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

[Stefan Winter <stefan.winter AT restena.lu>]

Hello!


Thanks for your comments. Most of them are indeed something to improve upon.


FWIW, we are looking at a major redesign of the software for its next 
major release 3.0, so these suggestions come at a good time. FYI: these 
changes might easily end in a design like: end users are supposed to 
exclusively interact with native apps on OSes, with an embedded 
institution search; and do not interact with the website at all. This 
approach would make a good part of your suggestions not applicable any 
more, by design.


We are also always looking for developers that would participate in the 
development effort. If you are interested in getting involved beyond UX 
reports, please let us know...


Now, at least for two points I have a concrete immediate response:


> 4.  Due to the variety of Android versions, there are always users 
with phones where the procedure does not work, and need help from the IT 
staff.


That's a universal truth in Android. Since we cannot make the variety of 
Android versions stop to exist: yes, that's how it is. There is still a 
reason for existence of the IT helpdesk. Nothing we can do in CAT can 
change that fact of life.


> 10.  My institute name is spelled differently in German and English, 
so sometimes it’s not found in the apps. Sometimes it’s not found at all.


Multi-lingual support is built into CAT. In the organisation settings, 
you can add multiple variants of your institution name, and tag them 
with multiple languages. Your institution can then be found by typing 
any one of the variants.


Greetings,


Stefan Winter


On 14.07.23 15:31, Paul Menzel (via cat-users Mailing List) wrote:
> Dear colleagues,
>
>
> Due to the DFN PKI abandonment, my organization’s Radius server 
> certificate expired and needed to be replaced. (We started to use our 
> own Eduroam CA [1].) Therefore, all user devices needed to be updated.
>
> Unfortunately, it wasn’t smooth sailing in several cases. The 
> institute specific cat.eduroam.org URL for our institute [2] is shared 
> with the users, but my expectation, that the page contains all 
> necessary information, is not met, and additional documentation in 
> different languages has to be written. My institute instructions are 
> at the end.
>
> If my expectation is not unreasonable, I see the following pain points 
> with the Web page.
>
> 1.  The wording is confusing. For Android users it’s not clear, they 
> need to install the “app” first. The small infobox is often overlooked.
>
> 2.  The instructions on the Web page also sound like, you get the 
> program from the Web page, but it’s only a configuration file.
>
> > Laden Sie Ihr Installationsprogramm herunter für Chrome OS
>
> > Laden Sie Ihr Installationsprogramm herunter für Apple Gerät
>
> > Laden Sie Ihr Installationsprogramm herunter für Android 8 und höher
>
> The wording is confusing, as it’s a configuration file for the first 
> two, and for Android users seem to have to install an App from the app 
> store first, which is only shown in the infobox.
>
> 3.  Looking at the information/details, there is no difference in the 
> description (i symbol) of the two Android options.
>
>     > Android 8 und höher
>     > Dies ist eine generische Konfigurationsdatei im IETF EAP 
> Metadata -00 XML Format.
>
>     > Android 4.3 bis 7
>     > Dies ist eine generische Konfigurationsdatei im IETF EAP 
> Metadata -00 XML Format.
>
> 4.  Due to the variety of Android versions, there are always users 
> with phones where the procedure does not work, and need help from the 
> IT staff.
>
> 5.  The information is hidden behind buttons, when clicked on opening 
> a popup, which often contains only little text. This information 
> should be directly and more prominently visible.
>
> 6.  The download URL for files is not visible, hovering over the buttons.
>
> 7.  Back and forward buttons do not work, when switching the operating 
> system, as it’s not separate pages.
>
> 8.  The Web site does not offer to just show the configuration and to 
> download the certificate for manual use.
>
> 9.  The Web site is not responsive, and therefore looks bad on a 
> mobile device.
>
> 10.  My institute name is spelled differently in German and English, 
> so sometimes it’s not found in the apps. Sometimes it’s not found at all.
>
> 11. Accessing the page 1.86 MB are transferred (1.17 MB for 
> jquery.js). It takes over 500 ms to load.
>
> 12. According to PageSpeed Insights, it’s not fully accessible [3][4].
>
> As every second saved in setup time saves the user and the support 
> staff time, for this many Eduroam users (millions?), it would be 
> really great, if a new (static) Web site could be created.
>
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Paul
>
>
> PS: Why is a script for Linux created instead of extending 
> NetworkManager to support a configuration file? Users should not have 
> to run random unverifiable scripts from the internet. I created a 
> ticket for NetworkManager for ONC support [5].
>
>
> [1]: https://github.com/buczek/eduroam-ca/
> [2]: https://cat.eduroam.org/?idp=5807
> [3]: 
> https://pagespeed.web.dev/analysis/https-cat-eduroam-org/0hp5z32jx6?form_factor=mobile
> [4]: 
> https://pagespeed.web.dev/analysis/https-cat-eduroam-org/0hp5z32jx6?form_factor=desktop
> [5]: 
> https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/NetworkManager/NetworkManager/-/issues/1348
>      "No support for Open Network Configuration (ONC) configuration 
> files (#1348)"
>
> PPS: Our instructions in the intranet (also translated to German):
>
> for Android:
>
>     For Android 8 and newer: Install the geteduroam-App from the 
> Google Play store 
> (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.eduroam.geteduroam)
>     For Android 7 and older: Install the eduroam CAT-App from the 
> Google Play store 
> (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.ac.swansea.eduroamcat)
>     Use the eduroam CAT (Configuration Assistent Tool) at 
> https://cat.eduroam.org/?idp=5807
>     Enter your username according to user AT molgen.mpg.de and your 
> password (ideally set at the start of the setup)
>
> for iOS (iPhones and iPads):
>
>     On iPhones and iPads, make sure to use the Safari browser (not 
> Chrome). You should have installed at least iOS 12.1.1
>     Use the eduroam CAT (Configuration Assistent Tool) at 
> https://cat.eduroam.org/?idp=5807
>     After installing the profile from the CAT-tool, please remove any 
> existing WLAN eduroam (“Forget This Network”) and then activate the 
> downloaded profile via Settings > General > Profiles & Device Management.
>     In newer version of iOS you can find the profiles via Settings > 
> General > VPN & Device Management.
>     If you are asked for credentials use your username acording to 
> user AT molgen.mpg.de and your password (ideally set at the start of the 
> setup)
>
> for GNU/Linux:
>
>     Use the eduroam CAT (Configuration Assistent Tool) at 
> https://cat.eduroam.org/?idp=5807
>     You might need to execute the file from the command line. Open a 
> terminal, enter `python ` (with space at the end), and drag the file 
> into the terminal. Then, press the enter key.
>     If you are asked for credentials use your username acording to 
> user AT molgen.mpg.de and your password (ideally set at the start of the 
> setup)
>
> for Windows / macOS:
>
>     Use the eduroam CAT (Configuration Assistent Tool) at 
> https://cat.eduroam.org/?idp=5807
>     If you are asked for credentials use your username according to 
> user AT molgen.mpg.de and your password (ideally set at the start of the 
> setup)
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Fondation Restena, Stefan WINTER
Chief Technology Officer
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