Hospitality Gateways

Most corporations and/or establishments that provide paid lodgings now present High Speed Internet Access (HSIA) services for their employees and guests, including visitors.However, some of the issues faced include the following:

• How is it possible to centrally manage internet connectivity to different groups of users such as guests, senior management, employees, etc.?
• How can we provide a central internet access system where free, pre-paid, or time based access plans without exposure to the internal network?
• How can we integrate such a system of centralized internet access to our property management system (PMS) in order to generate revenue?
• How do we cater to the different Operating Systems and configurations of internet accessible devices such as laptops, PDA’s, and mobile phones?
• Is it possible to customize the system to our corporate image, and provide access plans without compromising on network security and bandwidth?
• How do we prevent a single guest from utilizing majority of the bandwidth and control user sessions?
  
  
  The most popular solution today which addresses all these issues and more is an Access Controller, otherwise known as a Hospitality Gateway. Hospitality Gateways control and manage user sessions to the Internet. In addition, they address the issue of private networks accountability for use of internal corporate IT resources such as printers.  Examples include network access for students at a college or university, Internet access for visitors in a corporate conference room or reception area, and other situations where it's desirable to grant controlled network access to visitors and guests. 
  
  
  How do they work?
  • When a user opens a browser and attempts to reach any web page hosted outside the corporate LAN, or sites not granted local access, the user machine issues a Domain Name Service (DNS) request to lookup the IP address of the specified domain required.
  • At this point, the Gateway hijacks or intercepts the request and returns the IP address of the login page stored on the gateway, which may be customized to the corporation’s look and feel.
  • The login page is displayed and the user enters their username and password. The login page which the user sees first is referred to as the captive portal (or portal page informally) since the page is the only way out to the Internet.
  • The login details are checked to determine if the user is authorized and what type of access they are granted (free, pre-paid or time based charge plan), based on the settings in the gateway.
  • The webserver built in to the gateway notifies the user on authorization results, and if successful, they are redirected to their original webpage, where they can proceed normally. If unsuccessful, the gateway will display an error message and the process has to be repeated.
  
  
  Common Features
  
  
  • Most gateways provide a feature called Walled Garden. This refers to a list of web addresses that can be reached through a gateway (since they are under the control of gateway) before the user logs in. For example, a hotel website, a local city guide site, and a weather site. A corporate Walled Garden may include access to web pages showing the current schedule, emergency information, or building maps.
  • Another popular feature provided by gateways includes Zero Configuration. Zero configuration means that any client connecting to a Gateway-powered Network can be connected without having to change any network or application settings, or require the use of any special client software or hardware. This usually occurs by means of the Dynamic Address Translation (DAT) protocol which enables transparent broadband network connectivity, covering all types of IP configurations (static IP, DHCP, DNS), regardless of the platform or the operating system used—ensuring that everyone gets access to the network without the need for changes to their computer’s configuration settings or client-side software.
  • AAA (Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting) services, and subscriber management functionality - Authentication refers to the confirmation that a user who is requesting services is a valid user of the network services requested. Authorization refers to the service whereby a particular user or network device can perform a given activity. E.g.: access certain websites such as Facebook, use 3^rd party software on the LAN, such as skype, msn, etc. Accounting refers to tracking of network resources by users and devices for the purpose of billing, trend and capacity analysis.
  • Integration with Property Management System (PMS) – Most hospitality gateways provide the option of integration to an accommodation providers PMS such as Fidelio and Micros, or its own inbuilt PMS server which provides customized billing and accounting functions.  This is useful for providing guests, employees and visitors with subscription based internet access plans, and generate revenue for the business.
  • Most gateways have easy web based management features. In addition, they usually contain R-232 ports by which administrators can gain console access, and telnet capabilities provide a means for scalable remote access over the network. Telnet access can also be granted via the Ethernet ports. 
    
    
    Some of the big names in Hospitality gateways include: 
    
    
    
    
    
     
    
    
    
    
    The InnGate issued by Antlabs is specially designed to support the needs of visitor based networks. Main features include:
    
    
    
    • Multi-portal web login wizard.
    • Configurable multi-level administration support with audit trail.
    • Account-slip printer for easy account provisioning.
    • Volume prepaid and access code authentication.
    • Anti-DoS / SPAM protection and alerts.
    • Searchable session logs.
    • Gigabit ports.
    • Multi-Tier QoS.
    • Ease of Maintenance.
    
    
    
    
    In the Maldives, Inngate(s) are used by Dhiraagu Telecom as the hospitality gateway of choice as part of their Revenue Shared Packages designed for medium to large sized businesses.
    
    

    

    Inngate

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    The VSG1200 and the G-4100 are gateways issued by Zyxel. They provide a rich set of features including:

    

    G4100

    

    VSG1200

    
    
    • PMS integration with Micros Fidelio
    • Credit card billing
    • Email forwarding
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      Nomadix Access Gateways are a freestanding, fully featured network appliance that enables public access service providers to offer broadband Internet connectivity to their customers. They are powered by a patented and patent-pending suite of embedded software, called the Nomadix Service Engine (NSE). Key features include:
      
      

      

      AG 2300

      • Allows for flexible WAN Connectivity (T1/E1, Cable, xDSL
      • Supports 802.11a/b/g and hybrid networks utilizing wired Ethernet
      • Allows segmenting the network into public and private sections using VLANs
      • User-friendly ways of remote management—through a Web interface, SNMP MIBs, and Telnet interfaces    
      • Zero Configuration using patented Dynamic Address Translation (DAT) algorithms
      • Supports billing plans using credit cards, scratch cards, or monthly subscriptions, or direct billing to a Property Management System (PMS) and can base the billable event on a number of different parameters such as time, volume, IP address type, or bandwidth.
      • Access Control and Authentication and security using walled gardens, and a patented INAT (Intelligent Network Address Translation) feature.
      • A 5-Step service branding methodology comprising of Initial Flash Page branding, Initial Portal Page Redirect (Pre-Authentication), Home Page Redirect (Post-Authentication), displaying corporate branding during the user’s session, and post-paid PMS