Separating hotspot from rest of network

[StaffHerb]

Hello - new user here with a network configuration question. We would like to add a pay-as-you-go WiFi hotspot in our business and I'm trying to figure out the best way to configure it so that it is separate from the rest of the network. The service provider for the hotspot requires a flashed router so I will have two routers - one for the hotspot and one for the business network.

How do I lay this out? My ISP can give us two IPs and I know one will be for the hotspot router and the other will be for my existing network. It's not clear to me if the modem that they will supply will have two ports and I'd like to budget for any equipment such as switches.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

[alkemyst]

I am not sure what you are asking....as a hotspot that is a separate network.

I'd do this totally wirelessly so the only connections go out the hotspot which would be your modem in this network.

 

[StaffHerb]

I am not sure what you are asking....as a hotspot that is a separate network.

I'd do this totally wirelessly so the only connections go out the hotspot which would be your modem in this network.

Well, I'm not sure what you mean by that as a hotspot or wireless access point is just that, an access point to the network which is then connected to the Internet.

My current configuration is as follows:

cable modem => router => my devices

I'll be adding a wireless access point to a router which has had it's configuration replaced with one from the vendor and the vendor needs to be able to see the MAC.

What I'm wondering about is the following configuration:

cable modem => router: Port 1 to hotspot router => AP, Port 2 - 10 => my devices

However, I don't know if that will work. I specifically would like to separate them because I'm concerned about QoS on my existing network and can setup rules for that.

Is there some other way that I should approach this? It would be a pain to have to allow traffic from every single networked device on my network and it would much easier to do that from one point.

I hope that's a little clearer.

 

[Fardringle]

The term "hotspot" is generally used to describe a device that shares a mobile (cell phone) data connection with other wireless devices. Hence, it IS a router, and is its own network, and therefore doesn't need to be separated from any existing network.

 

[stlcardinals]

Ubiquiti UniFi's have this ability built in.

http://www.ubnt.com/unifi#UnifiSoftware

 

[StaffHerb]

The term "hotspot" is generally used to describe a device that shares a mobile (cell phone) data connection with other wireless devices. Hence, it IS a router, and is its own network, and therefore doesn't need to be separated from any existing network.

I'm familiar with the mobile hotspot concept but I'm referring to the traditional sense of the term, long before the mobile sense came about. Wikipedia describes pretty much how I was using the term.

I know it is a router/access point but it will still be part of or passing traffic through my network to get to the Internet and I'd like to separate them as much as possible. What I'm trying to do is ensure that my networks traffic has priority over the access point's traffic to ensure Quality of Service (QoS).

I was speaking with a rep from the vendor that will be managing the access point and since I'll be using a Ubiquiti AP I can flash that device which will be connected to my main router and I can set the QoS by the port which will accomplish what I was looking for. In essence, all the traffic coming from the AP will have secondary priority over my existing network connected devices.

 

[StaffHerb]

Ubiquiti UniFi's have this ability built in.

http://www.ubnt.com/unifi#UnifiSoftware

Ubiquiti is the hardware that I will be using. Great stuff! In my case I'm going to be using a Rocket M AP that I will be flashing to work with the vendors site. My solution is that I can set the QoS directly on my existing router by port so that the AP's traffic will be secondary to all the other ports which are my existing devices.

 

[naimcohen]

Use this, much easier and does what you're looking for. Just plug into your network and creates a new network for guests which you can manage. It is also firewalled so you're safe.

http://www.guest-internet.com/

 

[Red Squirrel]

Use an AP solution such as Unifi which supports vlans. Have the wireless network be on a separate vlan. The nice thing with this is you can have several SSIDs for different vlans so you can have a private network, public network, and any other networks you may need.

Idealy all vlans trunk to a firewall which can control what vlan can access what from each other vlan. For example you may want to give access to something internal.

 

[JackMDS]

Depending on the ISP (ask them).

You might be able to put a switch on the Modem (if it is a Modem only not a Modem Router).

Then connect your two Wireless Routers to the switch and configure each WAN port to one of your ISP IP.