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NET-WAS-IWE3200
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NET-WAS-103R
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NET-WAS-102R
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NET-WAS-WMS-208
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A hotspot gateway is a device that provides authentication, authorisation and accounting for a wired or wireless network. Typically they are used to control access to the Internet on a public wireless network; usually this would be in order to charge for the service or restrict access to certain users e.g. via a wireless hotspot on a holiday park. A hotspot gateway can also be used for guest (free of charge) user connectivity by offering instant Internet access without the need for configuration changes to the network setup of the client computer or any resident client-side software.
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•In practise the hotpsot controller is a supplementary router that sits between your local network and your broadband connection controling all user traffic to the internet.
•Most of the smaller controllers also include on-board wireless interface
which can be used for local users; these users are also managed by the controller.
•The smaller controllers have the option to interface to a POS ticket printer which can be used to print tickets for on-demand users
•They can automatically generate user accounts both for fee-based or free broadband access
•They also typically include powerful, supplementary firewalls for increased network security
Once your controller is configured then it can automatically provide access authentication using a simple username and password control. These users can either be by a built-in, prepaired user-base or they can be created on demand. Most of the hotspots even support instant payment type services using, for example PayPal. With instant payment the hotspot will automatically interface with PayPal user charging - ideal if you want to run an unattended charging service.
From the end users point of view, all they see is a simple logon popup box when they first attempt to connect to the internet. At this stage they can enter the username and password you've created for them or, if using instant payment, they can simply goto the charge site (e.g. PayPal) and pay for their connection.
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Solwise is able to offer a range of different hotspot controllers with varying user and broadband capacity and a range of features. So, whatever the size of your application, there will be a hotspot controller to suit.
At present there are four controllers available from Solwise:
Capacity and Performance |
WAS-IWE3200 |
WAS-103 |
WAS-102 |
WAS-WMS-208 |
Network Interfaces (Mbps) |
10/100 |
10/100 |
10/100 |
10/100 |
WAN Ports |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
Configurable Load Balancing |
Yes |
n/a |
n/a |
Yes |
Local Accounts |
2,000 |
2,000 |
500 |
1,000 |
On-demand Accounts |
2,000 |
2,000 |
2,000 |
2,000 |
Concurrent Users
(Recommended) |
50 |
100 |
50 |
120 |
On-Demand PayPal |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Ticket Printer Option |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
User List Upload |
Yes
(using application) |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
User Control by Data/Time |
Time only |
Data or Time |
Data or Time |
Data or Time |
Built-in Wireless |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Walled Garden |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
RADIUS Support |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Custom Logon/off and Authentication Pages |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Site-to-Site VPN |
Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
Share Built-in User Base |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Form Factor |
Mini-book |
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Mini-book |
Mini-book |
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The WAS-IWE3200 is our starter controller but don't be misled by it's beginner status. It has many of the features only seen on the more expensive models including large user-base, 2 WAN (broadband) ports with load balancing. It also has an optional ticket printer for on-demand users and will also work with a centralised RADIUS server (so that you can easily share a single user-base amongst multiple controllers).
The WAS-103 has a similar capacity to the IWE3200 but has greater flexibility including Multiple User Policies (controlling seperate firewall/router/schedule/bandwidth configurations), PayPal on-demand, instant payment for users, and charging based upon data or time. It also supports RADIUS authentication as well as other types of server authentication methods e.g. POP3/LDAP/MS NT etc.
The WAS-102 is the next model up from the WAS-103 model. The main difference is the ability to use a seperate ticket printer; this option is not available on the WAS-103 unit.
The WAS-WMS-208 is the biggy in the range and expands on the facilities offered by the WAS-102. It has two WAN ports for greater broadband throughput and also capability to cope with up to 120 simultaneous users. As well as supporting the various server authentications methods available on the WAS-102 it can also be configured so that multiple controllers can share their user-bases. This makes it easier for users to connect and reconnect at any hotspot on the network without requiring a seperate server.
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