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

[Gerrard Shaw <GShaw AT havering-college.ac.uk>]

Hi,

 

Just a quick question in relation to the CAT install process. Is it expected that users receive a warning about our CA certificate being untrusted and to verify identity (Android app) or that the connection may involve traffic being inspected by HTTPS proxy (iOS)?

 

We’re using a self-signed certificate as per the Jisc UK eduroam configuration guide so on a technical level you might expect the warning but it is very prominent to the user given we’ve had to manually upload certificates as part of the CAT profile and the interception message seems a bit surprising.

 

Also on the Android app is there any reason why Havering College doesn’t always appear if we try to search for a profile within the app “Nearby Configs” (rather than going back out to the CAT website and obtaining it there?) Sometimes it loads via the manual search and other times not (oddly at one point I had Anglia Ruskin but with the Havering College logo appear?)

 

Finally on the list of institutions what is the initial method of Geolocation if the user doesn’t select HTML5? It seems to be defaulting to somewhere in London on my 4G connection, is this because the CAT site sees the location of my ISP rather than device?

 

Regards,

 

Gerrard

 

From: Gerrard Shaw
Sent: 04 May 2018 13:07
To: 'Alan Buxey' <alan.buxey AT gmail.com>
Cc: cat-users AT lists.geant.org
Subject: RE: [[cat-users]] CAT \ Google Play domains

 

Hi Alan,

 

From our Aruba monitoring stats it’s a very strong iPhone population, at last count around 70% of all devices so no problem there. However of those devices which see use in the classroom (as opposed to lots of Snapchat \ Instagram in recreational time) it’s more laptops, which are the ones I need to make sure can get connected without any access to 4G. HE students tend to BYOD with laptops more so than FE from my anecdotal observations (we’re primarily a 16-18 college with some HE provision as well).

 

Unfortunately we’ve never been able to get budget for an onboarding solution so had to build with component parts (NPS, customised Aruba controller functionality rather than ClearPass etc.) so we’d be using CAT as our primary method of setting up devices for Eduroam.

 

Am I correct in understanding that as long as roaming users had an eduroam profile of some sort set up on their device they should just connect automatically, regardless of which product created the profile in the first place?

 

Ø  So many places seem to work on random assumptions and plan around loads of 'what ifs' rather than doing some decent user surveys

and finding out what solution they do need on site and balance priorities and solution accordingly :)

 

Ours tends to work on what we can do that doesn’t involve spending money at the moment (!) We’ve tried surveys a few times but response levels haven’t been great, again I guess a product of the environment as much as anything.

 

Appreciate the input, it’s good to hear real-world feedback on how the product is used once released “in the wild” as it were.

 

Regards,

 

Gerrard

 

From: Alan Buxey [mailto:alan.buxey AT gmail.com]
Sent: 04 May 2018 12:49
To: Gerrard Shaw <GShaw AT havering-college.ac.uk>
Cc: cat-users AT lists.geant.org
Subject: Re: [[cat-users]] CAT \ Google Play domains

 

hi,

 

do they need to be on WiFi to get the APK? how many devices don't have the 3G/4G option (ie are wireless only..eg tablet) 

 

not a large percentage of sites use eduroamCAT - its uptake is growing but many have their own local on-boarding solutions as

part of their local wireless provision (eg using Aruba or Cisco products etc) - they may have CAT profiles - but don't count on it...

and their CAT profile may just be a final backup/last resort option)

 

I guess in the end its all a matter of balancing the student experience against the risks. A lot of Android users will have issues

anyway - because of the fragmented market

 

So many places seem to work on random assumptions and plan around loads of 'what ifs' rather than doing some decent user surveys

and finding out what solution they do need on site and balance priorities and solution accordingly :)

 

alan

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