Cloud Portal & Cloud Audit: Plug-in Integration with Operator ONTs to Add Real-Name Authentication & Logging

Let us start with a core engineering fact: operator optical network terminals (ONTs) have no built-in authentication or logging modules. Operators deploy OLTs and ONTs at customer venues solely for broadband access and bandwidth bearer. Their firmware does not include real-name authentication or internet access log retention capabilities.

Providing broadband service does not equal delivering regulatory compliance — these are two entirely separate functions at the hardware level. This explains why many venue owners receive fines even when they purchase broadband from carriers: the network is built and maintained by the operator, yet penalties are imposed on the venue.

Since the entry into force of Ministry of Public Security Order No.176, liability boundaries have been reshaped. Regulatory inspections now extend upstream from the venue to the network provider. Operators supplying access infrastructure bear corresponding compliance responsibilities (subject to rulings by local public security authorities). For carriers, this brings both operational risks and tangible new business opportunities: the missing compliance capabilities can be enabled right alongside broadband provisioning.

AINOPOL’s Two Plug-ins for Operators: Cloud Portal + Cloud Audit

For operator-managed networking projects, AINOPOL delivers Cloud Portal and Cloud Audit as lightweight plug-ins that connect to existing ONTs without hardware replacement.

Cloud Portal: Real-Name Authentication

• Pushes Portal login pages and supports multi-channel authentication: SMS verification, ID document scanning, one-click WeChat login, plus passport and Mainland Travel Permit verification for foreign visitors.
• Handles RADIUS AAA interaction and data submission to public security regulatory interfaces.
• Generates a unique Session ID upon successful authentication, which acts as the anchor for all subsequent traceability.

Cloud Audit: Log Retention & Traffic Auditing

• Collects internet access logs at the network egress. All traffic records are bound to the authenticated user via the same Session ID in the cloud.
• Logs are retained via rolling storage for a minimum of 180 days. Log fields include mobile number/ID number, terminal MAC address, IP address, login timestamp, visited URL, and uplink & downlink traffic volume.
• No local log servers are required on-site, and operators do not need to build independent audit systems for every venue. Administrators can search by mobile number or time frame to pull the user’s complete online activity history directly, with no cross-system data splicing.

Together, the two plug-ins create a closed traceability chain: authentication → online behavior → user identity right at the operator’s access layer.
The definitive compliance test: input a mobile phone number and retrieve the user’s full online record. If the query fails, the traceability chain is broken, and no extra hardware can fix it.

Three Core Engineering Benefits of the Plug-in Model

1. Compliance enabled upon service activation
   Plug-in instances are provisioned together with broadband activation. Field technicians complete broadband deployment, real-name authentication and audit setup in one single site visit, eliminating secondary construction work.
2. Shortened and unified log chain
   Log collection happens directly at the network egress and is natively bound to authentication sessions. The most common cause of broken traceability — logs scattered across APs, switches and ONTs — is eliminated by consolidating collection to one single point.
3. Mass remote O&M with low marginal cost
   All plug-in instances are centrally managed in the cloud. Firmware upgrades, policy distribution and fault recovery are performed remotely, greatly cutting marginal costs for operator turnkey network projects.

Selection & Acceptance Checklist

For operator turnkey networking projects, three criteria outweigh pure feature lists:

1. Are authentication and logging consolidated within one unified platform?
2. Is 180-day log retention pre-configured out of the box?
3. Does cloud session binding support bulk remote deployment?

These three items determine the marginal cost of rollout; feature richness only sets the upper limit.
Important reminder: Order No.176 prohibits mandatory product designation. Project evaluation should focus on device compatibility and end-to-end log integrity, not brand reputation.

FAQ

Q1: Why can’t operator ONTs run real-name authentication and log retention natively?
A1: OLTs and ONTs are designed solely for optical access and bandwidth forwarding, with no authentication or logging modules embedded in their firmware. AINOPOL Cloud Portal and Cloud Audit overlay these missing compliance functions via plug-in integration without replacing existing ONT hardware.

Q2: Do Cloud Portal and Cloud Audit require replacing deployed optical modems?
A2: No hardware replacement is needed. The two modules connect to existing ONTs via plug-in integration. Operators only need to enable plug-in instances during service activation; venues do not need to deploy additional on-premise systems.

Q3: How to configure the log retention period for Cloud Audit?
A3: Cloud Audit implements rolling storage with a minimum retention period of 180 days. All logs are tied to user identities via Session ID in the cloud, so no local log servers are needed. Reports can be filtered by account, venue and time period for quick submission during official inspections.