Frequently Asked Questions Aerohive ID Manager About the Product... 1 Ordering FAQs... 4 Product Strategy... 6 About the Product 1. What is ID Manager? ID Manager is Aerohive s new cloud-based guest management system. Just as with HiveManager Online, Aerohive hosts the software-as-a-service, which lowers CAPEX and increases scalability. 2. Why would a customer use ID Manager? Many network administrators wish to offer network access to guests. ID Manager streamlines the process of creating guest accounts, authenticating users, and expiring guest accounts automatically. 3. Aerohive already has a guest management product. Why are we introducing ID Manager? 2 reasons. First, the GuestManager product was based on Amigopod technology that is effectively architected ONLY as a local solution and can never be integrated into a cloud solution. This poses multiple problems including difficult regional support, difficult SMS integration, additional hardware and software to configure and maintain per regional server, etc. Additionally the Amigopod company has been purchased by Aruba. We ve spent multiple years learning the ideal guest management solution and architecting ID Manager as a cloud solution to simplify the deployment of a single guest management system that can be used in a distributed environment. Second, and more importantly, ID Manager tightly integrates with the rest of Aerohive s product line and aligns well with our cloud-based strategy. Improvements in Aerohive s Private PSK technology enable ID Manager to offer one hour keys, while configuring a wireless network for use with ID Manager requires only a single checkbox.
4. What are some of the recent changes in ID Manager? As of June 2013, ID Manager now has the following enhancements: Ordering process improvements Trial button for existing Aerohive customers New user interface Anonymous Access feature Self-registration for guests through a captive web portal Each of these items is explained in greater detail later in this FAQ. 5. When do guest accounts created in ID Manager expire? Network administrators can set up guest types, and each type has a unique expiration policy. Guest accounts may expire within a certain period after first use, at a fixed point in time, or may become active and expire at set points. All of these options are available for both username/password credentials and PPSKs. 6. What is Anonymous Access? The Anonymous Access feature of ID Manager enables IT administrators to enforce caps on data usage by guest users. Usage caps can be based on time or data usage, and apply to all users on an SSID. For example, it s possible to enforce letting guests get access for only an hour or allow a certain amount of data to be downloaded before disconnecting a guest. 7. What are the new UI (user interface) improvements in ID Manager? As of June 2013, Aerohive has a new action-oriented UI in ID Manager that is much easier for users to use. The streamlined UI will help users navigate through ID Manager more intuitively than before. 8. What is RadSec and what does it do for ID Manager? RadSec is a strong encryption protocol that protects RADIUS packets. The protocol works by establishing a TLS tunnel between a RadSec client and a RadSec server, and then using that TLS tunnel to protect RADIUS exchanges. In the ID Manager product it is used to ensure that authentication requests between a customer s network and the ID Manager service are protected by strong cryptography. 9. If RadSec requires TLS, do I need to worry about certificates? Aerohive will automatically issue and install certificates for RadSec through HiveManager or HiveManager Online.
10. Can customers use non-aerohive network devices to communicate with ID Manager using RadSec? Not at this time. Certificate requests are tightly coupled with HiveManager for ease of use. In the future, it may be possible to issue certificates to non-aerohive devices. 11. Do I have to use Aerohive equipment with ID Manager? No! ID Manager supports a standard RADIUS interface that can be used with any RADIUS client. Please be aware, however, that using PPSK requires an Aerohive network. Remember that standard RADIUS is not encrypted like RadSec, and credentials will be passed along in the clear. 12. How does ID Manager work with HiveManager Online? Because both ID Manager and HiveManager Online are hosted by Aerohive, it is possible to share information and create a seamless user experience. For example, a guest using ID Manager can print out instructions on how to use an account and can also print out the SSID to which they must attach. This is possible because that SSID is created and managed in HiveManager Online, and ID Manager has access to that information. 13. How does ID Manager work with an on-premise HiveManager? As part of the set-up process for ID Manager, network administrators who use an on-premise HiveManager must link their on-premise HiveManager with ID Manager. This is different than HiveManager Online, in which the systems will link automatically. 14. Why doesn t ID Manager have a version number? ID Manager is a service, not a software release. Like most network-accessible services, ID Manager will be continuously upgraded. Customers will automatically receive upgrades during regularly scheduled maintenance windows. 15. What is the user interface for ID Manager? ID Manager has two user interfaces: a registration UI and an administrative UI. The registration UI is designed to be touchscreen-compatible, with a simplified workflow that enables employees or visitors themselves to easily create guest accounts. The administrative UI, which is part of MyHive, gives network administrators full control over the product, including configuration and monitoring. 16. Can users create a self-registration kiosk? Yes! The registration UI has a kiosk mode that simplifies the workflow, and can be used on a tablet device in the customer s lobby.
