Deployment Timeline
To accomplish the goal of offering a network that is secure, efficient, and cost effective, this university began researching network onboarding solutions. With an exceptional onboarding client in place, they could offer a much more efficient method for users to configure their devices.
After considering a few onboarding solutions, the school’s engineers ultimately judged that JoinNow MultiOS from SecureW2 would be a sound solution. The JoinNow solution fits the issue perfectly due to its vendor-neutral support, streamlined user experience, intuitive management interface, and professional technical support.
Challenges
Paolo, The Senior Technical Officer of the Network Support Group oversaw the campus-wide deployment of the Eduroam network at the university. He began with a handful of devices that were designated for staff and configured by the IT department. They had no issue configuring the devices for the WPA2-Enterprise network, but the vast majority of users did not experience a streamlined process.
BYOD and other mobile devices, such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones, are used by nearly every student and staff member. These unmanaged BYOD devices are naturally much more difficult to reliably onboard due to the variety of operating systems, drivers, wireless utilities, and other unique features that complicate the configuration and troubleshooting process. The steps to configure differ between devices, but one similarity is shared by them all; manually configuring a device for WPA2-Enterprise is a complex process.
On top of the difficulty during configuration, the risk of an incorrectly configured device can leave users and the network vulnerable to over-the-air attacks. The IT team tried to combat this by publishing detailed configuration instructions for network users, but they were still overwhelmed by support ticket requests. If the university’s network was to be easily accessible and secure, they would need to find a solution for their eduroam network configuration.
Solutions
To accomplish the goal of offering a network that is secure, efficient, and cost-effective, the university began researching network onboarding solutions. With an exceptional onboarding client in place, they could offer a much more efficient method for users to configure their devices.
After considering a few onboarding solutions, the school’s engineers ultimately judged that JoinNow MultiOS from SecureW2 would be a sound solution. The JoinNow solution fits the issue perfectly due to its vendor-neutral support, streamlined user experience, intuitive management interface, and professional technical support.
The IT team also recognized the value of JoinNow’s unique reporting functionality, which delivers detailed device and connection reports as users are onboarding to the network. This feature gives the helpdesk all the information they need to help resolve an issue before the student or staff member creates a support ticket.
Evaluating Success
WPA2-Enterprise is considered the gold standard for network security today, but the University witnessed firsthand the necessity to plan and prepare for launching this network type. Allowing manual configuration is not a viable option, so combining WPA2-Enterprise with an onboarding solution is the most effective deployment method.
JoinNow removes the complexities of onboarding to WPA2-Enterprise while maintaining a straightforward user experience and maximum security. Users simply choose the network they wish to connect to (in this case eduroam), complete the onboarding client, and are equipped with a digital certificate that automatically connects them to the secure network.Once the process is complete, users should never have to file a connection support ticket because their certificate can be configured for years of authentication.
The situation is ideal for IT support as well. Not only will they experience a marked decline in support ticket requests, but they’ll also be assured that the network is secured by WPA2-Enterprise and EAP-TLS authentication.