Network Gurus: Wireless Set-up help...

[mpw]

So here’s how I’d like it to work;

I want customers in my coffee shop to be able to connect to the internet via my wireless connection.

Any user should be able to come in, power-up and be connected to the internet for free BUT I want them to have to enter a password BUT I want them to have to enter the password on a website, my website.

The idea is that the connection’s free and the password will be freely available just to use my wireless connection they have to at least view my website.

I’m guessing I’d need to have a freely available wireless connection without WEP etc. to a network and then have a freely available intranet consisting of just the one website and then the password to view any other website?

I don’t want to limit access to the web other than ‘force’ customers to view my website.

Does that all make sense? Can it be done? What problems am I going to have?

The ideal set-up would be an ADSL modem connected to an iMac and then everyone Mac & PC sharing the connection through the iMac.

What do you think?

 

[Danksi]

There are one or two free firmware updates for the Linksys Wi-Fi routers, which should allow you to do what you're after. I was looking at one a while back, but can't for the life of me remember what it was called.

Google is your friend on this one.

 

[mpw]

Thanks

 

[OutThere]

You'll need a "gateway server" that can manage people who plug in to your network...there are two companies that offer easy to use pre-built systems:

http://www.lessnetworks.com/static/index.html

LessNetworks sells pre-packaged hotspots that hook in to their systems, that ultimately offers lots of control over what happens on your network.

http://www.publicip.net/

ZoneCD is a CD that you can download, burn, and pop in an x86 box that will utlimately create a gateway server running right off the CD.

As far as I can tell, the LessNetworks setup is the easiest way to go, you can get the hardware straight from them, and then it hooks into their centralized servers, so that you can manage it from anywhere, and control activity and see statistics about what's going on on your network. BUT, I'm not sure how you get them to see your website...the ZoneCD would be more flexible there, but it's more complicated to set up, and has more direct requirements.