Google’s access points still have drops in connectivity

by Marketing Team | Apr 27, 2017 | Classic Hotspot, Industry news

Google’s access points still have drops in connectivity

Google released its first Wi-Fi devices in 2016 ensuring to its customers a faster and a more flexible connectivity. On the contrary, many customers complain about drops in connectivity.

Google released its mesh-capable wireless router in 2016 supporting the latest standard 802.11ac, also known WiFi 5, with 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels. The OnHub device fits really easily the house design thanks to its small dimensions and its white cylinder shape. Customers can decide to buy only one unit or to buy a pack of devices, with a roaming feature included.

If the design of the Wi-Fi device is non debatable, its performances did not satisfy the public that complained a lot on Google’s forum about drops in connectivity. Google suggested a temporary solution: disconnect every Windows XP and Xbox devices from the Wi-Fi network and reset the Wi-Fi device.

This is not the first time that Google ran into problems with its OnHub router, one of the reasons of these drops in connectivity is explained by the fact that Google relies a lot on the internet and the cloud to function: for example, the updates are done automatically online, and the user needs a Gmail account to control the OnHub device. From the security point of view it is great, but in practice, the system runs into problems. Google is working hard to find a solution and deliver a qualitative product to its customers.

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https://www.classichotspot.com/blog/6-steps-optimize-wi-fi-network-infrastructure/

4 reasons why 5G cellular won’t be a threat to Wi-Fi

Tanaza delivers Hotspot roaming

by Marketing Team | Apr 27, 2017 | Classic Hotspot, WiFi Networks

After few weeks of testing, Tanaza releases today the Tanaza hotspot roaming functionality, that will be available on all the APs supported by Tanaza.

The hotspot roaming feature is a real plus for your Wi-Fi deployments, as it allows you to deploy a WLAN that offers better performances with a continuous internet session throughout your covered area.

What is the Tanaza roaming ?

Tanaza hotspot roaming works for all networks with captive portal authentication.
The roaming feature allows your Wi-Fi users to always remain connected while at your location. The user will authenticate to your Wi-Fi network only once and then, their device will switch from one access points to another automatically, without displaying the splash page every time it connects to a new AP. This allows the users’ internet session to be continuous.

Hotspot roaming is a real advantage for your WLAN when multiple access points are deployed within one location, in places like malls, hotels, sport venues, universities, bars, cafés, public spaces, etc.

Practical case 1: A customer in a shopping mall
The customer will authenticate when he arrives and will be able to move from one shop to another without getting disconnected

Practical case 2: A client in an hotel

The client’ device will roam from one access point to another within the wirelessly-covered area, allowing clients to continue with their online browsing while moving within the hotel (corridor, lobby, restaurant, rooms…). Basically, this means that if a client is reading his email in his bedroom, he can move to the hotel’s garden and check his Facebook account without seeing the captive portal again.

Tanaza hotspot roaming allows clients to use the most common web applications to browse the internet, stream online videos, chat using whatsapp, view social media, without experiencing disconnections from the Wi-Fi.

From a technical point of view, the pros of Tanaza’s hotspot roaming system are:

Hotspot Roaming on multi-vendor networks.

Tanaza’s core value is its multi-vendor approach. With the new hotspot roaming feature, Tanaza allows you to work with your favorite devices and guarantees you the hotspot roaming functionalities even between access points from different vendors (including Ubiquiti, MikroTiK, TP-Link, D-Link, Netgear…).

Hotspot Roaming does not require devices to work on the same channels.

To avoid any problem with interferences, you don’t need to set the same channel for your access points to activate the hotspot roaming. This characteristic is very useful when you have a lot of access points that can interfere with each other. No interferences, no disconnections.

Seamless roaming between indoor and outdoor APs.

To optimize the experience of your customer, the roaming feature allows your Wi-Fi users to remain connected at all times, even when they are roaming from an indoor to an outdoor access point.

How web content filtering improves public Wi-Fi hotspot security

by Marketing Team | Apr 27, 2017 | Classic Hotspot, Public Hotspots, WiFi Networks

How web content filtering improves public Wi-Fi hotspot security

In this article, we are going to focus on the importance of web content filtering as a way to improve public Wi-Fi hotspot security. In doing so, we will provide some use cases and suggestions about the most effective web content filtering tools on the market.

