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Anyone know of APs that have a Captive portal built into the actual unit itself?

I heard (read) someone mention the Airespace 2006 but this seems to be a separate appliance.

I have several small businesses that want to put up wireless for their customers but would like to have a quick captive portal that says "Welcome to our joint and don't surf porn" type thing.

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated...thanks!!

I use the Zyxel G-4100 HSG. I have about 10 in use and they work great. Just make sure you use the latest firmware as the early firmware has bugs. You can find the newest firmware at ftp.us.zyxel.com. The unit costs under $500 online. Try pricegrabber.com for the best price.

There is another unit that you can try is the AIREPOCH HOTSPOT GATEWAY. However, I have never used this device so I can't comment on it, but the price is great ($223). You can get it at www.wlanparts.com.

A third option, the least expensive but the most difficult is to turn a Linksys AP into a HSG. Do a google search for Linksys AP and HSG or hotspot gateway to find it. Basically you use a $50 Linksys AP and upgrade the firmware. This is a hack, not available from Linksys.

Let us know what you choose and how it works out. Have a happy 4th!

The Symbol WS-2000 switch (very low cost and very feature rich) has hotspot features.