Cisco Catalyst 9800 WLC Integration Guide

This guide explains, step by step, the guest hotspot integration between a Cisco Catalyst 9800 series wireless controller (WLC, including the virtual 9800-CL) and Useroam Cloud. The guest joins the WLC's open guest network, the Useroam welcome page opens on their phone (SMS, WhatsApp, room number and other login methods), authentication is done by Useroam over RADIUS, and the guest gets internet access.

Before you start: you need administrator access to the WLC web interface, the public IP address the WLC uses to reach the internet, and IOS-XE 17.x. The screens in this guide are from 17.15; menu names are the same in other 17.x releases.

The Useroam server address is 104.247.174.120 everywhere. The RADIUS server, the login page address and the pre-authentication allow list (ACL) all use this IP. Do not use any other address.

Is the controller behind a firewall? If guest login is handled by a firewall such as FortiGate or Sophos, the WLC settings in this guide are not needed; the WLC only broadcasts an open SSID. Follow the firewall guide instead: FortiGate, Sophos.

1 - Add the Device in the Useroam Panel

Log in at panel.useroam.com and open the New Device screen.

• Device Type: select Cisco.
• 5651 Logging: enable it if the device doing the internet breakout (firewall or router) sends its logs to Useroam.
• Device Address: [CRITICAL STEP] enter the public IP the WLC uses to reach the internet. If the WLC is behind NAT, enter the NAT egress IP. Useroam identifies the device by this IP and RADIUS requests must come from it. Do not enter the WLC's internal IP (192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x).
• Device Name: the name you will see in the panel (e.g. "Hotel WLC").

Click Save.

2 - Get the Setup Values from the Panel

After saving, open Settings > Device Settings and the Setup tab. The Cisco WLC: External Web Auth + RADIUS card shows three values you will use in the next steps; note them down:

• Web Auth (External) URL: the login page address specific to your device, in the form http://104.247.174.120/cisco/?u=.... The code after ?u= is your device's identity; copy the address exactly as shown.
• RADIUS server and Shared Secret: server 104.247.174.120, Auth 1812, Acct 1813, and the shared key specific to your device.
• Pre-Auth ACL: the addresses the guest must reach before logging in.

3 - Define the RADIUS Server

In the WLC web interface go to Configuration > Security > AAA. On the Servers / Groups tab, with RADIUS selected on the left and Servers on top, click + Add.

• Name: Useroam
• Server Address: 104.247.174.120
• Key / Confirm Key: the Shared Secret from the panel (the same value in both fields).
• Auth Port: 1812, Acct Port: 1813
• Support for CoA: not required.

Save with Apply to Device.

4 - Create the RADIUS Server Group

On the same screen switch to the Server Groups tab and click + Add.

• Name: Useroam
• Group Type: RADIUS
• Dead-Time (mins): 5
• Move the Useroam server from Available Servers to Assigned Servers with the > arrow.

Save with Apply to Device.

5 - Authentication and Accounting Method Lists

Switch to the AAA Method List tab.

Under Authentication, click + Add:

• Method List Name: Useroam_Auth
• Type: login
• Group Type: group
• Assigned Server Groups: move the Useroam group. (The lab device in the screenshot has no other RADIUS server, so the generic radius group is selected; if your WLC has other servers, always select the Useroam group.)

Under Accounting, click + Add:

• Method List Name: Useroam_Aco
• Type: identity
• Group Type: group, Assigned Server Groups: Useroam

Accounting is required for Guests > Active Guests and the usage reports in the panel.

6 - Interim Accounting and AP Information (CLI)

The following two settings are made on the command line, not in the web interface. Enter them in configure terminal mode from Administration > Command Line Interface or over SSH:

aaa accounting update newinfo periodic 5
radius-server attribute wireless accounting call-station-id ap-macaddress-ssid

• First line: sends a usage update every 5 minutes for open sessions, so the active user count and data usage stay accurate.
• Second line: adds the MAC address of the AP and the SSID the guest is connected to (which AP they connected from) to accounting records.

Sessions opened before these settings keep the old format; the settings apply to newly connected guests.

7 - Pre-Authentication Allow List (Pre-Auth ACL)

Before logging in, the guest must only be able to get an IP address, resolve names and reach the Useroam login page. Go to Configuration > Security > ACL and click + Add.

• ACL Name: USEROAM-PREAUTH
• ACL Type: IPv4 Extended

Add the rules in order with Add:

Rules 80 to 110 let the guest log in with WhatsApp (the verification message is sent from WhatsApp before login completes). If WhatsApp login is disabled on your portal, you can leave these four rules out.

