Note: This howto has been tested and works for Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron server editions for other vesions of ubuntu see WifiDocs/ChillispotHotspot

Chillispot is software which provides authentication and restricted network access to clients. Its primary use is in wireless (WiFi) networks.

For instance, suppose you are managing a wireless network in a hotel: the access points are connected via the wired LAN to a server which works as a gateway, firewall, DNS server, etc. Now you want the same server (either because it’s desirable or because it’s required by your nation’s law) to require authentication from all clients, possibly without messing around with the configuration of the access points. And maybe you even want users to be able to browse some sites (i.e. an internal web server or the hotel web site) without the need to authenticate themselves. Chillispot lets you manage all of this, and some more.

Please take a look at the Chillispot.info web site to see how the software works. In a few words, hillispot creates a virtual private network (192.168.182.0/24, but you can change this default setting) which it uses to dialogate with the clients and to decide who and how to let to see the outside network. Chillispot manages the allocation of dynamic IP addresses to clients, so you don’t need other DHCP tools.

Requirements

The following software is required for this installation:

• Chillispot
• FreeRadius
• Apache
• MySQL Read the rest of this entry »