paid period.