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eduroam Visitor Access (eVA)

eduroam Visitor Access (eVA) enables research and higher-ed institutions to easily provide secure, temporary Wi-Fi access to visitors that are not from an institution that participates in eduroam. As an eVA host, you have full control over the length of time visitors can access your eduroam network. You can also delegate the ability to create visitor accounts to others within your organization, taking the admin load off your IT team and making it easier for office managers, event hosts, and other trusted staff to manage access for their visitors.

eVA is available to all higher education and research institutions that participate in the Canadian Access Federation (CAF) and have deployed both eduroam and Federated Identity Management (FIM).

For students, faculty members, or staff:

eVA simplifies visitors’ user experience.

If you’re a staff or faculty member at a research or higher education institution, you can:

  • Use the eVA management portal to easily grant Wi-Fi access to your visitors, using the globally recognized eduroam service.
  • View statistics and detailed account information for the eVA visitor accounts you’ve created.
  • Rest easy, knowing that the accounts you’ve created will expire automatically – but you can also cancel them at any time.

eVA securely connects visitors to the globally recognized eduroam network.

If you’re visiting an eVA site, you can:

  • Simply send a self-service SMS code to request eduroam access through your mobile phone, without having to ask for support from your campus host or the IT department.
  • Rest easy, knowing that unlike public or open Wi-Fi networks, you’ll be connected via the secure, globally recognized eduroam network, developed with industry standards and security best practices. To maximize the security of your connection, install the eduroam Configuration Assistant Tool (CAT) on your device.

For IT teams at higher ed and research institutions:

eVA simplifies campus IT operations.

eVA works with your existing eduroam infrastructure. Using an easy-to-use management portal, IT administrators and delegates can grant secure eduroam access to visitors in four different ways:

Creating Individual Accounts

Grant access to an individual, e.g. to a visiting speaker.

Uploading Batch Accounts

Grant access to a group of visitors by uploading a csv file with the required account information for each person, e.g. a delegation visiting campus or a team of temporary staff.

Creating Group Accounts

Grant access to a group of unknown users who don’t have text messaging capabilities on their devices, or can’t set up their own account, e.g. conference attendees or library visitors who may not have brought mobile phones. A campus host can simply hand these individuals a small card with a login ID and password that they can use to connect their laptops or tablets.

Setting up SMS Codes for an Event

Grant access to individuals or groups who text a specified code to the eVA service. These codes can be generated daily for transient visitors, e.g. at the library or campus offices, or customized to grant access to attendees of an event hosted on campus, active for the duration of the event.

eVA lets IT administrators:

Delegate permissions to trusted campus staff to create eVA accounts for their own visitors

Maintain full control over eVA accounts; regardless of how the access was granted, you can terminate it at anytime

Limit the number of accounts granted at a time, and easily automate account terminations using pre-set time limits

Reduce the number of credentials granted to transient/unknown users

View eVA statistics and detailed user account information

Using eVA

Deploying eVA at Your Organization

To deploy eVA, your organization needs to be a participant in the Canadian Access Federation (CAF) and have both Federated Identity Management (FIM) and eduroam implemented.

  • If you are not currently participating in CAF, you can apply to join here: canarie.ca/identity/join
  • If you participate in CAF but have not yet deployed FIM, please contact canops@canarie.ca for next steps.
  • If you participate in CAF and need technical support with your implementation of FIM, eduroam, or eVA, please contact tickets@canarie.ca.

Granting Access to Visitors

Setting up visitor accounts is a simple 3-step process. For each access type, accounts expire automatically and can be terminated at anytime.

Individual Accounts

Individual Accounts

  1. On the eVA management portal, a staff member with appropriate privileges creates an eVA account for their visitor, providing the visitor’s basic contact information.
  2. The visitor receives a text message or email with eduroam credentials.
  3. Visitors use these credentials to connect to eduroam.

Batch Accounts

Batch Accounts

  1. Using the eVA management portal, a trusted staff member with appropriate privileges uploads a spreadsheet containing their visitors’ basic contact information.
  2. Each of their visitors receive a text message or email with their eduroam credentials.
  3. Visitors use these credentials to connect to eduroam.

Group Accounts

Group Accounts

  1. Using the eVA management portal, a trusted staff member with appropriate privileges requests access for an unknown set of visitors (e.g. conference attendees or transient visitors without a mobile phone).
  2. The individual who created the accounts receives an email with a list of unique credentials for each visitor. Each set of credentials can be printed on small cards and distributed to individuals as needed.
  3. Visitors use these credentials to connect to eduroam.

SMS Codes for Events

SMS Codes for Events

  1. Visitors text a displayed code to the eVA phone number.
  2. Visitors receive eduroam credentials via text or email.
  3. Visitors use these credentials to connect to eduroam.

Granting Access to Visitors

Fees

The eVA service is included in your CAF bundle of services – there is no additional fee to implement it.

Learn more about CAF services and pricing

eVA Quick Links:

Secure eduroam on Your Devices: eVA Configuration Assistant Tool (CAT)
eduroam Visitor Access (eVA) User Guides
eduroam Visitor Access (eVA) FAQs
Tech Support: eduroam Visitor Access (eVA)
Tech Support: eduroam
Join the Canadian Access Federation

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