Gargoyle Forum

I've inherited responsibility for a service providing free wifi to a businesses customers.

It's using UniFi Controller on a WinXP PC connected via a MicroTik router over PoE to six PicoStation M2s. Clients just need the WPA/WPA2 passkey - no captive portal or guest settings. So the network isn't secure - guests can theoretically access both the businesses office PCs and each others. They can also torrent and do whatever they want and stuff isn't properly logged so the business may be on the hook for customers activities.

The MicroTik is virtually unconfigured at the moment. I'm certain the MicroTik can be configured to filter out torrenting and add a download quota but I'm also certain I don't have the knowledge to configure it.

I'm thinking of replacing the MicroTik with a Gargoyle Router mostly because I can configure one and letting it implement a daily download quota and filter content by using the force clients to use router DNS option and setting up OpenDNS with filtered resolvers. I know it's not going to kill all torrenting but it'll stop the laymen. Then using UniFi to enable guest policies and a captive portal that just lets people know they have a download limit and torrenting is blocked.

Questions:
- Will there be any compatibility issues?
- Is there a chance someone will be assigned a used up IP address and be limited unfairly and if so how could it be resolved?
- Are there better/smarter options that don't require me having to learn a buttload about routers/firewalls?

I have nearly this exact set-up

works mostly

you have pointed out some of the weakness in your post

assigning quotes per IP has its problems.

It would be good if you could assign IP's to a "group" the assign quotes for that group.

But it is what it is

Fair enough.

I'm guessing there's no way to switch it to by MAC instead of IP? Not fool proof for limiting people but far less likely to have some poor bugger get limited due to someone elses downloads.