17. Can guest users self-register from their own mobile devices? Yes. IT administrators can enable guest users to self-register through a captive web portal on their mobile devices. This provides guest users with the convenience of using their own devices to register for guest access. 18. What languages are supported? English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Dutch, Swedish, and simplified Chinese are supported. 19. Will this affect my customer s MyHive page? YES! When a customer signs up for ID Manager, it will appear as a new application within MyHive. As part of the new MyHive, administrative users for both HiveManager and ID Manager have been moved to the Admin Account Manager link below the icons for applications. 20. What are the End of Sale and End of Life dates for GuestManager? End of Sale for GuestManager was December 31, 2012 and End of Life was announced on February 12, 2013. We commit to 5 years of support, but past February 2013, this support will only include answering questions about GuestManager, but not any software updates. Customers will be offered ID Manager subscriptions. Ordering FAQs 1. How is ID Manager ordered? ID Manager is ordered based on the number of concurrent guest users: 10, 25, 50, 100, 250, 500, or 1,000 concurrent accounts. Guest user accounts are assigned to a free spot in the database, and are freed for re-use as accounts
expire or are deleted. There is also an add-on option for directory integration to enable employees to sponsor guest accounts without needing to create administrative accounts for them in ID Manager, which is available for an additional fee. 2. How has the ID Manager ordering process been improved? Aerohive has paid attention to some of the long lead times of ordering ID Manager. As of June 2013, Aerohive has designed new processes in the ordering system to improve the processing of ID Manager. 3. What is the new Trial Button feature in ID Manager? As of June 2013, there is now a click-to-try button available for any Aerohive customer that does not have ID Manager, but would like to try it. This will allow any Aerohive customer to get a trial for 30 days without going through the sales team or order entry. 4. What if my customer needs more than 1,000 concurrent guest accounts? The 1,000 guest account level is stackable. The price is the same for each 1,000 accounts that you add. 5. What happens when my customer reaches the limit of guest accounts? When customers reach the capacity of their current level, they will need to either delete existing accounts or upgrade to a higher number of concurrent accounts. 6. If the customer has 5,000 accounts saved in HiveManager but only 1,000 users logged in concurrently, do they need a single 1,000 pack or a five 1,000 packs? To define 5,000 concurrent guest user accounts, even if only 1,000 of them are being used at a one time, the customer will need to purchase five 1,000 user packs. To reduce costs, customers may delete guest accounts as they expire. 7. When customers need to upgrade, how will they be charged? The upgrade fee is the difference between the existing level and the new level, pro-rated by the amount of time remaining in the customer s subscription year. 8. Can ID Manager send text messages with the guest credentials? Yes, and unlimited worldwide text messaging is included with every ID Manager account (except the 1,000 user level with no text messaging). In many locations, it is important to establish the identity of guest users, and identity verification can be done by delivering visitors their guest credentials directly to their phone. 9. Why do I need the directory integration option? Many customers have large numbers of employees. Rather than create ID Manager operator accounts, the IT team can allow any user with a directory
account to access the registration UI. As new employees have accounts created in the main corporate directory, they are automatically eligible to use ID Manager. When employees depart, they are no longer able to create guests in ID Manager. 10. What does it mean if my customer won t purchase directory integration? They will need to define everybody who can create guest accounts manually in the admin account manager. 11. If my customer is not ready to buy and does not have a HiveManager Online account, can they eval ID Manager? Evaluations of ID Manager are handled through the existing evaluation process. 12. How long is the ID Manager evaluation period? The evaluation period for all Aerohive products is 30 days. 13. How should customers order ID Manager? ID Manager is ordered like any other Aerohive product. There is also a click-to-try button available for non-id Manager customers to try ID Manager for 30 days. 14. What if a customer has an existing HiveManager Online account and wants to evaluate ID Manager? ID Manager may be evaluated for 30 days by any Aerohive customer through the click-to-try button. During the evaluation period, ID Manager will be accessible through the same MyHive page that is the gateway to a customer s HiveManager account. Product Strategy 1. Why is ID Manager cloud-based? Unlike traditional enterprise guest management software, ID Manager can be delivered at an appropriate scale and cost to a wider variety of customers. Guest management is an important function, but not one that is strategic for most enterprises. Service-based offerings enable stretched IT departments to take advantage of continuing innovation without the need to manage in-service upgrades. Hosted services are also ideal for shared resources, such as text messaging, because Aerohive can purchase messages in bulk and pass savings along to ID Manager users. 2. What if an existing customer of mine has GuestManager, but wants to use text messaging? The transition offer does not include SMS messaging. Customers who would like to receive text messaging must purchase an ID Manager account that has text
messaging capabilities. They will be credited for the difference if they take advantage of the limited time offer to switch to ID Manager, but they must purchase a 1,000 user license or greater to use the credit. 3. How does ID Manager compare to User Manager? User Manager requires that network administrators configure rotating PPSKs for the number of users, and does not support large number of keys per day, especially for extended key validities. PPSKs created with User Manager must all expire at the same time, such as daily at 5 pm. User Manager operators must be defined on HiveManager and given limited access rights to the HiveManager. ID Manager, on the other hand, supports multiple guest types on the existing infrastructure, and there are no limits imposed by the number of guest types that exist. Aerohive s existing self-registration feature within the AP requires that each validity period for PPSK has its own clear self-registration SSID. Multiple types of logins are supported, and logins can be created through accounts that exist in the corporate directory. ID Manager has native kiosk support, and has been built with a translation layer that supports multiple languages.