ControlAP - Please help!

yashax · 10-29-2004

Please let me know if I understand if ControlAP works in this environment.
(I am trying to find software to help me centrally manage/rollout free public hotspots.)

"I have it installed on a server with public IP. I have many WAP's located at different locations that authenticate to my ControlAP server for user access and captive functionality. ControlAP centrally manages all WAP's."

Is that right?

Does anyone know if Sputnik WAP's would work with ControlAP? Also, would you recommend using Sputnik WAP vs. Linksys WRT54G? What are pros/cons of both in this implementation.

Any extra comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Yasha

LiquidEdge · 10-31-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by yashax

Please let me know if I understand if ControlAP works in this environment.
(I am trying to find software to help me centrally manage/rollout free public hotspots.)

"I have it installed on a server with public IP. I have many WAP's located at different locations that authenticate to my ControlAP server for user access and captive functionality. ControlAP centrally manages all WAP's."

Is that right?

Does anyone know if Sputnik WAP's would work with ControlAP? Also, would you recommend using Sputnik WAP vs. Linksys WRT54G? What are pros/cons of both in this implementation.

Any extra comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Yasha

If you're using multiple AP's, then using consumer grade stuff is going to get you some pretty poor connetions. I wouldn't recommend Linksys or Sputnik for it. Zyxel has some pretty good stuff that is a good middle-ground between performance and price.

ControlAP can absolutely help you manage the hotspot, it doesn't manage the AP's though. But if they are all connected together, then through the server, you'll get all of ControlAP's functionality such as DHCP and Splash Pages.

Keep in mind, ControlAP has pretty crappy support, though the software does serve a great purpose.

--Rick Dobbs

yashax · 11-01-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiquidEdge

If you're using multiple AP's, then using consumer grade stuff is going to get you some pretty poor connetions. I wouldn't recommend Linksys or Sputnik for it. Zyxel has some pretty good stuff that is a good middle-ground between performance and price.

ControlAP can absolutely help you manage the hotspot, it doesn't manage the AP's though. But if they are all connected together, then through the server, you'll get all of ControlAP's functionality such as DHCP and Splash Pages.

Keep in mind, ControlAP has pretty crappy support, though the software does serve a great purpose.

--Rick Dobbs

Rick,
Thank you very much for your reply. Which Zyxel AP would you recommend? Why is it better then Sputnik?

Also, do you know a better software or hardware management paltform for managing big number of AP's at different locations?

Thank you.

LiquidEdge · 11-01-2004

The Zyxel stuff just handles higher traffic better and is more of an enterprise AP. The G-3000 is the one I recommend, but it retails for $299. If you're interested I could probably go through my reseller and get them for $249 for you.

I'm not sure what you mean by "Manage a big number of AP's," what do you mean by manage? Finances? Network traffic? Let me know.

yashax · 11-01-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiquidEdge

The Zyxel stuff just handles higher traffic better and is more of an enterprise AP. The G-3000 is the one I recommend, but it retails for $299. If you're interested I could probably go through my reseller and get them for $249 for you.

I'm not sure what you mean by "Manage a big number of AP's," what do you mean by manage? Finances? Network traffic? Let me know.

Thank you for the fast reply!!! Basically I am looking for a ControlAP type of management system, whether it is software or hardware solution. Something that can be centrally used to manage all rolled out APs. Something that will monitor them, allow me to configure them, update them, configure captive features, reporting on traffic usage and such. Basically all-in-one system.

I hope that this makes sense.

Thank you greatly!

LiquidEdge · 11-01-2004

There's nothing out there that will let you centrally configure all your AP's, unless you buy some heavy duty (and expensive) Proxim and Cisco equipment.

ControlAP pretty much just handles splash pages and billing as well as DHCP.

You'll need something like WhatsUp Gold that will do network monitoring.

