A Visitor-based network (VBN) is a

computer network A computer network is a collection of communicating computers and other devices, such as printers and smart phones. In order to communicate, the computers and devices must be connected by wired media like copper cables, optical fibers, or b ...

intended for mobile users in need of temporary

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

access. A visitor-based network is most commonly established in hotels, airports, convention centers, universities, and business offices. It gives the on-the-go user a quick and painless way to temporarily connect a device to networks and broadband Internet connections. A visitor-based network usually includes hardware (such as VBN gateways, hubs, switches, and/or routers), telecommunications (an Internet connection), and service (subscriber support).Definition partially sourced from
Visitor Based Networking Definition
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What is a VBN Gateway?

Virtually any Internet-based Ethernet LAN can become a visitor-based network by adding a device generally termed a "VBN gateway". The function of a VBN Gateway is to provide a necessary layer of management between public users and the Internet router to enable a plug and play connection for visitors. Typical VBN Gateway provide services and support for billing and management application integrations, such as PMS systems (in hotels), credit-card billing interfaces, or Radius/LDAP servers for central authentication models. A common criteria for VBN gateways is they allow users to connect and access the available network services with little or no configuration on their local machines (specifically modification to their

IP address An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is assigned to a device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. IP addresses serve two main functions: network interface i ...

). In order to accomplish this a layer 2 (See: OSI model#Layer 2: Data link layer) connection is required between the user and the VBN gateway. Aside from the layer 2 (or bridged) network requirement, there are really no other restrictions for using a VBN gateway to enable a network. As such,

Ethernet Ethernet ( ) is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 198 ...

, 802.11x, CMTS, and

xDSL Digital subscriber line (DSL; originally digital subscriber loop) is a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric dig ...

are all acceptable mediums for distributing networks to use with VBN Gateways. In the simplest form a VBN gateway is a hardware device with a minimum of two network connections. One network connection is considered the subscriber network, and the other the uplink to the Internet. The majority of VBN gateways on the market today all use Ethernet interfaces for their connection, but as stated above, any layer 2 connection is acceptable for this.

Types of VBNs

Generally speaking there are three models of operation for a VBN: Transparent, Pay For Use, and Authenticate For Use. Transparent VBN A transparent VBN's purpose is to provide network services to users to reduce support and/or IT infrastructure costs. Generally these networks are not concerned with security but rather fast and easy access. Metro Wi-Fi networks, or free to use Hotspots are examples of this type of VBN. Billing VBN A billing-based VBN is one where users are required to pay to obtain network services. Traditionally these types of VBNs are found in hotel or

Hotspot (Wi-Fi) A hotspot is a physical location where people can obtain Internet access, typically using Wi-Fi technology, via a wireless local-area network (WLAN) using a router connected to an Internet service provider. Public hotspots may be created by ...

networks. Payment services are provided in a variety of methods, most commonly with a credit card

Merchant account A merchant account is a type of bank account that allows a seller, known as the merchant, to accept payments by debit or credit cards. A merchant account is established under an agreement between an acceptor and a merchant acquiring bank for th ...

in hot spot environments or integration to a property management system in hotel environments. Authentication VBN An authenticate for use VBN is most commonly found in business environments. In these cases the VBN gateway requires users to authenticate to the gateway in order to be allowed access to network services. Commonly this authentication is achieved via integration to

RADIUS In classical geometry, a radius (: radii or radiuses) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its Centre (geometry), center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The radius of a regular polygon is th ...

LDAP The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP ) is an open, vendor-neutral, industry standard application protocol for accessing and maintaining distributed Directory service, directory information services over an Internet Protocol (IP) networ ...

servers or by implementing access-codes which a user would be required to enter.

How does a VBN work?

While manufacturers offer many different configurations for VBN gateways, a set of common features exist. Even the most basic VBN gateways provide

DHCP The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a network management protocol used on Internet Protocol (IP) networks for automatically assigning IP addresses and other communication parameters to devices connected to the network using a clie ...

and

Proxy ARP Proxy ARP is a technique by which a proxy server on a given network answers the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) queries for an IP address that is not on that network. The proxy is aware of the location of the traffic's destination and offers it ...

to allow users to connect to the network with no IP address configuration required. A

captive portal A captive portal is a web page accessed with a web browser that is displayed to newly connected users of a Wi-Fi or wired network before they are granted broader access to network resources. Captive portals are commonly used to present a landing o ...

is used for a variety of functions including, billing or authentication and acceptance of terms and conditions. Once the user successfully meets the criteria in the

, the VBN gateway then allows the user's traffic to be routed through.

References

Networks