Manage Guest Accounts

Sponsor Portal Manage Accounts Page

On the Manage Accounts page you can manage the guest accounts you created and any other accounts that you have the authority to manage.

  • Edit and delete guest accounts

  • Extend guest account duration

  • Suspend guest accounts

  • Reinstate expired guest accounts

  • Resend and reset passwords for guests

Edit Guest Accounts

You can edit any guest account, regardless of the state it is in.

Procedure

Step 1

On the Manage Accounts page, select the guest account that you want to edit.

Step 2

Click Edit.

Step 3

Edit any of the fields that display.

For instance, you may want to change the defaults for Language and Location that you retained when you first created the guest accounts. You may want to add information such as names, email addresses, and phone numbers that was not available when you first created random guest accounts. If you change (reduce or extend) the time duration for an account, the time left is changed based on the specific location assigned to it, and not the sponsor's local time.
Step 4

Click Save.

Step 5

View the changes you made to their account information.

Resend Guest Passwords

Guests may sometimes be unable to log into the network because they have lost or forgotten their passwords. You can help these guests regain access to the network by resending their original passwords.

Before you begin

  • You cannot resend passwords to guests who have changed them. If these guests have lost or forgotten their new passwords, you must reset them and notify the guests.

  • You can resend passwords for accounts that are either Created or Active.

  • You cannot resend passwords for accounts that are either Pending Approval, Suspended, Expired, or Denied.

Procedure

Step 1

On the Manage Accounts page, select the guest accounts whose passwords you want to resend.

Step 2

Click Resend to send the guests their account details again.

Step 3

In the Resend pop-up window, select the various notification options (for both guests and sponsors) and click OK.

When sending notification to guests, there are options for sending account information to yourself, as well.

  • Send me a summary—Lists the guest name and password. The password will not show if it is blocked by your administrator.

  • Copy me—Sends you an email that is the same as the one sent to the guest. The password will not show if it is blocked by your administrator.

Extend Guest Account Durations

You can extend the account durations for guests before or after their accounts expire, so that they can access the network for longer than originally permitted. You can also extend the account durations when editing guest accounts.

If guest accounts have expired, they are no longer able to connect to the network. An automated process runs periodically (based on criteria set by your system administrator) that removes (purges) all expired accounts from the system. If that happens before you can extend the account duration for an expired account, you will need to create new accounts for these guests.

Before you begin

  • You can extend accounts that are either Created, Active, or Expired.

  • You cannot extend accounts that are either Suspended or Denied. You can reinstate them.

Procedure

Step 1

On the Manage Accounts page, select the guest account that you want to extend.

Step 2

Click Extend.

Step 3

Enter the extension information and click OK.

The Expiration Date and Time Left are automatically updated with the new time duration. The time left is related to the specific location assigned to the guest account, and not the sponsor's local time.
Step 4

Verify that the Expired accounts' duration times have been extended and their states are reset as follows:

  • For accounts awaiting approval, to Pending Approval.

  • For accounts that are configured to bypass the credentialed Guest portal, to Active.

  • For accounts that are not configured to bypass the credentialed Guest portal, to Created.

Suspended and Expired Guest Accounts

When guest accounts are suspended manually by you or expire, the affected guests are disconnected from the network and can no longer access it.

Regardless of their state, active, pending and so on, guest accounts expire when they reach the end of their account duration, which you defined when you created the accounts.

Suspended and expired accounts are automatically purged based on a schedule defined by your system administrator, but the default is every 15 days. After an account is purged, you must create a new account for that guest. However, you can reinstate suspended accounts and extend expired accounts before they are purged.

Suspend Guest Accounts

You can suspend the accounts of guests, which disconnects them from the network and prevents them from accessing it. However, their accounts are retained in the Cisco ISE database.

Before you begin

  • You can suspend accounts that are either Created or Active.

  • You cannot suspend accounts that are either Pending Approval, Expired, or Denied.

Procedure

Step 1

On the Manage Accounts page, select the guest accounts that you want to suspend.

Step 2

Click Suspend. If configured by your system administrator, you may be asked to provide a reason for the suspension.

Step 3

Click OK to confirm.

Step 4

Verify that the accounts are now listed as Suspended.

Delete Guest Accounts

You can delete any guest account, regardless of the state it is in.

Procedure

Step 1

On the Manage Accounts page, select the guest accounts that you want to delete.

Step 2

Click Delete.

Step 3

Click OK to confirm.

Step 4

Ensure that the accounts no longer appear in the account list.

Reset Guest Passwords

Guests may sometimes be unable to log into the network because they have lost or forgotten their passwords. You can help these guests regain access to the network by resetting their passwords.

