Why are there optional subpackages instead of just one package?
The rpm package management tool will not permit installing a package unless all of it’s dependencies are met on the target system, otherwise the package would fail to run correctly. FreeRADIUS can be built with many optional components, for example support for a variety of databases. Each optional component has it’s own set of dependencies, for example if FreeRADIUS is built to support the MySQL database then there is a dependency on the MySQL client libraries. If rpm is asked to install a FreeRADIUS RPM which was built with MySQL then rpm will insist the MySQL support is installed as well. This type of dependency requirement extends to all optional FreeRADIUS components. If the FreeRADIUS RPM package was distributed as a monolithic package with all optional components this would force a person installing FreeRADIUS to install a lot of dependencies they are likely to never use. This can produce significant bloat on the target system. If a user never expects to run FreeRADIUS with the P
