Manage/Limit Internet Bandwidth on Specific Wireless Network [closed]

Question

I offer wireless internet to my tenant and the problem I have is we are constantly hitting the cap for the monthly internet usage. What I ideally would like to do is create 2 wireless networks: one for the tenant and one for me. Then apply a limit on the monthly data usage download/upload for the tenant network say 100 GB. However, I don't want that limitation for myself. What is the best way to achieve that? Is there a home router that can do that?

Answer 1

One of the easiest way to do this is by using Routerboard/Mikrotik devices.

You can have virtual APs (different SSIDs & WPA2 PSKs) with a single device/AP and apply whatever QoS and/or Traffic Shaping (among tons of other things) you need by using the extremely intuitive winbox interface. You can set up very complicated stuff in a matter of a few clicks.

Routerboard devices come with Mikrotik pre-installed and it's included in the price (some models are even cheaper than the license itself - so it's a good deal generally given the features that both the hardware and software provide).

Keep in mind that by using 1 physical AP with a virtual AP to separate the network for your tenant you may have strange issues with the Hidden Node Problem on WiFi networks.

It's certainly better in terms of performance to use 2 different APs. You can get a routerboard to use as an AP for you and connect your existing AP on one of the ethernet ports of the Routerboard and apply your QoS rules on that ethernet interface.

You can find out about available Routerboard models here

Of-course you can always install OpenWRT as well on those devices in case you don't like Mikrotik RouterOS.

Answer 2

Some routers can do this, or can be enabled to do this by installing new firmware such as DD-WRT:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DD-WRT#Features

There is a paid version of the DD-WRT firmware which has exactly the feature you're looking for, however it may be possible to accomplish the same thing for free using a bit of script hacking as explained here:

http://www.kczon.com/ddwrt-how-to-set-bandwidth-limit-to-each-users-router/

Of course all of that depends on whether the firmware is compatible with your router in the first place. But it's something worth investigating.

Answer 3

You would need to get two wireless access points or purchase enterprise class hardware. With two AP/Routers you could have one (or both) filtered through squid & a tunnel but the config is not super strait forward since you're trying to cap at a max amount over time instead of given throughput.

There is a decent chance someone else has already written software to do this for you automatically but I'm unfamiliar with any.