Connect. Secure. Manage.
Cisco Wireless Guest Anchoring
Assess and deploy supported Cisco guest anchoring, defining traffic paths, external connectivity and resilience without exposing internal business networks.
Devices supported
across the UK
Client locations
supported
Traffic handled
at peak time
Average
response time
Average response is not a resolution time or a contractual guarantee. Support scope and response commitments are agreed for each engagement.
Cisco wireless guest anchoring sends guest traffic through a defined controller and network exit. We plan the links, addresses, sign-in and internet path with clear owners. This can provide a consistent guest boundary across sites. Firewall rules and other guest-service controls are still needed; anchoring does not replace them.
Coverage and capacity
Design Wi-Fi around the spaces, devices and traffic that depend on it.
Secure access
Align authentication, segmentation and guest access with the wider network.
Measured performance
Validate roaming, interference and user experience instead of relying on signal bars.
Decide why a separate guest exit is needed
We start with the customer’s guest-access needs. Visitors may need internet access without access to internal systems, while contractors may require a separately authorised route to particular services. Those are different use cases. We document the intended traffic boundary and avoid placing every non-employee device into one policy simply because it is described as a guest.
A central guest exit can simplify some controls. But it also introduces dependencies on the route to that exit. We compare the proposed arrangement with local breakout and other supported alternatives. The decision should consider app demand, site network access, service ownership and failure behaviour. A design that is convenient for a headquarters may need different treatment for remote branches with limited or unreliable circuits.
Standards & partnerships
Confidence in the team behind your network.
Cisco Partner
Cisco Meraki
Cyber Essentials
Cyber Essentials PlusMCI Network Services is operated by Proxar Ltd. Certifications apply to the certified legal entity and the scope of its certificates. View accreditation information
Define foreign and anchor responsibilities
In a supported mobility-anchor arrangement, the controller serving the access points and the anchor handling guest termination have distinct roles. We identify where the wireless connection is established, where guest traffic is delivered and which interfaces lead to the guest gateway. The topology record makes those boundaries visible to the wireless and security teams.
Controller models, software and feature combinations must support the intended arrangement. We review compatibility before proposing coexistence with older platforms or a new controller. A working mobility relationship does not prove that every guest authentication feature is supported in the chosen combination. The rollout scope includes the required service behaviour, not just the successful establishment of a tunnel between two devices.
A useful starting point
Not sure where to start?
Bring the requirement. We will help you define the engineering work.
Build the guest network beyond the controller
The guest service still needs addressing, DNS, routing and controlled internet access. We map DHCP responsibility, the guest VLAN or subnet, firewall enforcement and any address translation. Return traffic must follow the intended path. A tunnel that terminates correctly can still leave visitors unable to browse because a gateway or DNS dependency was omitted from the design.
We also test separation from internal networks and management interfaces. Guest anchoring should not be treated as proof that every unwanted destination is blocked. The enforcement points and permitted exceptions are documented clearly. Where a customer requires access to a printer, meeting-room system or contractor portal, we assess that need separately rather than broadly opening the guest network to the corporate estate.
Different environments. The same care.
Built around the work
your network supports.
Finance, banking and the wider private sector. We start with the systems and people that depend on your connections.
Finance & banking
Market-data paths, routing and provider coordination on clients’ behalf.
Financial-market services ↗Offices & multi-site teams
Reliable access between people, workplaces and business applications.
Office network design ↗Data centres & cloud
Network boundaries, workload connections and operational ownership.
Data centre networks ↗Coordinate authentication and portal behaviour
A guest portal introduces dependencies beyond radio association. We review how visitors are identified, how sponsorship or approval works and which systems serve the authentication flow. Where Cisco ISE or another identity platform is involved, the wireless, identity and firewall setup must agree on the permitted pre-authentication and post-authentication paths.
The visitor experience is tested with representative browsers and device types. Captive-portal detection, certificate trust and redirects can behave differently from an ordinary web session. We do not weaken management access controls simply to make a portal reachable. Privacy information and any collection of guest details must match the customer’s actual process, with retention and admin responsibility agreed outside the technical assumption that a splash page is enough.
Test failure and restoration deliberately
Resilience testing considers the anchor, the serving controller and the network access between them. We set out what happens if a guest exit becomes unavailable and whether the supported design provides an alternative. The recovery expectations should cover current sessions and new visitors, since those can behave differently during a failure or a change of termination point.
Tests include app access, address assignment and isolation, not only controller status. We observe restoration and failure and check that monitoring identifies loss of redundancy before the whole service stops. Production testing requires an agreed maintenance window where appropriate. Any scenario that cannot be exercised safely is recorded as a limitation rather than presented as shown continuity.
Make the service supportable
The handover contains the mobility relationships, guest forwarding path, identity dependencies and escalation contacts. Engineers should be able to identify whether a fault is association, authentication, tunnel, addressing or internet related. Clear ownership avoids an incident circulating between teams whose individual components all appear healthy when viewed separately.
MCI can include guest anchoring in a Cisco controller wireless project or review a current service with recurring visitor problems. For the wider access model, our guest wireless service covers the customer journey and security boundary. Share the sites, controller platforms and intended guest experience so we can define a supported architecture and an acceptance plan tied to the service visitors actually need.
Technical references
- Mobility anchor on Catalyst 9800 — Cisco / Cisco Meraki
- Catalyst 9800 configuration best practices — Cisco / Cisco Meraki
Talk to a specialist
What does your network need next?
Tell us what you are planning, changing or trying to improve. We will help define a practical next step and the engineering scope.
+44 203 196 6566Choose option 1
sales@proxar.co.ukUK-wide service.
Most of our engineers are based in Kent, with a focus on London, Sussex, Essex and Berkshire.
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