Station monitoring

If station monitoring is activated, the Public Spot regularly checks to see if the associated end devices are still available. Lost end devices are automatically deleted from the local user table. If station monitoring is switched off, a user is not logged off until the validity period of the user's authentication expires.

Note: Station monitoring is extremely important for Public Spots operating commercially on a time basis. In installations of this type, users must be assured that they are only paying for the time actually spent using the Public Spot services.

Configuration

Station monitoring for the Public Spot Module is disabled by default. You activate it by entering a value greater than 0 – this value disables the function – under Public Spot > Server > Interface selection > Idle timeout. From this point on, all end devices are automatically disconnected from the Public Spot after a specific time.

Note: If your Public Spot device has WLAN, you also have the option of enabling station monitoring globally for all WLAN interfaces. You can find the corresponding settings under Wireless LAN > Security > Monitor stations to detect inactive ones. To do this, the device disconnects mobile stations after 60 seconds (default value). If WLAN station monitoring is disabled, by default this may take up to 15 minutes.

If you offer Public Spot via WLAN, please note that the station monitoring of the WLAN takes priority over that for the Public Spot, and a disconnection can occur earlier if the idle timeout for WLAN (configurable in the Setup menu under WLAN > Idle timeout) is less than that for the Public Spot.

Monitoring

You can monitor the Public Spot during operation using WEBconfig. The station table in the user authentication menu provides an overview of:

Users currently logged in to the Public Spot and
End devices in the WLAN which are not logged in.

You navigate to the Stations table in the Status menu under Public Spot > Stations table. Using the button Monitor this table you automatically refresh the table display at regular intervals.