Administrator Guide

guide to developing your own understanding of the network design topics covered, and as a basis for further
investigation.
About the SOAPAPI
The W-ClearPass Guest SOAP API provides direct access to the underlying functionality of Dell Networking
W-ClearPass Guest. Developers wishing to provide integrated applications can make use of this API to
programmatically perform actions that would otherwise require manual operation of the user interface.
Architecture Overview
The W-ClearPass Guest software is built using multiple layers:
l At the lowest level, the kernel provides basic functions common to the entire system. This includes the Web
interface framework, appliance operating system, and runtime support services.
l The network layer provides critical networking support, including the RADIUS server and the ability for
network administrators to manage and control the networking aspects of the appliance.
l The services layer provides one or more implementations of application services that are used by the layers
above. Examples of these services include managing a user database used for AAA, handling the
authentication of operators, and providing translated text resources.
l The presentation layer supplies the tools and framework necessary for the appliance software to interact
with the outside world. The basic presentation layer services include authentication checks, session
establishment, input checking, validation and conversion, and command execution. Both SOAP and HTML
presentation methods are supplied, which adapt the underlying basic presentation to appropriate
conventions suitable for a machine-to-machine or human-to-machine interaction.
l The application layer provides the page templates, business logic, and the concrete features making up
visitor management applications such as Guest Manager or Hotspot Manager. These applications are built
using the services provided by the lower layers.
Authentication and Access Control
SOAP API requests require that operator authentication information is provided using HTTP Basic
authentication.
Dell Networking W-ClearPass Guest 6.5.0 | User Guide Administration | 467