Layer 7 Device/OS Fingerprinting, released with vWLAN version 2.6, is a feature used to provide statistics and vWLAN role placement based on Device OS and corporate ownership. This feature relies on examining the data included in option #55 presented by a specific device in it's DHCP Discover sent to the BSAPs when a device attempts to connect to a network with a captive portal configured. In some cases, certain devices present vague or misleading information, and in rarer cases, no information at all. This document serves to provide specifics on devices that fit this criteria as to alert customer's of the expectation of that specific device's behavior in conjunction with Layer 7 Device/OS Fingerprinting. For more information on this feature, please see .
Windows Devices
Android Devices
Apple Devices
Other Devices and Devices that report no information
Unknown Manufacturer Information
Dashboard Statistics
Useful Links
Windows Devices
While Windows XP and Windows 8 and 8.1 will report specific version and build information, it was observed that other versions of Windows will generally report "Windows Vista/7 or Server 2008 (6.0)".
Windows Server 2003, now End of Life and unsupported, was not tested.
Android Devices
Android Devices cover an extremely wide array of manufactures and therefore have extremely inconsistent results. In some cases, Android devices report their specific device hardware as well as the build and version information in DHCP option #55. However, in many cases the defacto standard has been to report "Generic Android" in DHCP #55 resulting in those devices being categorized as the same. This is the reasoning behind using "Android" as a specific device type.
The following devices are known to report "Generic Android" as their device type and OS:
- Barnes and Noble Nook Devices
- Motorola Xoom
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 3
- Samsung Galaxy S3 and S4
- Sony Xperia
- HTC One X
- Kindle Fire Tablet
Apple Devices
While MAC OS devices generally give more information regarding build and version number, as well as the OS title, IOS devices almost unanimously report generic information in the form of "Generic Ipad/Ipod/Iphone". Due to this, at this time it is not possible to tell the difference between different types of IOS handheld devices.
2.6.0-24 Bugs
MAC-OS X Yosemite is fingerprinted as Lion. (Fixed in 2.6.1-06)
Other Devices and Devices that report no information
Devices that report an operating system and device type that is not recognized by vWLAN will show as "Other". Devices that report no information will also report in this manner. A list of devices will be maintained below that report as "Other" in this manner:
Devices:
- none currently known
Unknown Manufacturer Information
vWLAN now possesses a database of MAC Address OUI owners (the first 6 digits of a MAC address are assigned to specific companies) cross-referenced with the official IEEE database. While this will identify the majority of devices by manufacturer, the database is static and will only be upgraded with new versions of vWLAN. Keeping vWLAN up to date will ensure the system has the most recent information.
In certain cases, it is possible that the MAC address of the device will reference an OUI pertaining to a specific chip-set manufacturer (or NIC), but not the device hardware itself. This is most common in custom built PCs and devices. It is important to remember that all manufacturer information is shown based on the reported MAC address only.
Known Version 2.6.0-24 MAC additions not included:
Apple (10:41:7F)
Dashboard Statistics
While Layer 7 device/OS fingerprinting introduces many new graphs, it is important to remember that these graphs are a complete representation of the information provided by the devices themselves in their entirety. Some graphs, depending on the devices present, may provide a large amount of non-granular information (such as "other) in certain circumstances.
Useful Links
- For more information on the Layer 7 Device/OS Fingerprinting feature, please see
- For information on Selective Deauthentication Behavior, added as a part of the Layer 7 Device/OS Fingerprinting feature, please see
- For general vWLAN information, please see the