Before you begin

  • You can reset passwords regardless of whether guests have changed their passwords or not.

  • You can reset passwords for accounts that are either Created or Active.

  • You cannot reset passwords for accounts that are either Pending Approval, Suspended, Expired, or Denied.

Procedure

Step 1

On the Manage Accounts page, select the guest accounts whose passwords you want to reset.

Step 2

Click Reset Password to generate random system passwords.

You are asked to confirm the reset and select how you want to notify the guests of their new account details, either by email, text, or print.
Step 3

In the Reset Password pop-up window, select the various notification options (for both guests and sponsors) and click OK.

When sending notification to guests, there are options for sending account information to yourself, as well.

  • Send me a summary—Lists the guest name and password. The password will not show if it is blocked by your administrator.

  • Copy me—Sends you an email that is the same as the one sent to the guest. The password will not show if it is blocked by your administrator.

Reinstate Guest Accounts

You can reinstate guest accounts that you suspended previously or denied approval.

Before you begin

  • You can reinstate accounts that are either Suspended or Denied.

  • You cannot reinstate accounts that are either Created, Active, Pending Approval, or Expired.

Procedure

Step 1

On the Manage Accounts page, select the guest accounts that you want to reinstate.

Step 2

Click Reinstate.

Step 3

Click OK to confirm.

Step 4

Verify that the accounts are reinstated and their states are reset as follows:

  • For Suspended accounts—To either Created or Active. Accounts change to Expired, if they expired while suspended.

  • For Denied accounts—To either Created or Active. Accounts change to Expired, if they expired while denied.

Manage Accounts Page Details

The Manage Accounts page allows you to manage the guest accounts you have created and other accounts based on your privileges set by your system administrator.

Use these settings to manage guest accounts.

Table 1. Manage Accounts Page Details
Action Usage Guidelines Eligible Account States

Edit

Make changes to a selected account.

All, except Suspended, Denied.

Resend

Email, text, or print account details for the selected guests.

Active, Created

Extend

Adjust the access time period or reactivate the selected expired guest accounts.

Active, Created, Expired

Suspend

Disable the selected guest accounts without deleting them from the system.

You may be prompted to provide reasons for suspending an account.

Active, Created

Delete

Remove the selected guest accounts from the Cisco ISE database.

All

Reset Password

Reset the selected guest passwords to random passwords and notify the guests of the account details.

Active, Created

Reinstate

Enable the selected suspended guest accounts and approve previously denied accounts.

Suspended, Denied

Refresh

View any changes to the displayed accounts.

Not applicable

Manage Account States

The account state displays details about guest accounts.

When you delete an account, it no longer displays on this page and it is removed from the Cisco ISE database.

Table 2. Manage Account States
Current State Description New State

Active

Guests with these accounts have successfully signed in through a credentialed Guest portal, or bypassed the credentialed Guest captive portal.

In the latter case, the accounts belong to guest types that are configured to bypass the credentialed Guest captive portal. These guests can access the network by providing their login credentials to the native supplicant on their device.

Account states change based on the action taken on them.

Created

The accounts have been created, but the guests have not yet logged in to a credentialed Guest portal.

In this case, the accounts are assigned to guest types that are not configured to bypass the credentialed Guest captive portal. Guests must first sign in through the credentialed Guest captive portal before they are able to access other parts of the network.

Account states change based on the action taken on them.

Denied

Accounts that expired while in a denied state remain as Denied.

The accounts are denied access to the network.

If you reinstate denied accounts, their states change to:

  • Active or Created based on the assigned guest type configuration.

  • Expired, if they expired while denied, and are purged in the next purge cycle.

All denied accounts that are not reinstated are purged in the next purge cycle. Denied accounts that expired cannot be extended (reactivated); you must create new accounts.

Expired

The time period for the account has ended.

If you extend unexpired accounts, their states remain unchanged.

If you extend (reactivate) expired accounts, their states change to:

  • Active, if the guests are configured to bypass the credentialed Guest captive portal.

  • Previous states, if the guests are not configured for bypass.

Pending Approval

The accounts are awaiting approval to access the network.

If approved, based on the guest type configuration, the account can be Active or Created. If denied, it appears on the Manage Accounts page as Denied.

Suspended

Accounts that expired while suspended remain as Suspended.

The accounts are suspended by you, or another sponsor who has the privilege to do so.

If you reinstate suspended accounts, their states change to:

  • Previous states, if the accounts have not expired in the meantime.

  • Expired, if they expired while suspended, and are purged in the next purge cycle. However, you can extend these accounts before the next purge cycle.