Abstract

In this paper we describe the design and realization of a system that

allows guests to connect to a company’s internet-access channel via wireless

local area network (WLAN). The core of the corporate infrastructure stays

protected against unauthorized access. Although a growing number of

companies provide WLAN access for their employees, guest access is rarely

granted due to security concerns and substantial maintenance hurdles. Even if

a network administrator might be willing to provide such access, it often

would be done manually with substantial time delay. The solution we propose

to solve this problem and to simplify the whole procedure is based on

establishing a chain of trust. An authorized corporate user assumes the role of

a host who invites and trusts his guests, thus he issues access codes together

with the invitations. The system we propose is composed of two scenarios.

The first scenario is called the „consultant scenario“ and uses a Spontaneous

WLAN Guest Access Server (SpoGA Server). In the second scenario, the so

called „congress scenario“, we describe how to support a great number of

guests. Here we propose an „Extended Invitation Management System” (E–

IMS) for ease of use. This system can help organizers of events not only to

provide participants with wireless network access but also to support other

related tasks in the preparation of larger events. The current results as

described in the paper pave the way for field testing and broad enrollment. In

addition some considerations on further developments are provided.

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