Search
START TYPING AND PRESS ENTER TO SEARCH

Tanaza WiFi platform vs. Classic Hotspot

by | Dec 28, 2020 | Cloud Management, TanazaOS, WiFi Networks

Explore Tanaza's Features
WiFi Platform Comparison 2022
Tanaza cloud-based WiFi platform vs. Classic Hotspot


Press play to listen to the article.

Try now the Tanaza
WiFi Management Platform

Get Started

✔︎ No credit card needed ✔︎​ Easy configuration

✔︎ Auto rollback when you desire

or continue to read more
about the differences between
Tanaza and Classic Hotspot.

Cloud-based WiFi platforms are gaining momentum more than ever, especially these days where everything needs to be available right away and from any location. WiFi platforms have become essential to monitor networks, devices, WiFi hotspots, and intervene faster when something goes wrong.

Tanaza capitalizes the WiFi cloud management concept quite well, offering a feature-rich, scalable, and secure platform to manage high performing WiFi networks. IT teams can remotely monitor networks without going onsite and troubleshoot devices in just a few clicks, with almost zero downtime.

Furthermore, Tanaza integrates with the Classic Hotspot platform to monitor and control public hotspots. Thus, MSPs and Service Providers can manage and control WLANs from a single dashboard while allowing their customers to customize the guest WiFi experience.

Disaggregation of hardware and software is at the core of Tanaza’s technology. It allows users to manage their costs better when deploying or upgrading WiFi networks, with remarkable CAPEX and OPEX reduction, thanks to Tanaza’s multi-vendor compatibility.

Tanaza – the cloud-based WiFi platform for WLAN management

Tanaza is a cloud-based management software to operate WiFi networks, suitable for professional indoor and outdoor deployments, medium, and large scale. It allows the deployment, configuration, and troubleshooting of WiFi networks remotely from an intuitive and responsive dashboard. 

The core technology, TanazaOS, is based on the powerful Linux-based Operating System.  The platform allows users to manage and control multiple WiFi access points and thousands of networks from one single control plane.

With Tanaza, users can enable SSIDs, configure IP addresses, set radio power and channels, reconfigure access points without rebooting them or restarting devices from the cloud dashboard. Furthermore, it’s possible to integrate the platform with third-party applications. 

Tanaza represents the most suitable alternative to the on-premises and hybrid-cloud deployments since it removes the need for physical hardware controllers. It relies its cloud platform on the Amazon Web Services (AWS), guaranteeing the market’s highest security levels while running on a robust cloud infrastructure.
Tanaza takes care of many operations, including server maintenance, back-up, security patches, and fixes, and ensures high availability of the system for minimum downtime and productivity losses. 

How does the Tanaza WiFi cloud platform work?

Tanaza is designed to improve productivity and performance when deploying medium and large-scale WiFi Networks. The platform lets users set the basic configuration of a network and apply those by default to all the access points in the network. This feature ensures an issue-free, fast and easy provisioning of new access points in large-scale deployments.

To use Tanaza, users should create an account, choose a device compatible with the platform and download the right TanazaOS firmware for the specific device to manage it with Tanaza.

To get started with Tanaza, create a network to associate any APs. A Network can contain any number of access points in single or multiple locations. There’s no limit on the number of Networks nor on the number of access points associated with it. Furthermore, Networks can be arranged into Organizations, quite useful when managing multiple client’s locations.

Add the access point by entering its MAC address. Afterwards, create an SSID and associate the access points to the new SSID to start broadcasting Internet. When creating SSIDs, users choose an authentication method, edit general settings, like Client IP assignment (NAT or Bridge mode), bandwidth limit, and security settings, such as client isolation, or band selection.

Tanaza features an Inventory for the access points within the platform, where users can store access points while not using them. Also, users can add offline devices to networks. As soon as it goes online, it will synchronize with the network’s configuration automatically.

The platform allows network admins to work with any number of collaborators by inviting them to join the networks as members.

Furthermore, network admins can assign roles and permission levels for new members in the networks that would allow full administration or only-view specific networks.

