SMC's Instant Hot Spot Melds Wired, Wireless Worlds - Setting Up the SMCWHSG14-G
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SMC's new hot spot proves to be pretty easy to set
up. On the hardware side, installers will find a thermal ticket printer and an
"all-in-one" router/access point/Ethernet switch box as the primary
components. SMC also puts the needed cables and a pair of power supplies in the
shipping box, along with a quick-start guide for the thermal POS
printer and a CD that contains an installation wizard and associated
documentation.
Although initial setup proves to be
straightforward, SMC should consider including a complete, printed quick-start
guide for the product that covers all of the basics and standard configuration
options, which could save installers a few minutes and ensure that the initial
setup goes as smoothly as possible.
Everything pretty much works over Ethernet
cabling; the receipt printer can be plugged directly into an available Ethernet
port on the gateway, or connected via the network backbone. The key here is that
the receipt printer and wireless gateway are on the same subnet and can
communicate with each other via TCP/IP. The
gateway features a WAN/POE port that can be plugged into the existing Ethernet
network via an RJ45 cable and that effectively firewalls the gateway from the
host network.
Once all of the cables are plugged in, the rest of
the process takes place via a Web browser session. The setup wizard is launched
by pointing a browser at the unit's default address, which will bring up an
authentication screen for the administrator log-in.
The setup wizard does a good job of handling most
of the unit's settings and guides the installer through the process. Some
questions asked by the wizard cover DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) settings,
gateway settings and other pertinent network settings. If the device is
connected directly to a cable or DSL modem,
the wizard will take the installer through the needed settings to configure
access to the Internet. In short, the basic setup of the unit differs very
little from setting up a typical broadband router; things only start to change
in the portions of the setup that deal with the hot-spot-specific features.
The wizard also guides installers through some of
the security settings and, more importantly, the account access methods. Here
an installer can chose to integrate the unit with a RADIUS server or enable the
device's own on-board authentication service. During that portion of the setup,
account defaults can also be configured, such as how long a user can access the
wireless (or wired) service and the price (if any) associated with the hot-spot
access plan.
Installers can also choose what each of the three
buttons on the POS printer does during
setup. For example, the first button may print a receipt and offer a code for
all-day access, while the other buttons could be defined for different lengths
of time and dollar amounts (if any). The printed receipt will offer the
customer an access code, Wi-Fi access information and other information, such
as an advertising blurb and usage message. The idea here is to make the unit as
easy to use as possible, so that a clerk only has to push a single button and
hand a receipt to the customer.
The wizard does offer access to a few other minor
elements and does a great job of quickly setting the unit up for use. Of
course, administrators can do a great deal more with the system and have access
to advanced configuration options that can be used in certain circumstances.
The advanced menus offer configuration screens for services such DDNS, RADIUS
and other network-centric elements.
One interesting feature is the unit's ability to
do "complete billing"—where a customer can input credit card
information and have the hot-spot gateway automatically process those charges.
SMC includes in the firmware ways for several of the major credit card clearing
houses to process payments automatically. That allows customers to have
unattended access to the system, yet still garner revenue for the service.
A nice option here would be the ability to
integrate PayPal into the payment scheme, which could be more comfortable for
some customers to use than entering credit card information into an unknown hot
spot.
