Sputnik Documentation

A quick, high-level overview of Sputnik and SputnikNet.

How to get started with Sputnik.

An overview of SputnikNet accounts and levels of Sputnik Agent Subscriptions.

How to enable and use Sputnik Agent functions in DD-WRT firmware, running on Linksys WRT-54GL, Sputnik 720, Ubiquiti NanoStation, Ubiquiti PowerStation, and other compatible platforms.

How to flash or upgrade your compatible device with Sputnik-powered DD-WRT firmware using the device's built-in web interface.

How to flash or upgrade your Ubiquiti PowerStation, NanoStation or LiteStation with Sputnik-powered DD-WRT firmware using tftp. The tftp flash method works with any Sputnik-compatible device but is required for all Ubiquiti devices at this time.

How to enable and use Sputnik Agent functions in NexConnect firmware, running on the NexAira NexConnect 3G Wireless Router.

How to upgrade NexConnect firmware to the latest version running the Sputnik Agent.

How to get up and running with your Sputnik 720 and SputnikNet.

How to convert your Sputnik 720 into a wireless router by attaching one or two 802.11b/g or 802.11a antennae.

How to get up and running with your Sputnik-powered Linksys WRT54GL and SputnikNet.

How to get up and running with your Sputnik-powered NexConnect and SputnikNet.

How to get up and running with your Sputnik-powered Ubiquiti PowerStation2 or PowerStation5 and SputnikNet.

How to get up and running with your Sputnik-powered Ubiquiti NanoStation 2 or NanoStation 5 and SputnikNet.

How to establish a WDS link to extend the range of your Sputnik-powered device by connecting it wirelessly to another access point.

How to create a new SputnikNet Express Account, configure your hotspot, and generate usage reports.

How to customize the appearance of your SputnikNet Express splash and welcome pages using your brand combined with location-aware page themes from Google, Yahoo, MSN, and Sputnik.

How to find your SputnikNet Express Account control center if you don't know its web address (URL). Also, how to reset your SputnikNet Express password if you've forgotten it.

How to create a new SputnikNet or SputnikNet On Site Account.

In order for Sputnik to process recurring SputnikNet subscription transactions, you need to enter payment information into the Sputnik online store. (If you checked "Save My Credit Card Information" when you made your original purchase with Sputnik, and your credit card information is up-to-date, you can skip this lesson.)

How to check the status of your SputnikNet or SputnikNet On Site network at a glance.

How to log into your SputnikNet or SputnikNet On SIte Account, change your password, and log out.

How to request a new password should yours become lost.

How to set basic SputnikNet or SputnikNet On Site Account options, such as administrator email, alerts, and time zone.

How to increase (or decrease) the number of Sputnik-Powered devices subscribed to your SputnikNet or SputnikNet On Site Account.

How to use Sputnik Instant Setup to subscribe a Sputnik-Powered device to your SputnikNet Account, and provision it automatically. [need screens]

How to recover if you enter a typo into Sputnik Instant Setup, and how to change your Sputnik-powered device's subscription to a new SputnikNet Account.

How to configure Sputnik-powered devices, assign them to locations and venue categories, and view status.

How to ping, reboot and reflash Sputnik-powered devices over the internet.

How to apply network policies, walled gardens, and authentication systems directly to a Sputnik-powered device. (See "SputnikNet Network Policies" for more information.)

How to apply basic quality of service (QoS) and bandwidth limits to your Sputnik-powered devices.

How to create custom-branded captive portal pages that users see as they log into your network.

How to create elegant, custom-branded captive portal pages with CSS, JavaScript, and Flash.

How to create custom-branded (or unbranded) session monitor windows that users see after they log in.

How to reinforce your brand by providing walled garden and redirect pages before and after user login, respectively.

How to remove the Sputnik logo from pages that your customers see.

How to create and configure new authentication systems.

How to determine when to use guest versus prepaid authentication systems.

How to use the guest authentication system to generate and use time-limited access codes.

How to use guest authentication to create a simple click-through captive portal with terms of service.

How to create a click-through captive portal using guest authentication with walled garden policies to enable display of externally hosted sponsor content.

