Jetter2
05-28-2005, 06:21 PM
Hi all!
I am looking to setup my first hotpot here in a local cafe. I have been a WISP technician for the past 18 months, and I am VERY good with wireless networks, including Wi-Fi.
The physical network design and implementation portion of the hotspot is all ready to go and configured.
BUT here is where I run into trouble.
I want to offer a monthly subscription service to my multiple hotspots. You pay x amount of dollars, and are able to login to any of the hotspots on my network.
Now here is where I am scratching my head.
I am going to be setting up my routers with remote login (for my use..I have a verizion internet card and laptop for management) but I want to enable MAC authentication for my means of security purposes. If I gave out a WEP, kids would share it with others etc and a WEP can be cracked a lot easier than a MAC.
Question 1) After the customer purchases the monthly subscription from the counter or wherever, is there any way that I can get the router to say "hey, this guy is a paying customer; let me put his MAC into the logs of allowed customers".
That is my main goal, to be able to allow someone to walk-in with a laptop with their own wireless card, pay their subscription, and hop in the internet.
Now the other option I have obviously is to wholesale purchase wireless USB/PCMCIA adapters, and put the MAC of the wireless devices into the router so that only those devices being purchased, already have their MAC's in the router. That allows the customer to perform a simple setup on their computer, and BAM, they are on.
Billing is another issue, is there any software out there that allows me to remote into multiple hotspots, and disable somebody's NIC for delinquent payment?
I am looking to make the purchase and login from the customer as simple as possible.
Another alternative is that there is sofware the customer runs, that will send out the users MAC to the router, allowing them to purchase a Wi-Fi adapter or use their own. Or is there a sofware package that the user uses that requires a Login Name and Password to verify through a system weather they are a deliquant payment account or not.
It's funny...the HARDware part isnt hard, the billing and user-end of it is really killing me though!
I am looking to setup my first hotpot here in a local cafe. I have been a WISP technician for the past 18 months, and I am VERY good with wireless networks, including Wi-Fi.
The physical network design and implementation portion of the hotspot is all ready to go and configured.
BUT here is where I run into trouble.
I want to offer a monthly subscription service to my multiple hotspots. You pay x amount of dollars, and are able to login to any of the hotspots on my network.
Now here is where I am scratching my head.
I am going to be setting up my routers with remote login (for my use..I have a verizion internet card and laptop for management) but I want to enable MAC authentication for my means of security purposes. If I gave out a WEP, kids would share it with others etc and a WEP can be cracked a lot easier than a MAC.
Question 1) After the customer purchases the monthly subscription from the counter or wherever, is there any way that I can get the router to say "hey, this guy is a paying customer; let me put his MAC into the logs of allowed customers".
That is my main goal, to be able to allow someone to walk-in with a laptop with their own wireless card, pay their subscription, and hop in the internet.
Now the other option I have obviously is to wholesale purchase wireless USB/PCMCIA adapters, and put the MAC of the wireless devices into the router so that only those devices being purchased, already have their MAC's in the router. That allows the customer to perform a simple setup on their computer, and BAM, they are on.
Billing is another issue, is there any software out there that allows me to remote into multiple hotspots, and disable somebody's NIC for delinquent payment?
I am looking to make the purchase and login from the customer as simple as possible.
Another alternative is that there is sofware the customer runs, that will send out the users MAC to the router, allowing them to purchase a Wi-Fi adapter or use their own. Or is there a sofware package that the user uses that requires a Login Name and Password to verify through a system weather they are a deliquant payment account or not.
It's funny...the HARDware part isnt hard, the billing and user-end of it is really killing me though!