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Captive portal

Access & Identity > Captive Portal turns a network interface into a guest network with a login page. Devices that connect are intercepted until the user authenticates, for example with a code, a voucher or a social login, depending on what the hotspot manager offers. It is meant for hotels, cafes, waiting rooms and offices with visitors.

How it works​

The unit runs the part of the captive portal that intercepts connections. The management of the guest experience (pages, vouchers, sessions and statistics) is done in a hotspot manager that the unit registers with.

Setting it up​

  1. Open the Settings tab and sign in: enter the endpoint of the hotspot manager and the username and password you were given.
  2. Choose the network device the hotspot listens on. It intercepts all connections on that interface and demands authentication.
  3. Choose the network address for the hotspot. Guests receive addresses inside that network.
  4. Set the DHCP limit, the maximum number of leases. The first address of the DHCP range is calculated for you.
  5. Save. All pending changes to the firewall and network configuration are committed.

Sessions​

The Status tab shows the sessions of the clients connected to this unit.

Removing the unit from the manager​

Unregister detaches the unit from the hotspot manager. The local firewall and network configuration is not changed, so remove the hotspot network yourself if you no longer need it.

Good practice​

  • Place the hotspot in its own zone, separate from the LAN. See Zones and policies.
  • Limit what guests can reach with firewall rules, and limit bandwidth with QoS.
  • In a high availability pair the hotspot works only on a physical interface, and active sessions do not survive a switch, see High availability.