Nexapp - Hotspots

Hotspot

The Hotspot feature is designed to offer controlled internet access over Wi-Fi for casual or guest users. When a user connects to the guest Wi-Fi, they are redirected to a captive portal where they must authenticate before browsing.

Hotspot is ideal for public and semi-public environments such as hotels, cafés, coworking spaces, campuses, stations, events, and retail locations. It provides access regulation, accountability, and optional pricing models while keeping corporate traffic isolated from guests.

Main Features

Network isolation between corporate and guest users
Customizable captive portal page
Multiple authentication methods
- Social login
- SMS
- Email
- Voucher / access code
Auto-login support
Hotspot manager with role-based access
- admin
- customer
- desk
Exportable user and session reports
Centralized multi-site support
- multiple NexappOS units can share one portal instance

How It Works

Hotspot uses two coordinated components:

Hotspot Manager (cloud-hosted)
- A dedicated web interface used to:
  - create Hotspot instances (typically one per location)
  - customize the captive portal page
  - choose authentication methods
  - view users and active sessions
  - generate reports
Hotspot Client on NexappOS (called a “unit”)
- Installed and running on the NexappOS gateway.
- Responsibilities:
  - connect physically/logically to the guest Wi-Fi segment
  - assign IP addresses to clients
  - redirect browsers to the captive portal
  - enforce authentication before internet access

Note
This manual covers only the NexappOS unit (client) configuration.
For hotspot manager details, refer to your hotspot platform documentation or provider.

Status

The Status tab displays all devices connected to the Hotspot network, showing:

authenticated users
users who only received an IP address
MAC address
traffic usage
session state

For deeper reporting and history, use the Hotspot Manager dashboards.

Settings

The Settings tab associates a NexappOS unit with a Hotspot instance created in the Hotspot Manager.

Note
You must create a Hotspot instance in the Manager before registering the unit.

A single hotspot instance can serve multiple NexappOS units across different locations.
This allows a unified captive portal and reuse of user credentials across all linked sites.

This login is required once to allow NexappOS to register to your hotspot instance.

Hostname defaults to the service endpoint provided by your hotspot platform.
Use the same username/password you use for the hotspot manager.

After login, the session remains valid for 24 hours with no re-login required.

Register Your Unit

After login, fill the registration form:

Parent Hotspot
Select which hotspot instance this unit should join.
Unit name
A friendly name for the NexappOS gateway.
Unit description
Short description to identify the site or purpose.
Network device
Select an interface (physical or VLAN) for guest Wi-Fi traffic.
The interface must not already be configured elsewhere.
Hotspot will intercept traffic on this interface.
Network address
Guest subnet in CIDR format.
The first IP is assigned to the Hotspot interface automatically.

Example:
- 192.168.50.0/24 supports up to ~253 clients
- /23 or /22 allows larger guest pools
DHCP limit
By default the full subnet is used.
You can reduce usable leases by setting a maximum number of DHCP clients.
The first DHCP address is calculated automatically.

Click Save to register the unit.

Note
Verify registration in the Hotspot Manager under Units.
A correct registration shows the unit MAC address.
If MAC is missing, unregister and repeat registration.

Unregister Your Unit

If the unit was registered incorrectly (wrong hotspot instance) or you want to remove the service:

Open Hotspot → Settings
Log in to Hotspot Manager if requested
Click Unregister unit

This removes the unit from: - NexappOS - Hotspot Manager

The guest interface becomes free for other uses.

Change DNS Settings

By default, the hotspot uses predefined upstream DNS.
To use custom DNS servers, configure via terminal:

Set DNS servers:

uci set dedalo.config.dns1='<dns_server_1>'
uci set dedalo.config.dns2='<dns_server_2>'

Commit changes:

uci commit dedalo

Restart hotspot service:

service dedalo restart

Restore Default DNS Settings

To revert to default DNS:

uci delete dedalo.config.dns1
uci delete dedalo.config.dns2
uci commit dedalo
service dedalo restart