Antamedia Online Manuals

Introduction

Network Setup

How Does It Work ?

Introduction

Antamedia HotSpot software should be installed on a standard PC computer running Windows OS. We call this computer HotSpot computer.

The HotSpot computer has to be a gateway for other computers in the network. With such setup we are forcing all computers in the network to redirect traffic through the HotSpot software which w controls whether such traffic should be allowed or blocked. It is allowed if a customer has been authenticated with a username and a password, and it is blocked if a customer is not logged on to the system, or account time has expired.

The HotSpot computer needs to have 2 network cards. One network card (NIC1) is used for the internet connection. If the traffic is allowed, it is redirected to the second network card (NIC2) which is connected to the Internet. Between NIC2 and the Internet you can use routers, brigdes, modems (xDSL, ISDN, Cable...), etc. This traffic being accomplished and based on the internet connection, you are able to open web pages, watch video materials or communicate in any possible way with the Internet.

The HotSpot software does not require any specific hardware, so you can use Access Points, Modems, Switches or Routers that you already have and using them you can configure the network settings.

Network Setup

First, we need to determine which kind of a connection we will use. There could be a few ways for the communication between the HotSpot software and customers: ICS, NAT-ing, RRAS, etc. In this case we provide you with an example using the Windows Internet Connection Sharing ( ICS ). You can find the thorough explanations of the Windows Internet Connection Sharing ( ICS ) on www.antamedia.com/manuals/ics

The NIC 1 with the IP address 192.168.1.1, the subnet mask 255.255.255.0 /24 , DNS and the gateway IP 192.168.1.2 is connected to the Inernet via the Router to HDSL. The NIC 1 has the access to the Internet over the Switch and the Router to HDSL. IP addresses of NIC 1 and the Router are in the same IP range. The Router IP address is usually provided by the ISP.

The NIC 1 and the Router are at the same IP range. In our example NIC 1 IP address is 192.168.1.1 and the router IP address 192.168.1.2 . The Router is connected to the internet using HDSL line.
A router is optional. You can connect the HotSpot computer directly to the broadband ethernet or use dial-up ISDN modem or the wireless bridge. The most important thing is that the NIC 1 is connected to the Internet.

The NIC 2 (connects your network with HotSpot computer) gets the IP address 192.168.0.1. This is default IP that Internet Connection Sharing sets to your network card. Note that you can change this IP address. The Subnet mask is 255.255.255.0 .

We use the Switch to connect the HotSpot computer, the Access Point and the Wired computer to the same network.

In this network topology, the Access point connects wireless laptops through the Switch and the HotSpot computer to the Internet. The IP address of the Access Point is e.g. 192.168.0.10. The Access Point has DHCP enabled so it assigns IP addresses automatically to all wireless laptop computers. Laptops get IP addresses from the range 192.168.0.11 to 192.168.0.50 and have the same subnet mask as the HotSpot computer 255.255.255.0. The Gateway is 192.168.0.1 and the DNS addresses are usually assigned by your ISP.

The Wired computer is connected to the Internet through the Switch and the HotSpot computer. The IP address of the Wired computer is 192.168.0.21 and has the same subnet mask as the HotSpot computer 255.255.255.0. The Gateway IP address is 192.168.0.1 and the DNS addresses are usually assigned by your ISP.

NOTE: The network topology prodided is with the subnet mask / 24 with which the system is able to connect less than 254 users. In the next topology you can see the setup for the subnet mask / 16 which is able to handle more than 64500 users.

Few wireless laptops, access point, switch that connects wireless and wired computers,
computer running the HotSpot software which is connected to the Internet using the outer and the HDSL line

First, we need to determine which kind of a connection we will use. There could be a few ways for the communication between the HotSpot software and customers: ICS, NAT-ing, RRAS, etc. In this case we provide you with an example using the Windows Internet Connection Sharing ( ICS ). You can find the thorough explanations of the Windows Internet Connection Sharing ( ICS ) on www.antamedia.com/manuals/ics.

In the picture below is the similar network topology in which the Wireless Router is used instead of the Access Point.
The HotSpot computer gets the access to the Internet over the NIC 1 connected to the Router. The NIC 1 IP address is 192.168.1.2, the subnet mask 255.255.255.0 /24 , the gateway IP and the DNS is192.168.1.1 the same as the LAN IP of the Router. IP addresses of NIC 1 and the Router are in the same IP range. The Router IP address is usually provided by the ISP.

The NIC2 (connects your network with HotSpot computer) gets the IP address 192.168.0.1. This is default IP that Internet Connection Sharing sets to your network card. Note that you can change this IP address, and e.g. we will set it to have IP address 192.168.2.2 and the subnet mask set to 255.255.0.0 /16

Please note that this setup offers the service to more than 64000 customers. The best performing ADHCP you can find on http://www.antamediadhcp.com/dhcp-installer.exe

The Router connects wireless laptops through the Switch and the HotSpot computer to the Internet. The Router WAN IP address is e.g. 192.168.2.17 with the subnet mask 255.255.0.0, the gateway IP 192.168.2.2. You need to set the Router LAN IP address to 192.168.3.1 and enable DHCP to assign IP addresses automatically to all wireless laptop computers. Laptops get IP addresses from the range 192.168.3.x with the subnet mask 255.255.255.0, the gateway IP 192.168.2.17 and the DNS 192.168.2.2.

Wired computer is connected to the Internet through the Switch and the HotSpot computer. The IP addresses of Wired computer are 192.168.2.3 and 192.168.2.4 and have the subnet mask 255.255.255.0. The Gateway IP and the DNS are the same - 192.168.2.2.

Few wireless laptops, router, switch that connects wireless and wired computers,
computer running the HotSpot software which is connected to the Internet using the router and the HDSL line

How Does It Work ?

Once your laptop customers step into your Access Point WiFi range, they will be able to scan the network and discover your Access Point. On connection, the Access Point will assign them IP and DNS settings automatically using DHCP. Please note that you need to enable the free connection to the Access Point without encryption or other limitations. If you have multiple Access Points you should specify a different IP range that DHCP assigns to wireless users.

At this point, a customer is connected to your WiFI and is able to type some URL in the web browser. Antamedia HotSpot will check this IP and MAC addresses and if a customer is not authenticated, it will return login page to the customer browser. A username and a password are required to gain the access to the Internet.

If a customer is new, he is able to sign up for a new account and pay with a credit card. The process is completely automated and a customer is able to choose the username, the password and a pricing plan (like 1 Hour Internet time or one month unlimited access). You do not need staff to sell tickets.
Please note: Appropriate HotSpot software license with the credit card payment option is required.

Computers connected via the switch are already connected in the network and after authentication a customer gets the access to the Internet. In case that these computers have a free access to the Internet, you should specify its MAC addresses in HotSpot Setup - Whitelists - MAC Whitelist page. A typical example of this is the Cybercafe which uses our Internet Caffe software to limit the access and manage computers.