Hotspot (Hotspot) Wi-Fi in the café the hotel the hostel. Organization Hotspot.

[Admin 2421]

What is a hotspot?

Hot spot (from the English. hot spot  — land area (e.g., area office, cafe, campus, metro station), where with the help of portable device (laptop, smartphone or PDA), equipped with device of radio access Protocol Wi-Fi, you can obtain access to computing networks (Internet, intranet). So, many cafes do free hotspots to access the Internet with the purpose of attracting visitors and as an extra service. In many cases, the hotspot is commercial, Internet-access (pay by time or volume of transferred data).
 

 

Fig.1 the principle of the hotspot

 

In many countries the provision of public Internet access at hotspots is regulated by law, for example, in the EU, according to the Union directives the owners of the hotspots are obliged to store basic data on user activity within 12 months. (http://ru.wikipedia.org)

Technically, hotspot is a hardware or hardware-software complex, consisting of one or more WiFi access points and control systems (hardware or software controller). Options for building the hotspot a lot, it all depends on the initial conditions and objectives:

1. The land on which it is necessary to provide coverage. The presence on this site walls, trees and other impediments to radio wave propagation.
2. Standards, types and characteristics of devices, which must ensure the hotspot.
3. Quality of performance (minimum and maximum connection speed to the access points (APS) and Internet traffic, connection stability, ping etc.).
4. The functionality of the hotspot users (simple connection setup, payment methods, the ability to follow the flow of their funds and their balance, etc., etc.).
5. Functionality for administration, monitoring of connections, traffic, user accounts, Troubleshooting, etc.).
6. Means to provide a comfortable user experience and security (shapers, session limit, firewall, secure authorization and traffic, the exclusion of unauthorized access, etc.).

Next, we consider some variants of the organization of hotspots, from the simplest to the system guest access to the corporate level.


The simplest hotspot.

The simplest version of hotspot is an access point or router home level, connected to the Internet.

Advantages:
1. Low cost.
2. Easy to install.

Disadvantages:
1. Small coverage and its low quality.
2. Minimal (or even absent) monitoring and administration.
3. Minimal (or even absent) possibility of traffic control.

All this actually leads to the provision of services "as is" (as is). The owner of the hotspot could not provide a quality user experience cannot control them and actually influence anything.
For example, one user running a torrent client, can "eat" the entire width of the Internet channel, or overload, etc., thus effectively making the use of other users is impossible.


Hotspot entry-level (option 1)

If you already have a computer that can be used as a controller, you can also do low cost. For example, ustanovili free (or shareware) software for organizations of hotspot and Rustaveli TD on the territory.
Attention! When choosing the TD needs to consider whether this model controller. Or, alternatively, whether there is alternative firmware such support.

Advantages:
1. The relatively low cost.
2. The functionality and ease of use depend on the type of selected equipment and the controller.
3. Monitoring and control (effectiveness is the same).

Disadvantages:
1. To operate the hotspot needed continuously on the computer of the controller.
2. Most management software hotspot are running on different versions of Linux, so you may need a separate computer (dedicated server).
3. The difficulty in installing and configuring.


Hotspot entry-level (version 2)

If no computer or you want to make a hotspot a separate independent system, then it makes sense to think about using a hardware controller, for example, Mikrotik.
RouterOS L4 license supports up to 200 active hotspot user, up to 500 L5, and L6 unlimited.
The choice of a particular model of the controller depends on the intended load (the total speed of the external channel, the number of simultaneously active users, rates, etc.).

 

 

 

 

 

Fig.2 the administrative Interface of the Mikrotik hotspot on the base.

 

Advantages:
1. Low cost.
2. Works offline (does not require a computer, only for administration).
3. The basic functionality of the hotspot out of the box, the ability to adapt.
4. Good monitoring and control.
5. Extensibility of the coating simply by adding new TD (almost all manufacturers and models).
6. Easy to install and configure (compared to other systems).
7. The opportunity to work with the most professional billing.

Disadvantages:
1. The need for a clear planning of the load, because if you don't have the performance of selected controller, modernization is possible only by replacement with a more efficient model.
2. Out of the box only basic functionality (for a small hotspot of this, however, is quite enough). Increased functionality is performed by a script that requires some knowledge in the it field or bringing in experts from the outside.


Hotspot entry-level (option 3) with an external controller.

Some sites offer services using their controller to control your hotspot. In this case, you have the least problems with installation and maintenance of the hotspot, but will have to share the profits. In addition, the functionality and usability of the hotspot is determined by the list of services provided by the owner controller.
In this option you will need a TD that supports this controller (for example, with alternative firmware DD-WRT).


The hotspot average (corporate) level.

The system is guest access will suffice for a large hotel (or hotel chain), cafes/restaurants, etc. Many major manufacturers offer their own solutions for guest access, varying equipment and capabilities. As an example of such a system can result in the company UniFi from Ubiquiti.
 

 

 

Fig.3 management Interface UniFi

 

Advantages:
1. A wide range of functionality out of the box, allowing you to build on the same hardware, internal (corporate) network and guest access.
2. Good monitoring and control.
3. Extensibility of the coating by adding a new TD.
4. The flexibility to work with clients.
5. The relative ease of installation and configuration.

Disadvantages:
1. Relatively high cost, as supported by only "special" equipment.
2. Functionality out of the box enough for the vast majority of cases, but if something important (for you) is not enough, it is a serious problem..