IPSK Overview

Individual Pre-Shared Key — Meraki Platform

Cisco Meraki
Documentation/Meraki Platform/IPSK Overview

What is IPSK?

Individual Pre-Shared Key (IPSK) is a Cisco Meraki wireless feature that allows each device or user connecting to a Wi-Fi network to have their own unique password, rather than a single shared password for everyone.

Traditional WPA2-Personal networks use one password shared by all users. If that password leaks or needs to be changed, every connected device is affected. IPSK eliminates this problem by issuing per-user or per-device credentials that can be created, tracked, and revoked independently.

QuuPass and IPSK: QuuPass automates the full lifecycle of IPSK credentials — generating unique passphrases for each guest, assigning appropriate network policies, and automatically expiring or revoking access when sessions end.

How IPSK Works

1

Guest requests access

A guest visits your captive portal or self-service page and signs in (via email, SMS, or a managed credential).

2

QuuPass issues a unique PSK

A unique passphrase is generated and registered against the guest's identity in Meraki. A group policy (e.g. bandwidth limits, firewall rules) can be attached at this step.

3

Guest connects with their credential

The guest enters the passphrase in their device Wi-Fi settings. Meraki authenticates them and applies the associated group policy automatically.

4

Credential expires or is revoked

When the session ends, or the credential's time limit is reached, QuuPass removes the IPSK identity from Meraki. The guest loses access without any other users being affected.

IPSK Modes in QuuPass

QuuPass supports two IPSK configurations depending on your Meraki licence and infrastructure:

A

Mode A — IPSK without RADIUS

Meraki stores and validates the PSK identities natively on the dashboard. No external RADIUS server is required.

  • Simpler setup
  • No RADIUS infrastructure needed
  • Identity PSK limit per SSID applies
  • Group policy assignment is limited
B

Mode B — IPSK with RADIUS

QuuPass acts as the RADIUS back-end. Meraki queries QuuPass to validate each passphrase at connection time, enabling richer policy control.

  • Per-credential group policy via RADIUS Filter-Id
  • Real-time accounting and session tracking
  • No per-SSID PSK identity limits
  • Requires QuuPass RADIUS endpoints to be reachable

Key Concepts

PSK (Pre-Shared Key)

The password a device uses to connect to the SSID. In IPSK, each identity has its own unique PSK rather than sharing one with all users.

Identity PSK

A named PSK record in Meraki that ties a passphrase to a name and optional group policy. QuuPass creates one of these for each active guest credential.

Group Policy

A Meraki network-level policy that controls bandwidth, firewall rules, content filtering, and VLAN assignment. One policy can be attached to each IPSK identity, letting you give different guests different levels of access.

SSID (Service Set Identifier)

The Wi-Fi network name visible to devices. Your guest IPSK network is configured on a dedicated SSID, separate from your corporate or internal network.

Meraki Requirements

  • MR (wireless) access points — IPSK is a Meraki MR feature; it is not available on third-party APs managed via Meraki.
  • Dashboard API enabled — API access must be turned on at the organisation level in Meraki Dashboard.
  • SSID set to IPSK auth mode — The target SSID must use ipsk-without-radius (Mode A) or ipsk-with-radius (Mode B).
  • At least one group policy defined — QuuPass requires at least one group policy to associate with issued credentials.