Intergrating pfsense with a payment system
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Hello again guys, need your help...I run a Wisp Setup in my area and i use pfsense as my firewall gateway router. Since i provide internet to most of the households in my area, i did create an Alias called "BlockList" where i add customers that have not paid for the service yet . Once they pay for the service i remove them from the list manually, which means everytime someone pays i have to login into pfsense and remove him and vice versa. My question....Is there anyway i could intergrate my payment system to pfsense, so that when someone pays then the process is automatic ?
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You could have that alias pull from an external source (URL alias) and have that list updated by a payment engine of some kind.
Or maybe some sort of authentication via Radius with that tied into payment.Steve
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@OpenWifi Just had to say reading the subject with "pfSense and payment system" got me nervous...LOL!
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That wouldn't involve pfSense at all in most cases. Usually that kind of setup would be handled at Layer 2 with RADIUS, and your L2 gear would check with RADIUS if the user connection is OK before allowing it through. Your payment system may already expose that information via RADIUS or it may have some method of RADIUS integration.
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@stephenw10 to be honest, i ein't that much of a techy, so i do not understand
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Ok, well if you're looking for some easy packaged payment system there isn't one I'm afraid.
Some development work is involved here however you choose to go.Steve
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@OpenWifi said in Intergrating pfsense with a payment system:
so i do not understand
What you do understand is that a "payment system" are just two words for a huge concept.
Is money send over by bank draft ? Pay-pal ? Do you accept credit cards ? Is some one actually maintaining a list that lists cash income ? Hundreds of other situations exists.Just an easy example : Check your Paypal account. See what is needed if you want to integrate a "payment system" into your web site, as a couple of billion sites do these days.
Your 'site' (some web site running on a 5 $ private server on the net) could be as simple as an authentication page, a connection to Paypal - and a list or database with up to date payment info. Let them identify themselves with some user ID that you combine with there known MAC address.
Then, a small script file on pfSense (side) that runs for - say - every 5 minutes, and searches for new records.
If there are any found AND the MAC is actually present in the pfSense blocked MAC list, then remove it.True, these are not the days like the '70 or '80, where every body wrote BASIC one lines to automate whatever and anything.
Note that the advised age to learn and use the "PHP language" is 6 years .... so understand that no University grade, neither high school is needed here. It is accessible to everybody.THe thing is : some glue software neds to be created to hook up your two systems : pfSense and the non-defined "payment system". As usual, this will costs you some abcd $, or some hours of your time. Keep in mind that both systems are evolving so better learn to handle this setup ourself so you can adapt an already working system yourself - or be ready to pay again.
So, up to you :
Stay with the current system,
Or you automatize it.
( A known non often said issue is that both take equal time - the latter is fun, the first is not, so the choice isn't hard ^^ )Btw : The most easy solution is already mentioned my yourself :
i did create an Alias called "BlockList" where i add customers that have not paid for the service yet
So, add a rule to your sales conditions : Clients that are late with payment and got disconnected have to pay an extra "handling fee" (for your time). Quiet normal these days - stop paying your electricity, and you will pay "re connect charges" become some on has to re connect you again.
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@Gertjan Very well presented, thank you for sharing!
