NA Controlling internet access

Let'sgoflying!

Let'sgoflying!

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Feb 23, 2005
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20,311
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west Texas
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Display name:
Dave Taylor
You run a small lodge and provide satellite internet access as a courtesy; satellite b/c there is no other option. This is not inexpensive to your small biz but works ok.... until you are at lodge capacity and everyone wants to get on.
Is there any way to limit types of requests to small and reasonable ones like email; or to block complicated, large downloads? Maybe shut out website images, and video streaming?
What about those automatic updates? 25 people descend on you, each with 3 devices needing app updates can kill the system.
 
Tell them this at check-in? If it's too slow people won't use it for large downloads anyway. The problem would be getting them to shut off automatic updates that they might not know are happening.
 
I now use ubiquity pro wireless access points. They allow me to throttle guest accounts by volume. A firewall like a TZ series from Dell would allow you to block services selectively. Either by url or by blocking the ports those services use.
 
weilke said:
I now use ubiquity pro wireless access points.
Click to expand...

This is what you need. We set up temporary internet for special events and with these access points, you can set up several SSID's for people to log onto, set if you what a secure password or open, and set throttle limits for each of the SSID's all on one internet connection into the building and off one access point.

For example you could have a staff network password protected that is unthrottled
and you could have a guest room network that is a different password that has limits
and you could have an open network in your lobby that is open but very limited...all on one access point

You can also set to distribute the available bandwidth among all connected users proportionally so one user is not bogging down the entire system.

Will likely need someone to configure it for ya, but that is the technology you are looking for.
 
Check out opendns. Nothing to install, cheap, tons of controls.
 
Shawn said:
This is what you need. We set up temporary internet for special events and with these access points, you can set up several SSID's for people to log onto, set if you what a secure password or open, and set throttle limits for each of the SSID's all on one internet connection into the building and off one access point.

For example you could have a staff network password protected that is unthrottled
and you could have a guest room network that is a different password that has limits
and you could have an open network in your lobby that is open but very limited...all on one access point

You can also set to distribute the available bandwidth among all connected users proportionally so one user is not bogging down the entire system.

Will likely need someone to configure it for ya, but that is the technology you are looking for.
Click to expand...
God almighty, I hope you aren't the guys that set up temporary Internet (non)access at Oshkosh... ;)

If so, know that we spend 10 days pushing pins into little dolls that look just like you. :)

Anyway, we have a similar problem in our 23 - room hotel, Amelia's Landing. I have 3 access points, but they are all feeding through a medium-speed DSL line.

This works fine until, as we did over the Memorial Day weekend, we are sold out, with pilots and guests here from all over the world, each with three devices. Add in five sets of kids trying to watch Netflix, and everything slows to a crawl.

I wish there was an easy way to throttle the ginormous data users. The way it is now, everyone is punished, not just the big users.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
Jay Honeck said:
I wish there was an easy way to throttle the ginormous data users. The way it is now, everyone is punished, not just the big users.
Click to expand...

There is a way to do that as pointed out earlier. A web service filter or a firewall that offers that capacity can selectively block streaming services on the guest network.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
which one/how to select?

seeing them from $40 to $700
Click to expand...

I dont believe you don't have to use the 'Pro' model to run several networks. I went with the 'pro' because that is the only one that can run on regular PoE (and it also allows you to bridge other devices on the wired connection). The lower priced 'AP' and 'AP-LR' are powered using a proprietary power injector. The higher prices you see are 5-packs. I believe a single 'Pro' is $160 and the APs and AP-LRs are less than 1/2 of that.
 
If you want to do something inexpensively/free, check out untangle. Has captive portal, content filtering, as well as bandwidth control.
 
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