A WiFi platform with vendor-agnostic capabilities

Tanaza gives users the freedom to use different brands’ access points, reducing costs considerably. In this way, by reusing existing WiFi infrastructure, Tanaza enables customers to lower the cost of the network’s capital investment.

The Tanaza WiFi platform is compatible with multiple access points from multiple brands for indoor and outdoor deployments. Also, it has a curated selection of Tanaza Powered Devices that come with the software pre-installed. The line of cloud-managed Tanaza Powered Devices guarantees users an immediate plug & play, out of the box experience.

Classic Hotspot – the WiFi platform for hotspot management

Previously known as Tanaza Classic. Classic Hotspot is a platform to manage and monitor public hotspots from the cloud. Customers can set up and monitor their clients’ networks, their free and paid hotspots featuring a captive portal with social login and voucher-based authentication.

With Classic Hotspot, you can set up guest access authentication with password-based access, open access, or with captive portal for paid or free WiFi. The Classic Hotspot captive portal allows users to authenticate and register to WiFi networks using their credentials. 

It also represents a profitable marketing tool to collect data and segment users. Businesses that provide WiFi to their clients can collect useful data and segment it to run engaging marketing campaigns. 

Classic Hotspot features a mobile-ready splash page for users’ authentication highly customizable with the Splash Page ​Editor. The editor allows users to drag and drop built-in elements to the splash page, add new login methods, personalize the splash pages, and make it multi-lingual easily.

All information and data captured about WiFi clients are stored within the Classic Hotspot analytics dashboard, a web-based tool to access the social statistics and clients’ contact details. The dashboard helps to gather and analyze WiFi data and get insights about customers for a well-fitted brand’s engagement. The dashboard also serves as a database for all clients and their connections, showing detailed information per client and allowing export to CSV or XLSX.

Guest WiFi Access with Classic Hotspot

Furthermore, Classic Hotspot allows WiFi login through social media. Social WiFi enhances customers’ experiences and provides data to make data-driven decisions. Businesses can generate new leads, increasing the results of the lead nurturing and engagement process. Users/customers get engaged with the business while connected to the WiFi. Businesses can display welcome discounts/offers, familiarize users/customers with the brand, incentivize purchasing, and encourage interaction on social media. Classic Hotspot allows social login through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin, Google, Vkontakte.

The Classic Hotspot Couponing System allows businesses to create, print, and distribute vouchers for Internet connectivity. The couponing system allows to limit guest access to WiFi networks. When setting up the SSID, businesses can specify the overall bandwidth and bandwidth usage per client. Businesses can then distribute WiFi vouchers with a limited data download/upload and a limited number of devices connected to the network.

Through WiFi advertising, businesses can target the right audience, and at the same time, leverage WiFi hotspots to promote the business for free. Many companies are currently exploring WiFi to advertise their products and services to generate new leads. Using Classic Hotspot’s​ built-in system for image or video advertisements, you will attract existing or new potential customers. 

Classic Hotspot integrates with Tanaza cloud-based WiFi platform

Tanaza WiFi Cloud platform integrates with the whole feature set of Classic Hotspot. This includes the splash page editor, social and analytics dashboard. The Classic Hotspot integration allows users to enable social WiFi, paid WiFi, and WiFi advertising on custom splash pages. 
Classic Hotspot enables businesses to monitor public WiFi hotspots and manage and control the WiFi networks with Tanaza WiFi cloud all from the cloud.

To enable the integration between Tanaza WiFi cloud platform and Classic Hotspot, users should follow these instructions.​

Why should you integrate the Tanaza WiFi platform with Classic Hotspot?

The cloud-managed WiFi market is rising, mostly because of the increased usage of WiFi-enabled devices and applications. The increasing employment of streamed multimedia content and web services, particularly mobile devices, expands the unique need for WiFi connectivity and drives companies to invest more into WiFi platforms.

Today, all vertical markets need to provide WiFi to their customers: retail, education, hospitality and tourism, healthcare, SMBs, public and commercial activities. Thanks to the integration with Tanaza, you can manage WiFi hotspots from the cloud.  

