The Virtual HGW and PAEGW Gateways

The branch of the gateway may contain any virtual Hotspot Gateways that allow defining, while maintaining the same hardware infrastructure, multiple authentication methods, different Welcome Portals, management of users across multiple domains and distinct networks with multiple SSID.
The virtual gateways can be of two types:

With multiple authentication methods;
With additional Hotspot service (SSID).

The Context Dropdown menu

By clicking the bar with the right mouse button or pressing the context properties button , you expand the context dropdown menu that contains a range of options grouped by: default; edit; admin; Welcome Portal.

The “Default” Section

It contains the following options:

Option

Description

Dashboard

For further details about the contents of the various tiles, please refer to the “Tile Types of the Dashboards” paragraph.

Available only for virtual gateways of type “With additional Hotspot (SSID) Service”.

The “Edit” Section

In addition to the standard options, contains the following options:

Option	Description
Add Printer	Allows you to add a new HSNM Printer.

The “Admin” Section

Available only for virtual gateways of type “With additional Hotspot (SSID) Service”, it contains the following options:

Option	Description
Display All Connected Users	Shows in a table all users connected to the gateway.
Display All Users who Used this Gateway	Displays in a table all users who used or are using this gateway.

The “Welcome Portal” Section

Available only for virtual gateways of type “With additional Hotspot (SSID) Service”, it contains the following options:

Option	Description
Custom App	Goes to the management of the Apps customised and specific for the gateway. To make them visible in the Welcome Portal, you have to assign them in the configuration of gateway.
Custom Images	Opens the page for managing custom images for the gateway. They are usable only in the current gateway.
Download QR Code	Download a PDF with QR Code and the instructions for connecting. Available only for domains with “QR Code & connect. No registration, no password” and if the SSID to be printed has been defined.
Surveys, Quizzes and Tests	Opens the page for managing surveys, quizzes and tests.
Templates	Allows you to manage the templates that customise the Welcome Portal for the gateway.
Translations	Allows you to customise, specific for the gateway, the texts displayed in the Welcome Portal, in the standard apps, in user login page without Welcome Portal and in the printing of “ Cards” or to add texts for additional languages.
User Interface Preview	Available only on gateway branches and it displays the user interface with the Welcome Portal or the login page based on how the domain is configured.
Walled Garden	Allows you to define the accessible URLs by users of the gateway without logging in and registering.

For further details, please refer to the “ The Gateways (HGWs, PGWs and PAEGW)” paragraph, in “Administering the System” chapter.

Adding or Editing a Virtual Gateway

To add a gateway, select the data tab, press the context properties button of the domain in which insert a gateway and select “ Add gateway”. While, to modify a gateway, always in the data tab, press the context button on the gateway and select “ Edit”. In both cases, a page appears that allows you to manage the contents of the following fields:

General Data

It is important to enter the GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude fields) eventually also derived in automatic way from the address. They are used to display the map of the gateways and for the geo referenced “ Advertising Campaigns“.

