Key Concepts
The following key concepts/terms are required to understand FortiGuest.
The Guest/User
The guest/user requires an account to access the network using their own device, connecting to a wired or wireless hotspot provided by an organization. They normally have their browser connection re-directed to a portal where they can login by the network enforcement device.
Sponsor
The sponsor creates the user account and is often an employee of the organization that provides the network access. Sponsors are specific individuals with certain job roles or employees who authenticate against a corporate directory such as Microsoft Active Directory (AD).
Admin
The admin is the administrator who configures and maintains FortiGuest.
Network Enforcement Device
These devices are the network infrastructure components that provide the network access. Additionally, network enforcement devices are responsible for pushing guests/users to a captive portal where they can enter their account details. The captive portal is present either on the network enforcement device or FortiGuest. When a user enters his or her user name and password, the network enforcement device checks those credentials against the accounts created by FortiGuest.
FortiGuest
FortiGuest ties together all the pieces of user access. FortiGuest links the sponsor creating the account, the account details passed to the guest/user, the user authentication against the network enforcement device, and the network enforcement device’s verification of the user with FortiGuest. Additionally, FortiGuest consolidates accounting information from network enforcement devices to provide a single point of user access reporting who created the account, when the user accessed the network, and the network activity.