In this way, you will have the chance to combine a professional enterprise-level product to manage WiFi access points with a complete set of marketing features that integrates perfectly. The Classic Hotspot integration allows Tanaza’s customers to enable an advanced hotspot system for WiFi marketing, social hotspots, and WiFi monetization. 

Try Tanaza

Experience the power of managing WiFi access points from the cloud with Tanaza.
Get Started

✔︎ No credit card required

Related articles:

The fundamental difference between Tanaza and Tanaza Classic

Update Firmware in Wireless Access Points

How network disaggregation allows you to reduce your CAPEX OPEX costs

WiFi Hotspot Monetization with Express Wi-Fi by Facebook and Tanaza

by | Dec 22, 2020 | Cloud Management, Express Wi-Fi, Express WiFi, TanazaOS

Explore Tanaza's Features
WiFi Hotspot Monetization
WiFi Hotspot Monetization with Express Wi-Fi by Facebook and Tanaza


Press play to listen to the article.

Try now the Tanaza
WiFi Management Platform

Get Started

✔︎ No credit card needed ✔︎​ Easy configuration

✔︎ Auto rollback when you desire

or continue to read more
about WiFi hotspot monetization with
Express WiFi and Tanaza.

WiFi Hotspot Monetization represents an excellent opportunity for Service Providers to generate more revenues. Facebook has created Express Wi-Fi, a best in class platform for WiFi hotspot monetization in emerging countries.

Small businesses, in partnership with Service Providers, can grant WiFi connectivity to their customers and connected devices, implement advertising strategies, and sell data packs through the Express Wi-Fi platform.

Express Wi-Fi helps small businesses to offer fast and affordable WiFi services through hotspots spread across communities. Retailers, restaurants, hoteliers, and other small businesses can integrate Express Wi-Fi with Tanaza to monetize their WiFi investment while managing all their networking devices from a single dashboard.

Express Wi-Fi is already available in countries including Argentina, Brazil, some countries in Africa, Asi, and SouthEast Asia.

WiFi Hotspot Monetization with Express Wi-Fi

Express Wi-Fi by Facebook is an initiative by Facebook Connectivity to bring more people online and connect the unconnected. Worldwide, there are more than 3.8 billion people who are not yet online. The Express Wi-Fi platform aims to connect the world’s rural and underserved areas to the Internet. 

Express WiFi works with local Service Providers to enable retailers, restaurants, and stores with Express WiFi compatible access points to sell internet data packets to customers through the Express WiFi platform. 

The app, available for iOS and Android, accelerates the end-user onboarding process, allowing them to buy internet plans as needed and no extra fees.

What is the Express Wi-Fi platform?

Express Wi-Fi is a best in class SaaS Wi-Fi management platform with an innovative portfolio of monetization levers that helps Service Providers in launching and operating a sustainable high-quality Wi-Fi network. 

Service Providers can collaborate with local communities and local entrepreneurs to enlarge WiFi coverage. Express Wi-Fi offers a comprehensive platform that partners can leverage to manage their WiFi hotspots better and adapt their WiFi offering.

The Express Wi-Fi platform delivers for Service Providers and Business Owners a comprehensive platform to effectively monetize and grow their WiFi networks. On the other hand for End-Users is a quick and intuitive access to fast, reliable and affordable WiFi.

The WiFi opportunity:

 

  • 4G coverage gaps areas with high-density populations, where WiFi can offer a feasible way to overcome this gap. The platform can help better identify, deploy, and manage to optimize the operator’s mobile offering.
  • Areas with low 4G adoption where people can connect but are unable to for different reasons.
  • Areas with 4G congestion. With seamless roaming on the network, end users will benefit from an always-connected state. Thus, operators will better manage congested areas, where the lack of multiple monetization levers limits revenue generation.
  • Under-utilized Wi-Fi networks, for which indirect revenue levers can help create new revenues and increase network utilization.

How to use Express Wi-Fi for WiFi Hotspot Monetization

Service Providers’ customers can use Express Wi-Fi to configure and generate revenues from their WiFi network infrastructure. Small and medium businesses, where Express WiFi is available, can monetize their WiFi hotspots through ads, sponsored splash pages, recharge API, vouchers, loyalty programs, and utilize the referral program. 

