For the device MAC to user account association I wrote a simple ARP scan script which is thus vendor independent. The user does need to hit a local webserver (could just be a simple HTTP port handler with the ARP script) which then uses the ARP table to lookup their MAC address from their LAN IP, redirecting the request to the management app with the MAC as a param to record the initial association. If the user is already signed into the app, this process is (or could be) completely transparent to them. The script obviously also transparently checks-in newly connected MACs, and checks them out when they disappear.
Of course the initial HTTP redirection needs to be performed somehow, such as by a captive portal, which means updating its whitelist with the MAC once checked in… I never however used a captive portal for this, preferring instead to chivvy users to the authoritative website (or 'set them up' when they first visit) -- not of course appropriate if complete checkin coverage is needed, but in combination with RFID almost all users are covered thus adequate for my purposes at least. It's good to hear the RouterBoards can handle so many devices, although that's not really the metric that concerned me but is/was rather the latency they can add, especially without extensive knowledge of network tuning in bandwidth restricted scenarios. For the average setup, out of the box solutions like Ubiquiti have been a better choice even though the AP controller system is rather opaque (that API browser is neat though!). Actually just had a look at the latest RouterBoards, the CloudCore line sound pretty good for busier spaces, is this what you've had experience with? I'd probably be happy running captive portal and QoS queues on it, and make up the difference in cost (against Ubiquiti) with simpler APs :) Seems like setting up for roaming and so on still isn't as easy as with UniFi APs though… > On 18 Apr 2017, at 9:42 pm, Adrian Palacios <adr...@nexudus.com> wrote: > > @Alex, slight side-answer. Unify controllers have a great API that exposes > every imaginable piece of data about connected clients and your network. Docs > from Ubiquiti are pretty poor but this project and its source provides a > quick way to get started accessing that data > https://github.com/malle-pietje/Unifi-API-browser. A small service reading > event data or connected clients every a few minutes can easily be used to > check members in and out. > > @Jacob Jay. We currently connect to a range of hotspot/captive portal > devices, some of them incredibly capable. My personal favourite? Mikrotik. > They are the underdog out of all of the ones we connect to but they have > nothing to envy to the big boys. We have seen plenty of success cases and > networks with over 2K devices, or more during events, running just fine + the > play nice with Uniquity APs, which I think are unbeatable. Members only need > to check in the first time they use a new device, we will remember them from > that moment on. Unlike many of the ones we've worked with, their built-in > scripting engine and events system makes it really easy to build integrations > with other systems without having to rely on the infamous RADIUS! > > @Steve Suard. If you plan to build your own RFID tool, this reader is pretty > reliable and comes with SDKs for a good number of programming languages. > Building a tool that reads a card and compares that to a local database > should not be too difficult, if you have access to a coder. That ugly thing > is the most reliable we've found out of the ones we have tested. > > @Sarah. There are plenty of options to facilitate check-ins when using NX > (front-desk ipads, desktop readers, door readers/access control, wifi/network > tracking, ...). A bit depends on budget, feel free to reach out to discuss. > This will also give you the basic options without going into too much > technical detail: > http://www.nexudus.com/en/blog/read/292950659/the-art-of-checking-members-in-and-out > > Adrian -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to coworking+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
