Sputnik 720: Quick Start Guide

Plan your Sputnik-powered network.

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The Sputnik 720 is a compact, rugged network gateway that, with the addition of up to two optional 802.11a/b/g radios, becomes a managed wireless (and wired) router. The Sputnik 720 runs Sputnik Agent Pro firmware, and is capable of authenticating a hundred or more concurrent users.

Both wired and wireless network users are authenticated by the Sputnik 720, as its LAN and WLAN interfaces are bridged together. When used as a network gateway, users connected to third-party wireless hardware (in bridge mode) are routed through the Sputnik 720 for authentication and tracking. Service providers can leave existing wired and wireless networks in place--whether Wi-Fi, WiMAX, mesh, or other internet protocol networks--routing traffic through the Sputnik 720 for management.

Review Sputnik 720 port and network settings.

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The Sputnik 720's ports are arranged as follows:

- the Ethernet 1 port on the left (next to the DC power port) is for LAN (local area networking) and PoE (power over Ethernet) connections
- the Ethernet 2 port on the right is for WAN connections (wide area networking, or broadband backhaul to the internet)
- default LAN IP address is 192.168.180.1; DHCP lease subnet is 192.168.180.x
- WAN is set up as a DHCP client

The Sputnik-powered DD-WRT control panel is available at:

- default URL: http://192.168.180.1
- default username: root
- default password: admin

Plug your Sputnik 720 into power and provide it with broadband (AC power option).

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The cabling configuration for your Sputnik 720 running on AC power is:

- AC power adapter plugs into the DC port on the Sputnik 720 (black cable in photo)
- optional LAN cable plugs into the LAN/PoE port on the Sputnik 720 (yellow cable)
- WAN cable goes from the WAN port on the Sputnik 720 to your broadband connection (red cable)

Plug your Sputnik 720 into power and provide it with broadband (PoE option).

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The cabling configuration for your Sputnik 720 running on PoE is:

- DC power is supplied by your PoE adapter (available separately); an Ethernet cable goes from the PoE output port on the adapter to the LAN/PoE (Ethernet 1) port on the back of the Sputnik 720 (green cable in photo)
- for optional wired LAN connectivity, an Ethernet cable goes from the data port on the PoE adapter to devices on your local network (PCs, printers, etc.) (yellow cable)
- WAN cable goes from the WAN (Ethernet 2) port on the back of the Sputnik 720 to your broadband connection (red cable in the photo)

Set up your SputnikNet Account.

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If you're intending to use your Sputnik 720 with SputnikNet Express, our free service for branded Wi-Fi hotspots, you can skip this step.

Otherwise, sign up for SputnikNet, and make sure that you have an available subscription for your Sputnik 720.

Each Sputnik 720 requires a Sputnik Agent Pro subscription (unless it's being used as a bridge).

For more information, see the online documentation section titled "SputnikNet and SputnikNet On Site: Getting Started".

Check to see that the Sputnik Agent is running on your Sputnik 720.

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While the Sputnik Agent should be running by default, it's a good idea to be sure it is active, and communicating effectively with the Sputnik Instant Setup server (for more information about Sputnik Instant Setup, see the next step).

To check the Sputnik Agent status, first associate with the Sputnik 720 wired or wirelessly.

Log into the Sputnik-powered DD-WRT control panel on your Sputnik 720 as follows (if your Sputnik 720 has already connected to your SputnikNet Account, you will need to log in through its assigned captive portal, first):

- default URL: http://192.168.180.1
- default username: root
- default password: admin

To confirm that the Sputnik Agent is running:

- click on the "Sputnik Agent" tab under the "Status" tab.
- "Managed by" should show sputnik@wifi.sputnik.com/default (this is the URL of the Sputnik Instant Setup server, which will be replaced by your SputnikNet Account URL after you complete the next step)
- "State" should show "Running normally - Managed". If it does, you're up and running.

For more information about the Sputnik-powered DD-WRT control panel, see the online documentation chapter titled "Using Sputnik-Powered DD-WRT Firmware".

Subscribe your Sputnik 720 to SputnikNet using Sputnik Instant Setup.

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Be sure your Sputnik 720 has an active connection to the internet. That connection is required for it to register with the Sputnik Instant Setup server.

Associate with your Sputnik 720 (wired or wirelessly), and open a browser. You should be directed to the Sputnik Instant Setup page. Enter your SputnikNet ID to "subscribe" your Sputnik 720 to SputnikNet or SputnikNet Express. For more information, refer to the online documentation chapter titled "Subscribing Sputnik-Powered Devices to your SputnikNet Account with Sputnik Instant Setup" or the section titled "SputnikNet Express".

If you do not see the Sputnik Instant Setup page, refer to the "Troubleshooting" online documentation chapter.

Make sure your Sputnik 720 is active in your SputnikNet Account.

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Log into your SputnikNet Account and confirm that your Sputnik 720 is active.

Manage your Sputnik 720 in SputnikNet.

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Click on the name of your Sputnik 720 in the "router list" to change its name, address, and other settings such as the Wi-Fi channel and SSID. From the Sputnik-powered device's "Edit Settings" page you can also change the captive portal that is assigned to that device.

For more information, see the online documentation section titled "Device Management with SputnikNet".

Set up authentication system(s) for your Sputnik-powered network.

Sputnik offers a wide range of authentication systems for free, advertising-supported, or fee-based Wi-Fi. Any number of authentication systems can be applied to a captive portal. For user gadgets without browsers, or when captive portal-based log in should be skipped, you can configure an authentication system to detect and authenticate those gadgets based on MAC address.

For more information, see the various online documentation sections on SputnikNet Authentication Systems.

Set up captive portal(s) for your Sputnik-powered network.

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You have full control over the content and branding of your captive portal pages. SputnikNet supports standard HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Adobe Flash, enabling you to fully customize your customers' login experience. The login portion of the captive portal page is inserted into your page layout automatically.

For more information, see the online documentation section titled "Branding Networks with SputnikNet".

Apply captive portals, authentication systems, and network policies to your Sputnik 720.

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Each Sputnik 720 is assigned to a specific captive portal. Each portal can be associated with one or more authentication systems. Each authentication system can include optional network policies that are applied to authenticated users. A walled garden is a collection of network domains (URLs) that users are allowed to browse to before authentication, so those policies are assigned directly to captive portals.

For more information, refer to the online documentation chapter titled "SputnikNet Overview" and the "SputnikNet Network Policies" section.

Sign on as a network user to test your Sputnik-powered network.

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Try out your Sputnik-powered Wi-Fi network to make sure everything is working the way you want it to.

Accessing your Sputnik 720's control panel.

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Log into the Sputnik-powered DD-WRT control panel on your Sputnik 720 as follows (if your Sputnik 720 has already connected to your SputnikNet Account, you will need to log in through its assigned captive portal, first):

- default URL: http://192.168.180.1
- default username: root
- default password: admin

To confirm that the Sputnik Agent is running:

- click on the "Sputnik Agent" tab under the "Status" tab.
- "Managed by" should show your SputnikNet ID.
- "State" should show "Running normally - Managed". If it does, you're up and running.

For more information about the Sputnik-powered DD-WRT control panel, see the online documentation chapter titled "Using Sputnik-Powered DD-WRT Firmware".

Get support if you need it.

Check out www.sputnik.com/support for additional information about the SputnikNet service, documentation, and user forums.

For more detailed information about DD-WRT firmware, refer to the online documentation posted at www.dd-wrt.com.