Field	Description
ID	ID of the record. Auto-assigned Identifier of the record. It can be used to use the API or external integrations. It is displayed during editing phase of an existing data and not during insertion of a new record.
Created on	Date and time of creation of the gateway.
Gateway Name	Name assigned to the gateway. Editable only if the user has permissions to manage the data of the gateway.
Gateway MAC Address	MAC address of the gateway used to recognize the correct domain and gateway when you perform a redirect to the Welcome Portal. You don’t need to define it, if in the Redirect URL, you specify the hotspotname parameter, using the name assigned in the “Gateway Name” field.
Type of Virtual Gateway	Defines the type of virtual gateway. You can select one of the following options With multiple authentication methods. In this case, by inserting “Title for the Authentication Method”, in the login App more TABs will appear where the users can choose the authentication method to use; With additional Hotspot service (SSID). By choosing this option, you declare that with the same hardware infrastructure will be available more Hotspot service with different SSIDs. Depending on the SSID the users chose, they will be offered a different Welcome Portal and authentication methods.
Title for the Authentication Method	Title displayed at the top of the login App for the authentication method. Available only if you have selected “With multiple authentication methods” in the “Type of Virtual Gateway” field.
Reference Domain	The domain which the virtual gateway is associated with. You can to define another domain to distinguish users, offer different products and registration features
Welcome Portal Template	Confirm the template to use for this gateway that parameterises the contents and the graphic unit interface of the Welcome Portal or login page. If you enable the “Use domain settings” option, it will use the template defined in the domain. Selectable templates are coloured in base to the level they belong to. In specific, custom templates for the domain are displayed in light blue and in yellow ochre the ones for the system. Available only for virtual gateways of type “With additional Hotspot (SSID) Service”.
Template Color Scheme	Colour scheme to use for the selected template. Available only if you have selected ” With additional Hotspot (SSID) Service” in the “Type of Virtual Gateway” field.
Advertising	Defines the type of advertising, derived from “ Advertising Campaigns“, viewable to users. You can select one of the following options: Enabled: enable the inclusion of advertisement: Only for campaign on this gateway: enables the inclusion of advertising only for specific campaigns for this gateway (they must have defined the field gateway). Disabled: does not display advertisement. Editable only if the user has permissions to manage the data of the gateway and if advertising has not been disabled in the domain. If in the domain, you have defined to not display advertising, this value is not considered in this field. Available only if you have selected ” With additional Hotspot (SSID) Service” in the “Type of Virtual Gateway” field.
Surveys, Quizzes or Tests	Enables the request for surveys, quizzes or tests. You can select one of the following options: Use domain definition. Enable, one at a time. Enables the request to fill in the surveys but at maximum one at a time. Enable, all those provided. If the current context provides for more surveys, it requires them all. Disable. No surveys are required. Editable only if user has the permissions to manage the domain data. Available only if you have selected ” With additional Hotspot (SSID) Service” in the “Type of Virtual Gateway” field.

Activation Scheduler

Using the parameters in this section, you can set the times and the months of the virtual gateway activation.
You can then create systems functioning based on the opening hours, days or months of the companies who offer the services.

For further details about the available options, please refer to the “Activation Scheduler” paragraph described in the Adding and Editing a gateway HGW section.

Custom App

Defines the custom App for the virtual gateway.

For further details about the available options, please refer to the “Custom App” paragraph described in the Adding and Editing a gateway HGW section.

External Authentications

Defines any options for external authentications.

For further details about the available options, please refer to the “External Authentication” paragraph described in the Adding and Editing a gateway HGW section.

CNA

Defines the options for the CNA.

Available only if you have selected ” With additional Hotspot (SSID) Service” in the “Type of Virtual Gateway” field.

For further details about the available options, please refer to the “CNA” paragraph described in the Adding and Editing a gateway section.

Analytics e Marketing

Field	Description
Enable Google Analytics	Enable the Google Analytics service. Google Analytics is a service that Google makes available to users to monitor their website or web service. Analytics is a real dashboard that shows statistics and data related to user access.
Google Analytics ID	Enter the Google Analytics ID (Es. UA-NNNNNNNN-NN).
Enable Facebook Pixel	Enable the Facebook Pixel service.
Facebook Pixel ID	Enter the Facebook Pixel ID (i.e. NNNNNNNNNNNNNNN). Facebook Pixel tracks the passage of users allowing you to measure actions and create more targeted advertising.

