Hotspot Device recommendations?

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garvani

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#93470 22-Nov-2011 11:24

Currently we have a Zyxel 4100v2 at a backpackers, it allocates time to guests via a generated code, its working pretty well except for one flaw that has been abused lately. Theres no data allocation, the only throttling you can do is by allocating each client a set amount of bandwidth, even at 512k they are going through a phenomenal amount of data per month (and overage charges.. ouch!)

So far we have been trying to attack the problem at its core, blocking p2p but that hasn't worked out so well. We have tried a couple of software based firewalls (squid and endian) that just didn't do it. Also have have just pulled out a Netgear prosecure UTM that made a small dent in the traffic but not enough.

So the next thought is to get a better hotspot that can allocate say 1gb of data to a client per week or whatever they choose. Anyone know of such a device? I know Zenbu etc have these devices but the backpackers want to purchase the device outright instead of paying a slice of each transaction to another company. The zenbu is just a modified linksys as well which is a major putoff (we sold those models a few years ago and they nearly ALL came back with dead ethernet ports, and im talking 100+ routers)

robjg63

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#548365 22-Nov-2011 12:13

With zenbu you buy the router ($249) - they list it on their site - so others can find it through their site.

You can have a set of 'free' sites set up in your router - say access to your website and perhaps some others that you think you may want to allow free access to (or dont set any up at all). Free sites will just work without bugging people for login details. I think you can also set one of the free sites up as a default page too (check with zenbu).

So the user connects to zenbu and gets presented with the zenbu login page if they are goingoutside of the free pages.

At that stage they can either set themselves up with an account (ie give credit card details to zenbu) and get charged with what they use. The rates are 50c a mb. You get half that back - so a user that uses 100mb would give you $5.00 revenue.

The other thing you can do as a zenbu site owner is to print your own vouchers and sell these. You keep all of the revenue from the sale in that case. So you could run off some 100mb vouchers and sell them at the face value of $10 - or give them away as a promotional item - or sell them at $5 - whatever. Zenbu give you the facility to print various denomination vouchers.

You cant stop someone setting up an account with zenbu - but the charges mean you more than cover your costs.

I dont work for zenbu - but have used them and found the gear reliable and the company helpfull.

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Zeon

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#548373 22-Nov-2011 12:19

Back in the day I use to use software called Antamedia - was pretty good for this type of thing

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CYaBro

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#548381 22-Nov-2011 12:33

We have a couple of wireless access points here using the hot-spot NZ system.

They can supply the required wireless units or you can buy one of the supported models yourself, which is what we did, and then flash the supplied firmware onto the units.
As you found, stay away from the Linksys units and use the Engenius.
You can sell, or give away, access by time or data usage. You can also allocate bandwidth if you want to.
They do also have a buy online option and the owner gets paid back 60% of the online purchases.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

theEd

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#548394 22-Nov-2011 12:46

The 4ipnet HSG200 supports data allocations.

cisconz

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#548398 22-Nov-2011 12:52

I would say a Mikrotik router, you can download a trial on a pc for 24 hours.
Has hotspot built in by time, data, bandwidth or a combination.
I can send you a script to that will use the Mac address as a username if you want to offer free wifi.
You can get the hardware routers from go wifi and then you can have multi ssid and hotspot lans also.

Hmmmm

garvani

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#548402 22-Nov-2011 13:01

Thanks a lot theres a lot of good options here.. Ive got an hour later on so ill have a look at them all then.

garvani

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#548405 22-Nov-2011 13:05

zeon: more after a hardware implementation, it would cost over $1000us to have an enterprise license for Antamedia
cyabro: We use engeinus products already so this is a good choice, will definitely look further into it hot-spotnz, quite like what ive seen so far.
theed:: Is there a local reseller of the 4IPNET HSG200?
cisconz: what mikrotik router would you suggest?

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cisconz

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#548423 22-Nov-2011 13:35

I would suggest a RB433AH or RB411AH with Wifi card etc.
The main difference is the RB433 has 3 ethernet interfaces, the RB411 only has 1.

