Users Guide

Dell Networking W-Series ArubaOS 6.5.x | User Guide Captive Portal Authentication | 302
Chapter 15
Captive Portal Authentication
Captive portal is one of the methods of authentication supported by ArubaOS. A captive portal presents a web
page which requires user action before network access is granted. The required action can be simply viewing
and agreeing to an acceptable use policy, or entering a user ID and password which must be validated against a
database of authorized users.
You can also configure captive portal to allow clients to download the Dell VPN dialer for Microsoft VPN clients
if the VPN is to be terminated on the controller. For more information about the VPN dialer, see Virtual Private
Networks on page 342.
Topics in this chapter include:
l Understanding Captive Portal on page 302
l Configuring Captive Portal in the Base Operating System on page 303
l Using Captive Portal with a PEFNG License on page 305
l Sample Authentication with Captive Portal on page 308
l Configuring Guest VLANs on page 314
l Configuring Captive Portal Authentication Profiles on page 315
l Enabling Optional Captive Portal Configurations on page 320
l Personalizing the Captive Portal Page on page 324
l Creating and Installing an Internal Captive Portal on page 326
l Creating Walled Garden Access on page 335
l Enabling Captive Portal Enhancements
Understanding Captive Portal
You can configure captive portal for guest users, where no authentication is required, or for registered users
who must be authenticated against an external server or the controller’s internal database.
While you can use captive portal to authenticate users, it does not provide for encryption of user data and should not
be used in networks where data security is required. Captive portal is most often used for guest access, access to
open systems (such as public hot spots), or as a way to connect to a VPN.
You can use captive portal for guest and registered users at the same time. The default captive portal web page
provided with ArubaOS displays login prompts for both registered users and guests. (You can customize the
default captive portal page, as described in Personalizing the Captive Portal Page on page 324)
You can also load up to 16 different customized login pages into the controller. The login page displayed is
based on the SSID to which the client associates.
Policy Enforcement Firewall Next Generation (PEFNG) License
You can use captive portal with or without the PEFNG license installed in the controller. The PEFNG license
provides identity-based security to wired and wireless clients through user roles and firewall rules. You must
purchase and install the PEFNG license on the controller to use identity-based security features.