Some history
The fact that RADIUSdesk is more than a decade old and still going strong while many similar projects have died a slow death, should speak for itself.
This system is in use worldwide and is used every day to provide Internet access to thousands of users.
After completing the FreeRADIUS Beginners Guide for Packt Publishing in 2010, Dirk van der Walt used this knowledge together with modern design principles to start working on RADIUSdesk in 2012.
The development of MESHdesk as a complete open source alternative to Meraki and OpenMesh with Cloudtrax began in 2013.
APdesk was added to manage OpenWrt-based access points that did not require mesh networks.
The system has continued to evolve to this day and works with the latest versions of all components involved.
RADIUSdesk
A modern front-end to FreeRADIUS
- Manage data usage and time limits.
- Manage bandwidth per user or per device.
- Generate vouchers for visitors.
- Monitor network usage.
- Bring Your Own Device (BYOD).
- Detailed usage graphs and charts.
- Customizable captive portal login pages.
- Easy profiles.
- API
- Fully Open Source.
Similar to
| Proprietary | Open Source |
|---|---|
| DMA Radius Manager | daloRADIUS |
| Datatill | OpenWISP |
| Splynx |
MESHdesk
Simplified central management of mesh networks
- Support for Wi-Fi 3/4/5/6. (a/g/n/ac/ax)
- Supports hardware with up to three radios.
- Uses batman-adv and 802.11s/ad-hoc for mesh.
- Uses OpenWrt 23.05.x as foundation.
- Prevents hardware vendor lock in.
- Detailed visuals of mesh nodes and signal strengths
- Open Street-map integration.
- Configure all nodes remotely.
- Real-time monitoring.
- Easy to use schedules.
- Fully Open Source.
Similar to
| Proprietary | Open Source |
|---|---|
| Meraki | LibreMesh |
| Openmesh/Datto | OpenWISP |
| Plasma Cloud |
APdesk
Simplified central management of Access Points
- Support for Wi-Fi 3/4/5/6. (a/g/n/ac/ax)
- Supports hardware with up to three radios.
- Uses OpenWrt 23.05.x as foundation.
- Prevents hardware vendor lock in.
- Detailed visuals of Access Points and client signal strengths
- Open Street-map integration.
- Configure all hardware remotely.
- Real-time monitoring.
- Easy to use schedules.
- Fully Open Source.
Similar to
| Proprietary | Open Source |
|---|---|
| UniFi | OpenWISP |
| Ignitenet | |
| Mimosa |