For instance, businesses can configure the captive portal at targeted hotspots to display the logo or promotional image of their business or use banner ads on the captive portal and image-based rewarded data. Also, they can purchase data packs in bulk via the Express Wi-Fi App, with each voucher having a code that can be shared through the Express Wi-Fi App, via QR code or manually.

Express Wi-Fi multi-role access

The platform has multi-role access, depending on the type of role you have to manage the Express Wi-Fi by Facebook’s network. The kind of role ranges from administrators, retailers, distributors to end-users.

 

  • Administrators can have full access to the Express Wi-Fi Partner portal to manage every single platform viewpoint.
  • Retailers are businesses that ISPs partner with to sell data packs to users. Retailers represent the point of reference for consumers to buy data and learn about the service.
  • Distributors and sales representatives can manage a retailers’ network. Also, ambassadors promote the Express Wi-Fi platform awareness and submissions. Distributors own the channel, which enables partners to reach retailers and help them to manage sales to end-users. They can sell balances to retailers through a website via mobile phone.
  • Customers, or end-users, are purchasing or getting access to the Express Wi-Fi partner’s internet service.

Where is Express Wi-Fi available?

Express Wi-Fi has already been launched in over 35 regions around the world. Networks have been deployed with more than 20,000 hotspots to serve over 1 million people.
The platform is now a reality throughout Africa, Asia, South East Asia and South America.

 

Africa

Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.

South America

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Peru.

Asia

India, Nepal and Thailand.

South East Asia

Indonesia and Philippines.

Tanaza WiFi cloud-managed software integrates seamlessly with Express Wi-Fi.

Tanaza is an official Express Wi-Fi Technology Partner, which means that the Tanaza WiFi cloud management software integrates seamlessly with the Express Wi-Fi platform. Service Providers can use a fully integrated solution to manage their network deployments and the utmost monetization tools offered by Express Wi-Fi.

The Tanaza WiFi management platform

The Tanaza platform is a cloud-based WiFi management software that makes deployment, configuration, and remote monitoring of networks easier. The software enables network admins to manage WiFi networks, access points, SSIDs, and clients from one single dashboard in the cloud. The core technology, TanazaOS, is based on the reliable and robust Linux-based Operating System. The platform is compatible with multiple hardware devices for Service Providers to manage and monitor WiFi networks remotely.

Service Providers and Operators can deploy WiFi networks with different brands for robust and stable WiFi networks. In this way, they can grant users access to fast, affordable, and reliable Internet with Express Wi-Fi’s monetization levers.

Benefits of integrating Tanaza with Express Wi-Fi.

The Tanaza WiFi cloud management software represents a valuable opportunity for Service Providers and Operators willing to monetize WiFi hotspots with Express Wi-Fi.

SPs and Operators can manage WiFi networks from the Tanaza cloud dashboard and monetize them through the Express Wi-Fi platform. Tanaza offers great flexibility to choose the WiFi access points that best meet their needs, thanks to our multi-compatibility.

Enable retailers to sell daily, weekly, or monthly data packs. Retailers’ customers (end-users) can buy packages on-the-go, and use them to access the Internet until the data limit is reached or until the usage period expires.

By integrating Tanaza with Express Wi-Fi, Service Providers can:

 

  • Configure, monitor, and troubleshoot networks remotely from the Tanaza cloud dashboard.
  • Use affordable and high-performing access points, leveraging Tanaza’s multi-brand compatibility.
  • Reduce CapEx and OpEx because expensive hardware controllers are excluded.
  • Monetize your WiFi hotspots through the Express Wi-Fi platform, with direct and indirect revenues.
  • Deliver better utilization and profitability from an innovative portfolio of monetization levers.
  • Use a cloud-based SaaS model optimized for Wi-Fi operations.
  • Leverage advanced analytics for optimal network deployment.
  • Take advantage of a continuously evolving software platform.

Express Wi-Fi provides Operators with a complete platform to enhance their WiFi offering.

