Use Case Overview

Enterprises often have visitors who need temporary access to the network or to the Internet, such as guests or contractors working on campus. It is common for these visitors to use the wired network for access. Enterprises that have access control enabled on switch ports can use central Web authentication (also known as captive portal authentication) to provide the necessary access to these temporary users. In central Web authentication, a user’s web browser is redirected to a guest access web portal where the user can provide guest credentials. After the guest web portal authenticates the user, the user is granted limited access to the enterprise network.

Juniper Networks EX Series Ethernet Switches and the Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager platform work together to provide a secure guest access workflow using central Web authentication.

EX Series switches provide carrier-class reliability, security risk management, virtualization, application control, and lower total cost of ownership (TCO). Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager provides role-based and device-based network access control (NAC) for any user across any wired, wireless, and VPN infrastructure. In addition, it provides centralized guest access services that deliver consistent guest workflows and security policy for wired and wireless users. Enterprises with Aruba wireless infrastructure typically deploy Aruba ClearPass to provide NAC services for the wireless infrastructure. Enterprises that also deploy EX Series switches in these environments can leverage the extensive RADIUS capabilities on EX Series switches to integrate with Aruba ClearPass.