Nowadays, the increased use of Internet has led to a growing spread of cyber threats: malware, botnets, ransomware and phishing are now commonplace. Accordingly, in order to protect their networks from such threats, business organizations, governments and educational institutions are investing more and more in web security solutions, i.e. web content filtering tools. As a matter of fact, according to the “Web content filtering – A global strategic business report” published by Global Industry Analysts, Inc., the global market for Web Content Filtering is healthily growing and is expected to reach US$3.1 billion by 2020. Let’s understand more what web content filtering consists of and how it can be effectively deployed to better ensure public Wi-Fi hotspot security.

What is a web content filter?

A web content filter is a software aimed at screening content on the internet based on different filtering categories , restricting the range of domains that users can access while surfing the web. Network administrators can deploy a web content filtering solution in different environments, such as offices, public hotspots and schools, in order to allow employees, students and other users to access only specific types of information, preventing them from accessing inappropriate websites and any unwanted online content.

Examples of how content filtering can be deployed in Wi-Fi-enabled public areas:

To keep track of and break down user traffic in public areas with Wi-Fi, such as commercial venues, main squares, hotels, restaurants etc., as a way to preserve internet bandwidth: indeed, effective web content filtering tools enable network admins to store on a database relevant information about Wi-Fi users, such as the IP addresses of the visited sites and domain names.
To scan and secure public Wi-Fi hotspots from hacking attacks and viruses: indeed, a web content filtering tool can effectively detect hostile content, infected sites, malware and other viruses and block them, thus protecting the Wi-Fi network.
To block distasteful and illegal content, such as pornography and hate or violence-oriented content not compliant with the law, in educational institutions, i.e. schools, colleges and training institutes;
To monitor the websites accessed by employees, in order to better optimize the use of bandwidth available in the workplace and reduce, at the same time, web browsing for personal purposes; indeed, Internet abuse can negatively impact the overall employees productivity;
To protect Wi-Fi hotspot providers from liabilities due to illegal activities being run from malicious users while connected to their internal networks. For instance, they are not liable if they give evidence that they tried to avoid the crime, i.e. showing the deployment of a web content filtering tool. In fact, content filtering can reduce the risk of the main infringements related to copyright violations and pornographic streaming videos in a successful way.

The cloud-based content filtering system integrated in the Tanaza software makes all of this possible in a very easy way! The built-in content filtering feature provided by Tanaza gives Wi-Fi hotspot providers the possibility to create a personalized list of sites to block or unblock, choosing among a large number of set categories. In this way, Wi-Fi hotspot providers can successfully manage the kind of content end users can see when browsing their network. Furthermore, the Tanaza Content Filtering works with any Wi-Fi hotspot, as Tanaza is multi-vendor and therefore supports a wide array of access points. Also, network administrators can access useful real-time reports and schedule them via email, in order to see in detail the categories visited by Wi-Fi users. Another benefit of Tanaza’s web content filtering feature is represented by the unique opportunity to block the traffic in countries at high risk of virus and hacker threats.

There are many web content filtering platforms available in the market. In a previous article we delved into the most popular web content filtering tools network administrators can deploy, so as to help them pinpointing the right ones according to their needs.

Do you want to discover the Tanaza Content Filtering? Check out the Tanaza Web Content Filtering feature page and start the 15-day free trial to see how you can effectively protect your Wi-Fi network with our cloud-based content filtering system.

Riverbed acquires Wi-Fi networks provider Xirrus

by Marketing Team | Apr 26, 2017 | Classic Hotspot, Industry news

Riverbed acquires Wi-Fi networks provider Xirrus

On the 19th April, Riverbed Technology, the American IT company, signed an agreement for the acquisition of Xirrus, the Wi-Fi Technology company.

Riverbed Technology is an American IT company, specialized in product development to improve applications performance across wide area networks.
The IT company is in expansion after the acquisition of Ocedo Networks (a SD-WAN provider) in January, and the launch of SteelConnect, a revolutionary application-defined SD-WAN solution.
The IT company is now also acquiring Xirrus, the Wi-Fi company provider that sells wireless networking equipment.