When enabling Express Wi-Fi, you become part of an ecosystem that grants fast, affordable, reliable, and scalable internet access all over the world. Through this program, Mobile Network Operators and Internet Service Providers can work together with local entities to boost WiFi coverage where and when it’s needed.

The Express Wi-Fi platform enables Service Providers and Operators to help people enjoy connectivity in underserved areas while assisting operators in managing and monetizing their offerings.

Related articles:

Tanaza joins Facebook Connectivity’s Express Wi-Fi Technology Partner Program

Tanaza participates in the Facebook Accelerator: Connectivity program 2020

Tips to execute an accurate WiFi channel selection

by | Nov 26, 2020 | TanazaOS, WiFi Networks, Wireless Hardware

Explore Tanaza's Features
How to Choose the Best Channel for WiFi Networks

Tips to execute an accurate WiFi channel selection


Press play to listen to the article.

Try now the Tanaza
WiFi Management Platform

Get Started

✔︎ No credit card needed ✔︎​ Easy configuration

✔︎ Auto rollback when you desire

or continue to read more
about a correct WiFi channel selection.

An accurate WiFi channel selection can be tricky. When deploying a wireless network, Network Engineers need to select the right channel to improve WiFi coverage and performance significantly. 

WiFi instability and signal interruptions are very often tied to the choice of the channel applied. Issues like reduced range or sudden drops in transfer speed are the mainstream problems of any high-density WiFi deployment. This, of course, might depend on the wireless environment in which a new network is deployed. 

Therefore, before designing and implementing WiFi networks, it’s essential to ensure that the impact between a network previously deployed and converging WLANs is minimized.  

To prevent all these issues with your networks, when planning for the right channel, we suggest taking into account two key factors: IP and Channel plan.

What is the IP Plan, and how does it work?

An IP plan is a document developed by Network Engineers to show how IP addresses will be distributed among network devices based on network design to support the required services.

The IP plan allows you to:

  • Determine the number of IP addresses required to provide the specified services to customers.
  • Maintain reachability between the different network segments.
  • Facilitate future expansion and modification of the network.

 

The first aspect to check concerns the presence of IP conflicts. IP conflicts occur when two or more networking devices have the same IP address (layer 3) and can communicate within the same WLAN (layer 2). Thus, the sender doesn’t know who should deliver the specific IP packet due to the conflict. It is like if two units claim to be the receiver of the specific package, and there is no way to know who will be chosen.

Therefore, it’s crucial to know the WLAN’s design, how it’s partitioned into collision domains, and how many NAT levels are cascaded. The typical situation in an environment where a DSL router is installed is that such router has a WAN port with a public IP, dynamically provided by the ISP. An IP class is shared among all LAN ports, such as 192.168.1.1/24. It means clients connecting to the LAN ports will receive an IP address between 192.168.1.2 and 192.168.1.254.

In these cases, it is best to leave the added AP configured to work in DHCP mode (with dynamic IP), which means it will receive an IP address in that range, behaving precisely like other clients.

To know the exact IP addresses assigned to WiFi clients, you can check the DHCP Lease Table, available in the DSL router configuration tool.

If your DSL router has a WiFi interface, the same criteria must be applied, as the SSID is usually connected to the LAN ports and shares the same DHCP range. If you need to assign a static IP to the added AP, it’s important to check the DHCP range of the DHCP server built into the DSL router.

This operation is usually accomplished by logging into the web interface or DSL router configuration tool.

The static IP assigned to the new AP connected to one of the router LAN ports must not be included in the DHCP RANGE; otherwise, an IP conflict is likely to occur between the AP and a network client receiving that IP from the DHCP server.

The Channel Plan to reduce interference

A proper design and deployment of a wireless network must include a channel plan, pivotal for high-performance WLANs.

Whether you are using a static channel plan or a dynamic channel assignment, there are a few things to consider during the WiFi channel selection process. One of the most important item is the correct channel width to use.

The IEEE 802.11 standard defines wireless networks’ operation in the frequency ranges of 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. (Learn more here https://www.tanaza.com/blog/5ghz-vs-2-4ghz/).