Options

Field	Description
Maximum Number of Users	Maximum number of users connected to the gateway. Once this number is reached, other users will no longer be able to connect unless there are disconnections. To indicate that the number of users is not limited, edit a zero value. It is used to create a multi-tenant system. If in the reseller and/or in the manager, you have specified a maximum value of users, then the minimum value in this field is equal to five. The maximum value that you can edit depends: on the “Maximum Number of Users per Gateway” defined in the reseller or manager, on the concurrent users defined in the “Maximum Number of Users” of the manager or reseller and on how many gateways you have already inserted. To not stress the system, the count of the current number of connected users is not done at every access to the Welcome Portal but every minute. In some special cases and on systems with lots of users, it may happen that the maximum number of defined users is exceeded. Editable only if the user has permissions to manage the data of the gateway.
Maximum Number of Views per Minute	Maximum number of Welcome Portal views per minute. The sum of the maximum number of views per minute cannot exceed the value you defined in the manager. A zero value indicates an infinite number. It is used to create a multi-tenant system. It allows limiting the access to the Welcome Portal. When multiple devices attempt to display the Welcome Portal at the same minute, and their number exceeds the defined value, the user will display a message that the system is busy and to attend X seconds. Editable only if the user has permissions to manage the data of the reseller.
Notes for the Gateway	Enter possible notes for the gateway. Available only if the user has permissions to manage the data of the gateway.
Verify Internet Connection	Enable verifying Internet connectivity upon users login. If not active, the login procedure is faster but users are not notified if the Internet connection is missing.
Lock the Gateway	If enabled, it blocks the logins to all users of the gateway. Available only if the user has permissions to manage the data of the gateway.

Fields for the Gateway Configuration

Defines the option for configuring a virtual gateway.

Authentication options

Field

Description

Authentication via MAC-address

If you enable this option, it is possible to create users with the same username and password as the device MAC-address, by skipping the Welcome Portal and the whole registration process and manual authentication.

Enable this option only if really need otherwise an authentication request will be sent to the WiFi connection of any device.

Wireless

Field

Description

Use Wireless

If enabled, the commands for configuring the wireless card (WLAN1) will be added in the configuration script of the gateway and the hotspot service will be configured on this interface.
If disabled, no wireless card will be configured and the hotspot service will be configured on the Ether2

SSID

Enter the SSID of the wireless network that you want to be displayed by the users who connect to this gateway.

It appears only if “Use wireless” is enabled.

Guest Interface

Field

Description

Add EtherX to the Guest Bridge

If activated, it adds the gateway ethernet to the bridge in order to activate the service (HotSpot or WPA Enterprise) even to the ethernet. To activate only if the gateway that you are configuring, has 2 or more network cards.

If you are using the ethernet in the WAN, it will not appear in the list.

Guest Network

Field	Description
Keep-Alive timeout	Defines the Keep-Alive timeout to check the accessibility of the client. If clients are no more reachable, for example for the loss of the WiFi connection, after the defined time they are disconnected automatically. For example, if you want to keep a user logged for any length of time without forcing him to relog even when he switches off his phone, you have to define a sufficiently high time. The value is dynamically updated every five minutes in the gateways. Warning, disconnection can be caused also by the Timeout Idle and the Timeout Session defined in the product policy. If “Not Defined”, the client remains connected even if, for example, disconnects from the WiFi network or the gateway no longer reaches the HSNM. Any disconnection will be caused by the values defined in the policy of the products (“Session Timeout” and “Timeout for Idle”) or in the products (time and/or traffic credit or expiration).
IP Address	IP address to assign to the interface (WLAN1 or Ether2 depending if you have enabled the “use wireless” field) on which you will activate the hotspot service.
Network Mask	Enter the network mask that you want to assign to the interface (WLAN1 or Ether2 depending if you have enabled the “use wireless” field) on which you will activate the hotspot service.
DNS IP Addresses	Enter the IP addresses of the DNS servers (separated by commas) that you want to assign to the gateway. It is very important that the inserted DNS is operating, otherwise the users accessing the service may have problems viewing pages.
First IP Address for the DHCP Address Pool	Enter the first IP address of the pool of addresses that will be assigned by the DHCP server that is configured on the interface where the hotspot service will be activated on. The IP addresses of the pool will be assigned to the devices that connect.
Last IP Address for the DHCP Address Pool	Enter the last IP address of the pool of addresses that will be assigned by the DHCP server that is configured on the interface where the hotspot service will be activated on. The IP addresses of the pool will be assigned to the devices that connect.
DHCP Lease Time	Specify the lease time, expressed in hours, for the IP address assignment of the connected devices Warning! Set a value equal to or greater than the maximum time for inactivity is defined in the product policy used in the domain.
Virtual Gateway VLAN ID	ID of the VLAN for the virtual gateway. Allowed numeric values are between 2 and 4095.