Guide to Operation Copyright © Fire4 Systems, Inc., 2013. All Rights Reserved www . guest - internet . com 11
feature to provide access to the Hotspot gateway.
In the case where the DSL or Cable service has a dynamic IP allocation the Hotspot
gateway can be accessed remotely using the DynDNS service. The Hotspot gateway has a
DynDNS agent installed to permit the network IP address to be located via the DynDNS
server. A free test account is provided by DynDNS, and the monthly account fee is very low.
Remote access to Wireless
Devices via Port
Forwarding
The Hotspot gateway port-forwarding feature allows access to devices from outside the
network (wireless access points) that are connected in the public network (gateway LAN
ports). This feature can be used in conjunction with the monitoring and alerting feature to
provide complete remote management and support for the Hotspot network.
It is very important that a Hotspot operator find out that a wireless network has problems
before the users do to avoid stressful calls and complaints. All our Hotspot gateways can
monitor LAN attached devices, such as wireless access points, for failure. The failure
warning is sent out via email to the owner or operator of the network. The installer can use
an existing email SMTP service to send the message. In many cases however the network
provider who offers the email service is not the one that the gateway is connected to.
All our gateway products have an agent for the STMP2go service that permits an email to
be sent out from any network. The SMTP2go service has a very low monthly charge and the
benefits of this service far outweigh the small cost.
Allowed and Blocked IP
and MAC Addresses
When any computer connected to the public network must access the Internet without
requiring the login page then the device MAC address is included in the MAC bypass table.
Web sites that must be seen by users without login can have their IP addresses or URL’s
included in the IP bypass table. This feature permits a walled garden login when
implemented in conjunction with the custom login page feature.
When users abuse the Hotspot service then their computer MAC addresses can be blocked.
Look in the usage report table and identify users who are causing a lot of traffic. Then click
on the block MAC address to block that user from the Internet.
Network Port
Configurations
The LAN port configuration is set permanently as a DHCP server. The reason for this is that
IP addresses must be allocated to users as the IP’s are used to authenticate each user.
Other LAN port parameters can all be modified. The DHCP start and end addresses are used
to set the limit for the maximum number of users.
The WAN port can be either a DHCP client or can have a fixed IP. When the content filter is
activated the WAN DNS settings are replaced with those of OpenDNS.
Backup and Restore the
Configuration
The product configuration can be saved in a backup file. If the product is replaced or
configuration changes are made but previous settings are required then the configuration
file can be restored.
The configuration file of any gateway model can be restored on any other gateway model.
All gateway models use an identical file structure.
Firmware upgrades are released periodically for all gateway products. The upgrades include
new features that have been requested by customers. We also work on product
performance improvements. Firmware upgrades are free for our customers. There will never
be a charge for the latest firmware.
The tables below summarize the features provided with each product model
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