WiFi channels are the smaller bands within each WiFi frequency band. The 2.4 GHz band is divided into 14 channels (1-14), according to the standard and depending on the availability of each country’s regulations. Each channel could be up to 40 MHz wide. The two frequencies combined allow for channel width from 20MHz to 160MHz. Although, there are 14 channels available in 2.4GHz, and only 3 of them don’t “overlap” or interfere with each other: 1, 6, and 11. 

However, channels 2-5 interfere with 1 and 6, while 7-10 interfere with 6 and 11.

For instance, when a station (access point, or client device) needs to  transmit something, it must wait for the channel to be free. Therefore, only one device can send data at a time. When overlapping channels (2-5, 7-10 at 2.4 GHz) are in use, any station on those channels will transmit regardless of what is happening on the other channels, causing performance downgrade. This type of interference is described as Adjacent Channel Interference (ACI).

A Co-Channel Interference (CCI), on the contrary, occurs when two or more APs in the same area operate on the same channel. This essentially turns both cells (the coverage areas for an AP) into one large cell. Any device that has something to transmit must wait for the other devices associated with the same AP. But also wait for all the devices related to the other APs on the same channel. 

Indeed, CCI will also reduce performance even if not as severe as ACI. The reason behind this behavior is that multiple devices are attempting to access wireless media on the same channel, forcing stations to wait longer before they can transmit.

Due to the limited amount of available spectrum, it’s safer to use only non-overlapping 20 MHz channels, although the possibility to use 40 MHz was added in 802.11n.

In the 5GHz band, there is much more spectrum available. Each channel occupies its non-overlapping slice at 20MHz. As with the 2.4, 802.11n gave us the ability to use 40 MHz channels. From there, 802.11ac now allows 80 MHz and even 160 MHz wide channels. These wide channels are created by joining 20 MHz channels together, using the center frequency to indicate the channel.

So why not set your APs to the widest channel available?

At the end of the WiFi channel selection, let’s assume we have decided to use 80 MHz channels for our deployment. We just went from 9 non-overlapping channels to 2. This means that half of the APs we have implemented will occupy the same part of the spectrum. Now, for APs on opposite ends of the facility that can’t communicate with each other too loudly, this isn’t a big issue. 

The situation changes for the APs close to each other. These APs and any associated devices become part of the same cell, slowing everything down. All devices must then wait their turn to access the network.

The best way to accomplish this is to have as many channels as possible to distribute. Even though a 20 MHz channel doesn’t achieve the higher data rates shown on 80 MHz, users can still achieve acceptable speeds.

For most enterprise-grade deployments with many APs, choosing narrow channels will give the spatial reuse you need for your WLAN to perform at its best and improve the user experience. However, the best practice is to do a quick survey and check which channels are already in use on-site to choose the right channel for your network. There are many free tools for Windows, Mac, Linux, to do this kind of process.

For example: in a venue with a WiFi DSL router in place, the site survey might provide the following result:

– SSID A / location 1 / channel 1 / power 4/5
– SSID B / location 2/ channel 11 / power 3/5
– SSID C / location 2 / channel 9 / power 5/5

In such a situation, the best channel to use is 6, which does not overlap with neighboring SSIDs. If possible, we suggest to turn off the WiFi of the DSL of the venue where the AP is being added and remove unnecessary interference. If this SSID is active, it should be considered as a source of interference.

For instance, Tanaza allows the band selection with which you can decide whether to transmit the SSID only at one frequency or whether on both frequencies (only 2.4Ghz, 5Ghz, or dual-band).

In the Tanaza platform, radio selection is automatically set to ‘standard channel selection’. However the user can edit it manually, allowing the individual radios to be turned off.

As the interference sources can change over time, it is recommended to use remote channel management tools to change the channel when needed. The Tanaza dashboard includes a tool to easily change the channel automatically.

Try Tanaza

Discover how to execute a correct WiFi channel selection thanks to the Tanaza features.

Get Started

✔︎ No credit card required 

Mockup-tanaza-os

Related articles:

 

Cloud WiFi Management Software for Enterprise

5GHz vs 2.4GHz – What is the best WiFi frequency for business?

https://www.tanaza.com/blog/how-to-optimize-wifi-network-infrastructure/