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Integrating Captive Portal Technology into Computer Science Education: A Modular, Hands-On Approach to Infrastructure

Lianting Wang, Marcelo Ponce

TL;DR

This paper addresses how to teach Captive Portal technology in CS classrooms through a modular, hands-on curriculum built on open-source SDN tooling. It leverages Mininet with a POX controller to simulate portal flows, DNS spoofing, and HTTP redirects across a small network topology. Core contributions include design principles (modularity, TDD, stable environments), a five-module curriculum, and code provisioning tools (flowchart, website, automated setup) to improve reproducibility and scalability. The work supports practical understanding of network protocols ($MAC$, $ARP$, $DNS$, $NAT$, $HTTP$, $HTTPS$) and security considerations, with open-source openness enabling community-driven growth, while acknowledging platform challenges (e.g., Apple Silicon) and the need for more realistic simulators.

Abstract

In this paper, we present an educational project aimed to introduce students to the technology behind Captive Portals infrastructures. For doing this, we developed a series of modules to emphasize each of the different aspects and features of this technology. The project is based on an open source implementation which is widely used in many computer network courses, making it well-suited and very appealing for instructors and practitioners in this field.

Integrating Captive Portal Technology into Computer Science Education: A Modular, Hands-On Approach to Infrastructure

TL;DR

This paper addresses how to teach Captive Portal technology in CS classrooms through a modular, hands-on curriculum built on open-source SDN tooling. It leverages Mininet with a POX controller to simulate portal flows, DNS spoofing, and HTTP redirects across a small network topology. Core contributions include design principles (modularity, TDD, stable environments), a five-module curriculum, and code provisioning tools (flowchart, website, automated setup) to improve reproducibility and scalability. The work supports practical understanding of network protocols (, , , , , ) and security considerations, with open-source openness enabling community-driven growth, while acknowledging platform challenges (e.g., Apple Silicon) and the need for more realistic simulators.

Abstract

In this paper, we present an educational project aimed to introduce students to the technology behind Captive Portals infrastructures. For doing this, we developed a series of modules to emphasize each of the different aspects and features of this technology. The project is based on an open source implementation which is widely used in many computer network courses, making it well-suited and very appealing for instructors and practitioners in this field.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 18 sections, 6 figures, 5 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Design Principles
  3. Introduction to Design Principles
  4. Extensive Coding Instructions
  5. Modular Design
  6. Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving
  7. Stable Development Environment
  8. Test-Driven Development
  9. Implementation
  10. Modules
  11. Code Provisioning Tools
  12. Flowchart Design
  13. Website Interface
  14. Key Features
  15. Discussion
  16. ...and 3 more sections

Figures (6)

  • Figure 1: Basic structure for a typical Captive Portal configuration.
  • Figure 2: Sequence Diagram of Captive Portal with DNS Spoofing Technology
  • Figure 3: Framework of Captive Portal project.
  • Figure 4: Simplified view of the main components of the Captive Portal setup as described in Fig. \ref{['fig:CP_framework']}: POX controler, mininet SDN emulator, and TCP server.
  • Figure 5: Captive Portal education modules recomendation system -- flowchart used to determine what modules are recommended to use based on the desired educational targets and goals. Also available as an interactive tool in the web-interface from the Captive Portal educational repository.
  • ...and 1 more figures