The same list on the command line:

ip access-list extended USEROAM-PREAUTH
 10 permit udp any any eq bootps
 20 permit udp any eq bootps any
 30 permit udp any any eq bootpc
 40 permit udp any any eq domain
 50 permit udp any eq domain any
 60 permit ip any host 104.247.174.120
 70 permit ip host 104.247.174.120 any
 80 permit ip any 157.240.0.0 0.0.255.255
 90 permit ip 157.240.0.0 0.0.255.255 any
 100 permit ip any 31.13.0.0 0.0.255.255
 110 permit ip 31.13.0.0 0.0.255.255 any

8 - Web Auth Global Setting

In Configuration > Security > Web Auth, click the global row.

• Virtual IPv4 Address: 192.0.2.1 (the virtual address the WLC uses for the login page; it must not be assigned to a real device on your network).
• Enable HTTP server for Web Auth: checked.
• Disable HTTP secure server for Web Auth: checked.
• Web Auth intercept HTTPs: unchecked.

If this step is skipped, login will not work. With secure (https) web auth enabled, the guest's browser does not accept the WLC's self-signed certificate and never sends the login to the WLC; the guest stays on the "logging in" screen and no RADIUS request reaches Useroam.

Save with Update & Apply to Device.

The WLC web server must be on (ip http server on the command line); otherwise guests are not redirected to the login page.

9 - Useroam Login Page Parameter Map

On the same Web Auth screen click + Add.

• Parameter-map Name: useroam-portal
• Type: webauth
• The other fields can stay at their defaults (Maximum HTTP connections 100, Init-State Timeout 120).

After saving, click the useroam-portal row and open the Advanced tab:

• Redirect URL for login: the full Web Auth (External) URL from the panel (http://104.247.174.120/cisco/?u=...).
• Redirect On-Success / On-Failure: leave empty (Useroam handles the page after login).
• Redirect Append for AP MAC Address: ap_mac
• Redirect Append for Client MAC Address: client_mac
• Redirect Append for WLAN SSID: wlan
• Portal IPV4 Address: 104.247.174.120

The Preview of the Redirect URL box at the top shows where the WLC will send the guest. Check that it starts with http://104.247.174.120/cisco/?u=. The WLC appends its own parameters with a second ?; this is expected and Useroam reads it correctly.

10 - Guest WLAN (SSID)

Go to Configuration > Tags & Profiles > WLANs and click + Add.

General tab:

• Profile Name and SSID: the network name guests will see (e.g. Hotel-Guest).
• Status: ENABLED, Broadcast SSID: ENABLED.

Security > Layer2 tab: security type None (open network; login happens on the Useroam page). MAC Filtering unchecked.

Security > Layer3 tab:

• Web Policy: checked.
• Web Auth Parameter Map: useroam-portal
• Authentication List: Useroam_Auth
• Click Show Advanced Settings >>> and select USEROAM-PREAUTH in Preauthentication ACL IPv4.

Save with Apply to Device.

11 - Policy Profile

Go to Configuration > Tags & Profiles > Policy and click + Add (you can also use an existing profile).

General tab:

• Name: e.g. useroam-policy, Status: ENABLED.
• WLAN Switching Policy: if your APs are at a remote site in FlexConnect mode (like the lab in the screenshot), Central Switching and Central DHCP are off and Central Authentication is on. If the APs are in Local mode at the same site as the WLC, Central Switching stays on.
• The guest VLAN is selected on the Access Policies tab.

Advanced tab:

• Session Timeout (sec): the maximum guest session length (e.g. 86400 = 24 hours).
• Idle Timeout (sec): how long an idle guest stays connected (e.g. 3600).
• AAA Policy > Accounting List: Useroam_Aco
• Interim Accounting: ENABLED

Save with Apply to Device.

12 - Policy Tag and AP Assignment

In Configuration > Tags & Profiles > Tags, on the Policy tab, add a new tag or open the tag your APs use. Under WLAN-POLICY Maps, click + Add and map your guest WLAN (step 10) to your policy profile (step 11).

This tag must be assigned to the APs that will broadcast the guest network: in Configuration > Wireless > Access Points, click the AP and select the tag in General > Tags > Policy. Check the Policy Tag column in the list to confirm each AP has the right tag.

Make the settings permanent: when all steps are done, click the save (disk) icon in the top menu or run write memory on the command line. Otherwise the settings are lost when the WLC restarts.

13 - Test and Troubleshooting

1. Connect a phone to the guest SSID. The Useroam login page should open by itself. If it does not, open http://neverssl.com in the browser.
2. Log in with SMS, WhatsApp or another method enabled on your portal.
3. Check that the guest appears in Guests > Active Guests in the panel; on the WLC, the guest's state in Monitoring > Wireless > Clients should be Run.