Go wifi product numbers as below.

For Both
R2n - MikroTik R2n 802.11b/g/n
24HPOW - MikroTik 24V 1.6A Hi-Power Supply
ANT-78 - 2.4-5.8 GHz U.FL Swivel Antenna for MikroTik Indoor Cases

For RB 433
RB/433AH - MikroTik RouterBOARD RB/433AH
CA/433U - MikroTik Indoor case for RB433 Series Boards

For RB 411
RB/411AH - MikroTik RouterBOARD RB/411AH
CA/411 - MikroTik Indoor case for RB411 Series

Hmmmm

theEd

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#548432 22-Nov-2011 13:54

garvani: theed:: Is there a local reseller of the 4IPNET HSG200?

Ascent have them, as do plenty of others. I'm the NZ tech support guy for 4ipnet so if you have problems you can always yell at me

cyril7

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#548435 22-Nov-2011 14:03

Hi, I can vouch for the HSG200 great device, very straight forward to setup.

Cyril

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#549346 24-Nov-2011 12:26

You can also go the geek route and build your own ALIX board with m0n0wall on it and a RADIUS server elsewhere to account for traffic. I've set up two of these systems for a client with two student houses. Each user gets 1GB free/month or they can buy data blocks that don't expire. Not the easiest to set up, but quite powerful.

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MauriceWinn

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#550473 27-Nov-2011 00:06

Linksys WRT54GL is reliable. Zenbu has got nearly 1000 in use and hundreds have been operating for over 3 years. They have a 3 year warranty. Those in operation since 2006 and 2007 are going fine.

When we [Zenbu] were choosing a router to use, and we asked about likely warranty returns, Linksys told us something like 5% would fail. But in fact, it has been about 1%.

Perhaps the idea that WRT54GL is unreliable is due to people damaging them. We have had a few damaged due to power surges, and running them with the antennas removed damages the radio [a couple of people have done that].

We get a lot of calls from people using other wifi systems. It would be wise to shop around and ask users of the systems about their experiences. Plenty of people have bought other systems and then swapped to Zenbu, and not just for the management software, but in frustration over technical failure reasons by competitors.

We are sticking with WRT54GL because they are reliable and there is no particular reason to change to anything else. While 802.11n has some merits, it is irrelevant to nearly everyone because ADSL speeds are slow, the cost of data is high in NZ, the law on copyright infringement means bulk data supply is hazardous and the little bit of extra range doesn't make a significant difference.

MauriceWinn

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#550474 27-Nov-2011 00:27

At that stage they can either set themselves up with an account (ie give credit card details to zenbu) and get charged with what they use. The rates are 50c a mb. You get half that back - so a user that uses 100mb would give you $5.00 revenue. .......

I dont work for zenbu - but have used them and found the gear reliable and the company helpfull.

Slight correction - Zenbu does not see credit card details. In the payments process people buying on-line are redirected away from Zenbu to the secure payments providers who handle credit card processing. Zenbu also accepts pago [by ASB Bank]. Another correction - it's 10c per megabyte [not 50c] for credit bought online of which 5c goes to the place which provides the megabytes. As you wrote, Zenbu operators can also print their own access vouchers [free] and sell them or give them away, keeping any payments.

The routers and firmware and servers are very reliable. There should be a reliability competition among wifi providers.

When companies say "We pay you for providing wifi" it would be a very good idea to see just how they pay and how hard it is to be paid and check out any sneaky little charges which get deducted by some. Zenbu pays automatically on 26th of each month, when $20 has accumulated, to bank accounts people put in their administration section. Do other wifi operators pay when the amount reaches $150, provided you first submit an invoice? Details like that matter.

Try a Google search "Accommodation, name of town, wifi" and see if your motel appears on the first page. Zenbu sites often do as part of the list of zones. Being visible in Cyberspace matters to accommodation providers.

freitasm

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#550512 27-Nov-2011 09:37

As posted above, Zenbu or also Tomizone.