Hotspot-1 and hotspot-2 are separate hotspots in public venues, each connected to the Internet via a separate broadband connection. The hotspot gateway/controller is configured to communicate with Wifi-soft's primary and secondary NOC (Network Operating Center) over the Internet.

Each NOC runs set of servers to provide backend services to the remote hotspots. The hotspot gateway generates an authentication request to the RADIUS server running in the NOC. The authentication request contains the username and password for the subscriber. The RADIUS server performs authentication and returns back the response along with session parameters. Upon receiving a successful response, the gateway starts a new session for the subscriber.

The gateway/controller may be connected to one or more access points (APs) to increase the coverage area and resides on a publicly routable IP address. The gateway generates authentication requests, maintains user sessions and terminates them when the user is disconnected from the network.

The gateway communicates with WiFiLAN servers over the Internet. Since the authentication information is passed over the Internet, we usually recommend using encrypted schemes like CHAP, MSCHAP for authentication.

WiFiLAN uses a combination of primary and secondary NOC to ensure that the customers get reliable back-office services. The hotspot controllers/ gateways are configured to automatically switch over to the secondary NOC in case the primary goes down. This failover mechanism ensures high availability and reliability.

Each NOC is protected by a firewall and is constantly monitored for any security breaches. Administrators manage the NOC services using the WiFiLAN management portal. The billing server inside the NOC interfaces with the merchant account gateways like Authorize.Net or PayPal to carry out credit card billing transactions.