How to use guest and PayPal authentication systems to offer users a free, time-limited online "test drive", followed by paid Wi-Fi access.

How to enable all users to skip captive portal login, tracking sessions by MAC address. (If you want to enable specific users or devices to skip captive portal login, see "Authenticating Devices without Web Browsers".)

How to use the guest authentication system's expiration interval and blackout period to create a click-through captive portal login experience that limits customers' time online.

How to identify and block abusive network behavior, whether from "cybersquatters" (people who use your network for excessive periods of time) or "bandwidth hogs" (people who soak up more than their fair share of bandwidth).

How to use SputnikNet's prepaid authentication system to generate, display, download, and delete prepaid cards.

How to use external applications to create prepaid cards and upload them for use in SputnikNet.

How to print your prepaid cards, whether using an online print shop or by formatting your cards for printing in Microsoft Word.

How to use prepaid authentication for paid, time-limited Wi-Fi services.

How to use prepaid authentication for free, time-limited Wi-Fi services.

How to choose the best payment system to charge customers for access to your Wi-Fi network.

How to set up rate plans (time limits and prices) in PayPal and WorldPay authentication systems.

How to configure the PayPal authentication system to use PayPal Website Payments Standard to process user payments for network access.

How to configure the PayPal authentication system to use PayPal Website Payments Pro to process user payments for network access.

What a customer sees when paying for network access using a credit card processed by PayPal Website Payments Pro. Using this method, customers pay through the captive portal without being redirected to PayPal.

What a customer sees when paying for network access using a credit card processed through PayPal Website Payments Standard.

What a customer sees when paying for network access using a PayPal account processed by PayPal Website Payments Pro. Using this method, customers pay through the captive portal without being redirected to PayPal.

What a customer sees when paying for network access using their PayPal account processed through PayPal Website Payments Standard.

How to configure the WorldPay authentication system to process user payments for network access.

How to use PayPal and WorldPay user and transaction logs to keep track of user activity and billing.

How to use the user authentication system to create user accounts and groups, and to automatically assign network policies to authenticated users based upon group membership.

How to enable users to sign up for new accounts, to assign network policies to self-registered users, and track usage.

How to use device authentication to enable devices to automatically log in based on MAC address. This is useful for devices without web browsers (e.g. printers, VoIP phones, gaming devices) or frequently used employee computers. MAC-authenticated devices are still tracked in SputnikNet.

How to enable selected users to skip captive portal login in the future by adding their device's MAC address to a device authentication system.

How to set up a RADIUS authentication system for authenticating users against a remote RADIUS server.

How to use RADIUS with SputnikNet to authenticate users against a remote Windows Active Directory server.

How to apply to use SputnikNet's advertising features.

How to enable and configure the AnchorFree advertising system for your Sputnik-powered devices.

How to apply AnchorFree advertising to authentication systems.

How to give the user a choice between free, advertising-supported Wi-Fi using AnchorFree, and paid Wi-Fi using your choice of a paid authentication system.

How to apply network policies to authentication systems, captive portals, and Sputnik-powered devices to create walled gardens, block unwanted sites, apply content filtering, and enable port forwarding.

How to apply network policies to all users of an authentication system after they log in.

How to apply network policies to multiple user groups within the user authentication system.

How to use the built-in "Block Private Nets" policy as a security measure that prevents users from accessing private network resources, while freely browsing the internet.

How to create walled garden policies, which enable users to browse to specified websites before they log in.

How to create content filtering policies using destination NAT (network address translation), which proxy user traffic through an external "net nanny" server for safe browsing.

How to create port forwarding policies that enable "outside" internet access to devices (e.g. security webcams, flat-screen display media controllers, local servers, printers, etc.) on private Sputnik-powered local area networks (LANs).

How to use deny/reject network policies to block access to specific, restricted sites.

How to generate usage reports and charts by Sputnik-powered device, client, or session, and how to archive old data.

How to set up and use ad hoc report queries.

How to troubleshoot Sputnik Agent error messages.

If your customers' browsers show a "page cannot be displayed message" when they connect to your hotspot, the reason may be that you are out of DHCP leases. Here's how you can increase the number of DHCP leases available to your customers.