I don't know of anyone that does an all-in-one.

yashax · 11-01-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiquidEdge

There's nothing out there that will let you centrally configure all your AP's, unless you buy some heavy duty (and expensive) Proxim and Cisco equipment.

ControlAP pretty much just handles splash pages and billing as well as DHCP.

You'll need something like WhatsUp Gold that will do network monitoring.

I don't know of anyone that does an all-in-one.

Do you know anything about Zyxel Vantage WLC200 Management software that is coming out?

Also it seems that you can use Sputnik NET server to do all of the functions that I was talking about, but I think that you have to use their AP's.

Does anyone have any experience with it?

Also, I heard that ControlAP is very buggy, is it true? What do you or other people use for central management?

hydro27405 · 11-02-2004

I use StarOS and it works damn good, it does not do billing but it does just about everything else, I also use the wrap boards for access points. I have some SmartBridge and CB3's out there also but my main server is StarOS so it lets me control everything.
Hydro

LiquidEdge · 11-07-2004

Quote:

Originally Posted by yashax

Do you know anything about Zyxel Vantage WLC200 Management software that is coming out?

Also it seems that you can use Sputnik NET server to do all of the functions that I was talking about, but I think that you have to use their AP's.

Does anyone have any experience with it?

Also, I heard that ControlAP is very buggy, is it true? What do you or other people use for central management?

Well, if its anything like the other Zyxel equipment, I'm sure it'll be pretty good. I'm a bigger fan of their stuff more and more everyday.

ControlAP definitely has bugs, but its hard to beat for the price.

--Rick Dobbs

LiquidEdge · 11-19-2004

After getting some unique issues, the ControlAP staff escalated things to phone support and we've worked out some bugs in the software itself and some of my misunderstandings.

In order to fix the bug they had to write a patch and they turned it around very quickly. It's definitely better support than the other products out there.

10-29-2004	#1 (permalink)
yashax Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 5	ControlAP - Please help! Please let me know if I understand if ControlAP works in this environment. (I am trying to find software to help me centrally manage/rollout free public hotspots.) "I have it installed on a server with public IP. I have many WAP's located at different locations that authenticate to my ControlAP server for user access and captive functionality. ControlAP centrally manages all WAP's." Is that right? Does anyone know if Sputnik WAP's would work with ControlAP? Also, would you recommend using Sputnik WAP vs. Linksys WRT54G? What are pros/cons of both in this implementation. Any extra comments would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Yasha

11-19-2004	#10 (permalink)
LiquidEdge Keeper of the Cheese Join Date: May 2004 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 29	Support Follow-up After getting some unique issues, the ControlAP staff escalated things to phone support and we've worked out some bugs in the software itself and some of my misunderstandings. In order to fix the bug they had to write a patch and they turned it around very quickly. It's definitely better support than the other products out there.

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11-01-2004	#4 (permalink)
LiquidEdge Keeper of the Cheese Join Date: May 2004 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 29	The Zyxel stuff just handles higher traffic better and is more of an enterprise AP. The G-3000 is the one I recommend, but it retails for $299. If you're interested I could probably go through my reseller and get them for $249 for you. I'm not sure what you mean by "Manage a big number of AP's," what do you mean by manage? Finances? Network traffic? Let me know.

11-01-2004	#6 (permalink)
LiquidEdge Keeper of the Cheese Join Date: May 2004 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 29	There's nothing out there that will let you centrally configure all your AP's, unless you buy some heavy duty (and expensive) Proxim and Cisco equipment. ControlAP pretty much just handles splash pages and billing as well as DHCP. You'll need something like WhatsUp Gold that will do network monitoring. I don't know of anyone that does an all-in-one.

11-02-2004	#8 (permalink)
hydro27405 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: MN Posts: 91	I use StarOS and it works damn good, it does not do billing but it does just about everything else, I also use the wrap boards for access points. I have some SmartBridge and CB3's out there also but my main server is StarOS so it lets me control everything. Hydro