[MLB-WIRELESS] Tracking usage when sharing broadband?

[Bruce Paterson]

Thanks Toliman,

Does anyone know which brands of wireless router offer both MAC 
access control and data usage logging? I think the Airport 
basestation offers the former but not the latter, for example.

It would be perfect if the router handled the logging so I didn't 
need to dedicate one of my PCs to always being on, etc.

Regards,
Bruce



>
>
>>  Hi,
>>
>>  I'm thinking of using a wireless router (probably airport basestation
>>  connected to my mac) to share a broadband connection with friends in
>>  the adjacent apartments.
>>
>>  Is there a way to track usage so if we know who's responsible for
>>  blowing the download cap :-)
>
>>  And which router is recommended for this purpose (ie. which has the
>>  greatest range in the apartment block context)?
>
>yes. the internal firmware used in standalone NAT routers (adsl/modem
>routers with wireless capability) will show you how much usage is recorded
>against the MAC address detected (the ID number of each wireless card), look
>for ones with internal webservers, so you can administer it locally...
>
>f you use the mac to share the broadband connection, i don't know the
>details of the software the lets you control access and usage, but there
>might be a solution with an ACL.
>
>some routers will have whats called an ACL or Access Control List, so you
>can manage users with username/passwords, and lock out offenders/abusers on
>your own time. however, the process is not automatic, and requires you have
>the MAC addresses of each person on the network linked up to their
>usernames, to avoid people trading wireless adaptors for a different usage
>limit. once a user is logged in, they can access the internet, until they
>manually log out.
>
>for coverage, you will need an antenna in a position between the least
>amount of concrete and glass of all the people involved. wether that's near
>the outside of the bulding or closer to the centre, depends on the apartment
>block & interference in the apartment block. in theory, you could cover a
>few floors with omni-directional antennae on each side of the apartment,
>performance will vary. just pick the worst possible spot, and measure the
>signal and see how it can be improved at that one spot, repeat for the other
>corner of the apartment block. if you get a lot of money, you could even use
>two access points to extend coverage to the other side of the apartment
>block
>
>>  And is it so that the greatest possible one-way data speed between
>>  the wireless router and the client will be 5.5Mbps?
>
>in the apartment situation, it is more likely that it will be 2mbps than
>5.5mbps due to physical obstructions. You will also find that the more
>likely speed range will be closer to 4.5mbps in testing, because of
>overheads in transmission and protocols used. however, you can link up a lot
>of people without the need to leech at 500kb/sec from each other. your
>performance will vary, as will your signal/noise ratio.
>
>as far as i know, 5mbps when connected to an AP is average, dropping to
>2mbps and 1mbps when the signal/noise ratio is higher. consider it a small
>sacrifice for having more people attached at once.
>
>>  Look forward to feedback.
>>
>>  Cheers,
>>  Bruce
>
>
>
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