Programmable DIY Wireless Access Point

Projects General Guidance
1

Hello Arduino enthusiasts.

I wanted to immerse myself in the Arduino system
and to do that, I wanna start by doing a project
and learn along the way.

My project would be a programmable wireless access point
that will allow users to connect to internet if they have
sufficient credits i.e. time credit or data credit.
I want my users to have their personal accounts that whatever device they're using
they'll still be able to use their credits.

I plan to host the backend logic of this
programmable WAP in a cloud server and I need a
hardware to communicate with the application logic
in the cloud while providing an access point
and managing the connected Wifi devices.

What appropriate Arduino hardware should I use?
I have experience in Python programming and very much excited
to delve into the Arduino Framework.

Expected maximum Wifi users: 30
Application: I have a business and I want
to reward my clients with free high speed Wifi through credits.

Thank you!

2

Those won’t happen through an 8-bit Arduino… if you scale up to the ESP or ARM based boards, you’ll be getting closer.

You could attach any Arduino as a client to manage the AP admin user space - then you could add/block/pause users on an ad-hoc basis.

3

Thanks.
How many ESP modules do you think I need to cater to 30 users. Also, won't there be any reduction of internet speed when using ESP modules?

4

have a look at esp32-access-point-ap-web-server
also Getting started with MicroPython on the ESP32¶
is it 30 users in total or 30 concurrent users?
I would tend to be looking at a Raspberry pi 4 which you can program in Python or even a PC
e.g. do a web search for raspberry pi captive portal

5

Thank you for the resources!

Yes, a maximum of 30 concurrent users.

I have been wanting a Raspberry Pi 4 for other projects as well. I just couldn't get my hands on them. Other options I thought about is using OpenWrt on a router but I think a router would be more expensive especially if I want it to have a sufficient processing power. So, I looked into Arduino if I could implement it. I have always wanted to try it out since 4 years ago.

6

I doubt if an ESP32 could handle 30 concurrent users
Raspberry pi 4 are avaiable in the UK on Anazon and ebay but typical price over £150
maybe simpler to use a PC??

7

Yes, a PC could be feasible. However, I also want to experience doing projects with Arduino.

Raspberry Pis are unavailable from the authorized reseller in Southeast Asia.

By the way, i couldn't find ESP32 boards from the arduino.cc store. Is it limited on a regional basis?

8

I usually buy ESP32 micros on EBAY - appear to be plenty available locally and from china
MicroPython works fine on the ESP32 - not attempted any complex projects with it though

9

I am also looking at other options where to buy in my country.
It seems to me that ESP32 may not be able to handle 30 concurrent users.

How many users do you think it can handle concurrently?

10

I assume you require the ESP32 to act as a capitve portal with internet access
I have done this with a Raspberry pi with a WiFi Captive Portal and Ethernet for internet access
however, no idea if it possible for the ESP32 WiFi to access the internet (station mode) and act as a captive portal (Access point mode) concurrently?? all the ESP32 Captive Portal examples appear to access local web pages, etc then switch to station mode

11

Thank you very much for your engagement. It is becoming apparent to me that my project may require different hardware. Learning about a captive portal is such a big help since I have no idea what my project feature is actually called.

I have only started gathering the requirements for my project just yesterday. Still very much optimistic to do it.

12

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