The mailing list for users of the eduroam Configuration Assistant Tool (CAT)

[Ayres G.J. <g.j.ayres AT swansea.ac.uk>]

Hi,

 

Thanks for your feedback, it is appreciated.

 

As for point 1, we agree that the current workflow is confusing and long winded.

There was no way around this at present with android.

But we have started work on a solution called SCAD: Supplicant Configuration Automatic Discovery.

I am presenting it at TNC conference next week:

You can read the abstract here: https://tnc15.terena.org/core/presentation/119

 

If the presentation and feedback/discussion goes well, im hoping we can implement it into the eduroamCAT android app in the near future.

As it happens, I have already started writing the code, with the aim of demoing a simple version in TNC that uses the eduroamCAT IdP list from the CAT website, along with location awareness to show nearby eap-configs to choose form inside the app. Im hoping this will make the app a lot simpler to use for users.

 

As for your second point, im afraid we have to rely on the users to re-launch the app and re-enter their credentials.

The IdP settings and username will still be saved in the app, so they just need to enter a new password and reconfigure.

 

We could write a service to monitor the supplicant for disconnections and prompt the user to launch the app with a notification in the notification system.

This is a possibility for sure. As long as we can implement it in a way that doesn’t become a nuisance as user’s roam/re-auth etc.

 

Gareth.

 

 

 

 

From: Stefano Zanmarchi [mailto:zanmarchi AT gmail.com]
Sent: 10 June 2015 16:27
To: cat-users AT geant.net
Subject: [cat-users] android app configuration file

 

Hi,

thank you very much for your really great, great work!

May I suggest a couple of features that would make the android app much more user friendly?

 

1)

The actual behaviour is quite confusing: users go to the play store, install the app but if they (as they will, they're used  to doing so) tap on "open" the app will not work, since it needs the .eap-config file.

I know the actual solution is to tell the user not to open the freshly installed app and go back to the browser to tap the given link, but this is not intuitive. It'd be nice if the app could feth the file automatically from the net.

One way could be have the app understand from the realm (from the typed in username field) the organization and go to feth the corresponding .eap-config file from cat.eduroam.org (or, even better, let the  IdP admin set the URI of the .eap-config for her organization!).

 

2)

We have a big problem. In case of PEAP when android users change their password the supplicant doesn't prompt them for new credentials, it keeps on failing authentication with the old cached password. iOS, OSX, win supplicants prompt the user, android not.

I't be great to simply tell the users "launch the app again, insert the new credentials, and you'll be connected to eduroam again".

So it'd be great if the app could use the previously downloaded .eap-config file, and just ask the user for new credentials, and then connect to eduroam.

Putting it all together an idea could be let the app fetch the config file in the following order:

- Like now (via the browser link). If this fails:

- From the net (e.g. as described in point 1). If this fails:

- from the local cached configuration file.

 

Thanks again and have a nice day,

Stefano