Captini SmartSwitch Deployment Options

Introduction

One of the common deployment questions we receive to the Captini Support team is:
Where in the network do I add the SmartSwitch?

This article explains the two ways a SmartSwitch can be deployed on a live network. The first option is the preferred and most simple deployment options. However every network is different and the preferred deployment option 1 is not always possible so deployment option 2 gives an alternative option.

Deployment Option 1: Direct-to-Gateway

The Captini SmartSwitch issues DHCP addresses to the Access Point so please ensure the Access Point is configured withe appropriate VLAN tag see the hardware vendor articles for more details.  The Captini SmartSwitch will provide IP's to the end users device.

Only traffic tagged with VLAN 2 will be routed to the SmartSwitch Captive Portal (Public WiFi service) and VLAN 3 tagged traffic will provide regular internet access (Staff access). Any other non tagged traffic will be issued a public 10.x.x.x IP address in order to access the Internet.

Deployment Option 2: In-Direct

In situations where the same access points that run EPOS and other services such as IP Cameras will be used for Guest WiFi access in most cases it will not be possible to use Option 1 above as the deployment method. As it will require significant changes to the network and other devices on the network.

We therefore recommend connecting the SmartSwitch to the existing LAN switch this will require changes to be applied to the SmartSwitch and Captini Support must be contacted in advance of the install so we can assist you making the necessary configuration changes.  support@captini.com