How to limit the time of access to the Internet via Wi-Fi?

Question

WiFi

Lord, tell me please.
The situation is this:
There is a cafe with Internet access, I would like to limit the time of “gatherings” of customers in a cafe for free Internet.
In general, to do it like I came to a cafe, took a coffee - I got 30 minutes of free Internet.
It turns out that for each client there will be an individual password for 30 minutes.
How to organize all this? What programs, what equipment?
Will Linksys Wireless G Access Point work?

Answer 1

1) through iptables we drive all the traffic to our http-server, offering to enter a password
2) after entering the password, add the rule to iptables before redirecting the traffic from this poppy address to the outside via snat
3) after half an hour, delete the rule.

Answer 2

Set a proxy server, generate a password with a script and add the user to the allowed list. Another script regularly checks how long the password has been alive and clears it if necessary.
Of the equipment - an average computer. From the software - the distribution kit * nix and squid. If there are no *nix specialists, then you can spend money on a Windows distribution kit.

Answer 3

If you have an institution, and you don’t want to fool around with a software solution, then you can look towards a specialized piece of iron, like the D-link DSA-3110 hotspot edition. There are probably other manufacturers as well. Of the advantages, it is easier to set up and maintain, reliability when used by unskilled personnel (cashier / waiter) is higher, and perhaps a higher price compared to the “old PC + Linux” option will still pay off in public use.