Visitors are often required to access the Internet in such places as businesses, hotels, parks, and government halls. Unlike internal staff, visitors are not identified, stay for short periods, and network needs are simple, but if not managed properly, the visitor network may become a security risk."Make the visitors accessible without affecting internal security"Question. Here we will look at the specific capabilities and practices of WiFi certification system in the area of visitors network management.
Why are the visitors' networks managed separately?
The visitors’ network and internal networks should be strictly segregated. Internal staff need to access the enterprise intranet, share documents, business systems, and have higher privileges; visitors usually only need to access the Internet, without having or should not have access to the enterprise Intranet. If visitors and employees share the same network, they may affect the internal system if the visitor equipment is secure (virus, carpentry), and visitors’ online behaviour cannot be effectively controlled. WiFi certification system assigns visitors and staff to different web areas through identification (different SSIDs or VLANs) and implements different access strategies to ensure that the visitors’ network and internal networks are isolated by mechanisms. The visitors' network is managed separately, not to cause trouble for visitors but to protect internal security.
Temporary account number and self-help registration
The WiFi authentication system supports a variety of temporary account generation methods: the front desk staff manually generate temporary accounts and passwords for printing to visitors; visitors register through mobile self-help, which send their certification codes; and visitors complete their authentication by micromail scan without having to enter an account code. The self-service registration reduces the front desk workload and enhances visitors’ experience.
Time limit and permissions are isolated
The WiFi certification system supports bandwidth ceilings, time limits and traffic quotas for visitors to avoid the use of large bandwidths that affect internal staff. For example, the visitor bandwidth is limited to 10 Mbps, which can be used up to 8 hours a day, with no more than 1 GB. Meanwhile, the visitor network has only access to the Internet and cannot access any resources of the enterprise intranet, including shared folders, internal servers, printers, etc. Limited time limits and segregation of access are central to the management of the visitors ' network, both to meet basic needs of visitors and to protect internal security.
Approval process and validity management
The WiFi certification system supports the management of visitor accounts: visitors or recipients submit applications for online access, and approvals (usually department heads or IT managers) take effect only after approval is approved. The approval process can be at different levels depending on the type of visitor, such as regular visitors being cleared by front desk and important visitors being approved by department heads. For scenarios that do not require approval, the system also supports direct account generation with flexibility to match different management requirements.
The real name marks and the security trace.
The WiFi certification system records the time of authentication, downline time, access location, traffic usage, etc. for each visitor’s account, and can be traced back to a specific visitor with real name information (cell number, identity card, reception person, etc.). When there is a security incident or complaint, the administrator can quickly locate which visitor, when, what has been done and how soon to dispose of it. For enterprises that need to meet such requirements, the visitors log will also have to remain in place, depending on compliance requirements."Extralegal."Each such access is documented.
Segregation and synergy with the staff network
The visitors' network and the staff network are isolated but managed in a coordinated manner. WiFi certification system centrally manages employee and visitor accreditation, so managers can access all users on one platform without having to manage two separate systems. Visitors’ accounts are generated, approved, expired on the same platform, and management is efficient. At the same time, the system can set bandwidth ratios for visitors ' networks and staff networks, such as 70% of staff members and 30% of visitors, ensuring that staff offices are not affected by visitors. For multi-branch enterprises, it is also possible to use the visitor account over a region and visitors can access the same account at any branch office to enhance their experience.
Common scenes and implementation recommendations
The focus of the visitors’ network management is different from one scene to another: the corporate landscape focuses on internal security segregation and approval processes; the hotel landscape focuses on residential experience and room binding; the political hall landscape focuses on real name certification and compliance audits; and the campus landscape focuses on multitenant isolation and unified management. Implementation should be done in a way that is appropriate to the features of the scenario, without being applied at all costs. Pre-deployment recommendations are first developed to clarify which visitors need clearances, which can register themselves and how privileges are set up.
The WiFi certification system ' s visitors network management was achieved through temporary accounts, self-service registration, time limits, segregation of rights, approval process and physical name marks"Accessible to visitors"and"Internal security"For managers, integrating the management of the visitors’ network into the unified administration of WiFi certification systems can enhance visitors’ experience and reduce security risks, which are essential to building enterprise wireless network security.