Thank you for the response but cellular is NOT a solution as the signal is VERY poor or non existent in many cases. In many of these buildings, the free Wi-Fi is there for specifically this reason.
In some cases adding the overhead and cost of a cellular contract is prohibitive as we would want to just hand out your KVM with every machine or project as fallback, the probability of it being used isn’t very high so they might be too lazy to make sure they get a cellular contract/SIM.
The attractiveness of handing out a device like this without much thought lies in its price and simplicity. If people forego setting it up as soon as they get it, it’s not going to be worth it because it only makes sense if it works almost immediately when needed. If based on cellular this its a whole new layer of uncertainty because somebody would have to test cellular reception at location. Sometimes partners/customers might move the equipment to another room without thinking, and that could mean that it would break the ability to connect without anyone even realizing. If we added a device to such projects at our own cost and then it doesn’t work, our project partners/customers will associate non functioning technical service with us or your brand and we will have wasted the money on a perfectly functional device, just not working in that location.
Sorry for that lengthy complicated explanation but I guess you get the idea. Cellular devices definitely have their use cases, just not for what I’m looking for.
@alex_zheng I am also VERY interested in this option. My use case is that I have an ethernet main connection, and I need to use xfinitywifi from next door as a failover when the wired connection fails.
Thinking creatively here, since it can already run as a Tailscale exit node, is there a way to use that? Is there a way to connect to it over the wired network connection but have the exit node connect outbound over the Wireless, so I can access the captive portal on WiFi?
1. What type of network are you dealing with?
It varies per project. I travel this as a way to access my main server while moving around a building wirelessly or via other access points. I’m not often in control of the part of the network(s) that reach actual internet, so I need to work past captive portals from time to time.
2. Is there anyone on-site at the remote end?
I’m often on-site interacting with it. That’s always fine and I can access the machine. But if I want to bridge to the internet so that I could access the machine overnight, when I’m not on-site… it would be lovely!
3. Why not place a router in between?
Since I’m traveling this equipment, I make careful consideration on size and amount that I carry to each job. I do own a GLInet slate router and I love it but it’s just added complexity for a device that seems to be ‘made for this sort of thing’.
4. How often does the portal require re-authentication?
Usually it’s once every 24 hours, but I understand this is a separate piece to workaround and it totally varies per location.
5. What are you doing as a workaround right now?
I’m either using my slate 7 or just using for local access. I’d prefer to keep my slate 7 in my hotel room and utilize the TONS of network infrastructure on site… instead of adding more of my personal purchases.
My use case is quite different in that I purchased this intending to travel it. It will seldom be in the same location twice. That sort of freedom and ability to really stitch creative and technical solutions together is what has appealed to me first in the slate 7 and it’s the type of environment I still hope to see on the Comet KVM.
When so many of your devices are innovative multi-use, user-friendly, it feels a bit off brand to leave this unaccounted for. Still a great device but if I were to purchase a second (and quite likely will in the future) I would be including this feature in my search.