Example 3: Providing Guest Access Through A Captive Web Portal; Registration Types - Black Box LWN602A User Manual

9.3 Example 3: Providing Guest Access through a Captive Web Portal

A captive Web portal is a way to control network access by requiring users to authenticate their identity or complete a registration
form before assigning them network and user profile settings that allow them network access beyond the SmartPath AP with
which they associated. A captive web portal provides registered users with network access while containing unregistered users.
Because the Black Box captive web portal feature is very flexible, you will have a number of choices to make when configuring it.
Several of these are examined first—"Registration Types," "Providing Network Settings", and "Modifying Captive Web Portal
Pages"—and then a complete configuration example is presented.

9.3.1 Registration Types

There are five types of registration (four are shown in Figure 9-7) that a captive Web portal can require of users:
Self-Registration: With this option, users must complete a registration form and accept a network use policy before being allowed
to pass through the captive Web portal. This is a good choice when you cannot know in advance who will be attempting to make
a network connection through the captive Web portal and simply want to keep a record of the users, or if user authentication is
unimportant.
User Authentication: With this option, users must enter and submit a valid user name and password to log in. The SmartPath AP
acts as a RADIUS authenticator or RADIUS client and forwards the submitted login credentials to a RADIUS server for
authentication. The RADIUS authentication server can either be an internal server on a SmartPath AP or an external RADIUS
server on the network. This is a good choice when you can set up a RADIUS authentication server with user accounts before the
users attempt to access the network.
Both (Auth/Self-reg): This is a combination of the previous two registration types. Users can authenticate themselves by
submitting a user name and password or complete and submit a registration form.
Use Policy Acceptance: With this option, the user is presented with a network use policy, and only has to click Accept to gain
network access.
External Authentication: SmartPath APs redirect unregistered users' HTTP and HTTPS traffic to a captive Web portal on an exter-
nal server, such as the amigopod Visitor Management Appliance.
Self-Registration
The user self-registers by entering data
that can then be saved to a syslog server
for tracking and auditing.
Figure 9-7. Four types of registration through a captive Web portal running on a SmartPath AP.
Chapter 9: Common Configuration Examples
User Authentication
The user submits a
name and password,
which are sent to a
RADIUS server for
authentication.
724-746-5500 | blackbox.com
Use Policy
Both (Auth/Self-reg)
Acceptance
Authentication at the
The user must
top and self-registration
accept a network
at the bottom (the user
use policy to gain
submits one of them).
network access.
Page 105