Riverbed has decided not to disclose too much information about this acquisition, but Xirrus’ CEO, Shane Buckley, announced that he, and a majority of Xirrus staff, will be joining the new Riverbed adventure.
Nowadays, more than 28.000 customers use Riverbed’s technology to keep their employees connected. Riverbed works with customers in different vertical markets like retail, energy, utilities, healthcare sector, government, transportation, and education.

In parallel, Xirrus is specialized in the “wired-like” performance with its Wi-Fi solutions such as high-density access points, access points, and cloud services.

Described as a “strategic acquisition” by Jerry M.Kennelly (Chairman and CEO in Riverbed), the Xirrus’ technology will allow Riverbed to provide CIOs and businesses with “a software-defined networking approach that delivers unified connectivity and orchestration across the entire network”. The project is to integrate Xirrus’ solutions into the SteelConnect SD-WAN in order to deliver a more robust Wi-Fi capability and an optimal enterprise networking solution.

The term of the deal is not public yet but it is expected to close in May. Find out more information about the Xirrus’ acquisition by clicking here.

PS: what’s a SD-WAN?
According to sdxcentral, “the software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) is a specific application of software-defined networking (SDN) technology applied to WAN connections, which are used to connect enterprise networks – including branch offices and data centers – over large geographic distances”.

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https://www.classichotspot.com/blog/6-steps-optimize-wi-fi-network-infrastructure/

Chicago & Miami, the next Smart Cities in the US

https://www.classichotspot.com/blog/5-best-network-monitoring-software-in-2017/

Chicago & Miami, the next Smart Cities in the US

by Marketing Team | Apr 26, 2017 | Classic Hotspot, Public Hotspots

Chicago & Miami, the next Smart Cities in the US

Chicago and Miami have been developing since January 2017 a project to become Smart cities thanks to the technology from CIVIQ Smartscapes.

In an interconnected world, megapolis like Singapore, Dubai or Montreal tends to become Smart Cities by developing intelligent technology to enhance the experience of inhabitants and tourists.
In the United-States, Chicago and Miami are currently working on a project to deploy intelligent technology from CIVIQ Smartscapes. The idea is to deploy around the city interactive digital waypoints like the one you can see on the picture.

Each interactive digital waypoint possesses a number of features like for example interactive information about transportation, maps of the city, emergency alerts for safety and offer free high-speed Wi-Fi.
According to George Burciaga, Managing Director of Global Government Development and Innovation for CIVIQ, “Cities across the world are focused on transforming urban landscapes into hyper-connected smartscapes and connecting smart devices, services and people will allow cities […] to become more efficient and sustainable”.

In Miami, CIVIQ is deploying 300 smart interactive digital waypoints since January and is working to offer Wi-Fi on all public transportation services.
By offering connectivity on the public transportation, Alice N.Bravo, Miami-Dade Director of Transportation and Public Works expects an increase in the efficiency, less downtime and an overall better experiences for passengers.

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Download the Tanaza firmware for TP-Link RE355 and RE450

by Marketing Team | Apr 13, 2017 | Classic Hotspot, Wireless Hardware

Tanaza now supports two new access points from TP-Link:

TP-Link RE355
TP-Link RE450

These two devices are perfect if you are looking for a small and affordable Wi-Fi device.
Their small dimensions (20cmx8cm) allow you to install them discreetly in small locations such as a small bar, bedroom for hotels (you could for example install one access point every two bedrooms in order to maximize the performances of your Wi-Fi network).

The RE355 uses the 802.11n standard, slower than the RE450, this Wi-Fi device is affordable and fits perfectly locations like bars and shops with 10-15 concurrent users maximum.

The RE450 is an AC Wi-Fi device with a very good quality-price ratio. The device is really easy to install and perfect for locations like bars, restaurants and hotels.

Both of them can be a good choice for installations in hotels, thanks to their small dimensions and their affordable price, to install one access point per room while reducing the hardware expenses.

To see the full list of supported access points, click here.