How to create a controlled HotSpot?

We have a campground/retreat/conference center here, with a single router WiFi network already set up, and with some 10-odd users scattered throughout the day.

I'd like to get more control over the network in this way: Customer pays a fee (payment methods are already taken care of here, it'll usually be cash) to a desk assistant and gets a password for the HotSpot. Customer uses password to access wireless. Password automatically expires after a given amount of time. Only the first laptop that the password is used on can use that password (so that customers don't pay one fee for like 5 laptops). Many different passwords can be given to different customers at a time.

So, how can I do this? For equipment, I have a Windows Server 2003 computer, some old machines that I could put Linux on, a WRT54GL Ver.

1.1 Linksys wireless router, and a 5 Mb DSL connection. None of my machines are fast enough to run the internet through, only to act as authentication servers if need be.

The desk assistant is an a machine that's on the internal secure network, and has access to the Windows Server 2003 machine, and has access to the router's configuration page, but her machine can not act as a server. I don't want to pay anything at all for 3rd party services. I am comfortable with setting up not-to-techy software, and re-flashing the router's firmware. I am very familiar with Linux and Windows.

I was thinking of using a FreeRADIUS server or using Windows Server

2003's IAS, but what I've seen so far is incredibly complicated, and I'm not sure how the desk assistant would give out new passwords. TinyPEAP seemed like it might work, but there is no package for my specific router, as TinyPEAP is no longer being supported.

Oh, and I'm not too worried about security. There aren't many technically savvy people here, it's kind out of the way, and I don't really care if the signals are encrypted or not.

So, anybody have any ideas? Even a pointing in the right direction would be a big help. Thanks!

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pgn674
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Hi,

check below link, it is talking about similar case!

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I also recommend going with hardware hot spots solutions.

Spider,

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spider

pgn674 hath wroth:

Well, that's the way I would suggest you start.

This is the setup, but for VPN, not wireless. Where is says to specify the type of connection, pick wireless instead of VPN. The good news is that you only have to do the setup once.

This is more wireless specific, but without the pretty pictures:

I'm sure there are others scattered all over the internet.

Setting up accounts does not mean that the front desk will need to know how to add a user. What I've done is preload a mess of users and passwords, such as user1, user2, user3, user4.... user99, each with their own passwords. I then use a DOS command line incantation to enable or disable the account. I don't have it handy, but can dig it out as necessary. Probably a VBS script or application would be cleaner. Anyway, the front desk simply checks off users from a printed list which gets changed weekly.

I think I used "lockout.exe" and "usermgr.exe".

Another way is to simply farm out the authentication to some system on the internet.

There are also some wireless routers that have built in RADIUS (PEAP) servers: ZyXEL G-2000 Plus v2

Of course, you could just buy a ready to run hotspot solution.

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Jeff Liebermann

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Paul Nickerson

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