Gateway
The Gateway turns one PC into the router for your whole cafe. Every other machine, console and phone reaches the internet through it, which is what lets you give one device more speed than another, block what you do not want on your network, and keep a record of who connected where.
It runs as a separate program on the gateway PC. HandyCafe Server manages it: you never edit files on that machine by hand.
Where it sits
Between the modem and the cafe. The modem stays where it is, the stations stay where they are, and the cable that used to run from the modem to the switch runs through the gateway PC instead.
What you need
- A PC with two network cards: one to the modem, one to your own network switch. This is the requirement with no way around it, a single-card PC cannot route traffic. A USB Ethernet adapter counts, and it is cheaper than moving the cafe onto a different PC later.
- That PC left on. Everyone's internet goes through it, so when it is off, nobody is online.
- HandyCafe Genesis, or the trial. Without a license the basic internet sharing keeps working, and the paid parts (filtering, blocking, speed limits, the Wi-Fi portal) switch off. Nobody loses connectivity.
The gateway PC can be the same machine that runs HandyCafe Server, or a different one on the same network.
Getting one running
Installing a gateway is one afternoon, once. It comes down to putting a second network card in a PC, moving one cable, and pressing Install in Settings > Gateway.
The whole thing is written out step by step in Installing the Gateway, including which PC to use, where each cable goes, and the question the gateway asks before it keeps a network change.
Running it day to day
Settings holds the install and nothing else: the software, the address Server reaches it on, and the password. Everything you touch while the cafe is open is on the Internet page in the main menu, because "the internet is slow" is not a setup question.
| Tab | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Overview | Whether it is running, how long for, which lines are up, live traffic. |
| WAN | Your internet lines: one, or several with an order of preference. |
| Devices | Every device on the network right now, by name and by station. |
| Web Filter | Category filtering, your own blocked and allowed addresses. |
| Bandwidth | How much speed each device or group gets. |
| Port Forwarding | Which ports are open, and for which station. |
| Firewall | Rules of your own, for the cafes that want them. |
| Options | The switches that change how the rest behaves. |
Guest Wi-Fi codes are sold from the Wi-Fi page, next to the rest of the till. See Wi-Fi Vouchers.
How a change is applied
Editing a setting does not change your network yet. The change bar at the top collects what you edited, and Apply puts it live.
After applying, Server checks that it can still reach the gateway and then confirms. If it cannot, the gateway puts the previous settings back on its own after a minute. This is what stops a mistake in the network settings from locking you out of your own gateway.
If a change cannot be applied completely and cannot be undone either, the panel says so in red. Apply a configuration again to put the gateway back on a known state.
Where to read more
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Installing the Gateway | Which PC, the two cards, the cabling, the install and the first password. |
| Internet lines | One line or several, the order they are used in, what happens when one drops. |
| Devices and speed | The device list, groups, speed limits, blocking a device, connection records. |
| Web filter | Categories, your own blocked and allowed addresses, and what filtering by name can stop. |
| Port forwarding and firewall | Ports for consoles, letting consoles open their own, rules of your own. |
| Connection log | Which device reached which site, how long records are kept, blocking from a row. |
| Troubleshooting | The cafe is offline, Server cannot reach the gateway, a change did not stick. |
The cafe's Wi-Fi has a section of its own: Wi-Fi.
When the gateway stops
- Sessions, billing and everything else in HandyCafe Server keep working. They do not go through the gateway.
- The PCs on your network lose internet until it comes back.
- Wi-Fi tickets already in use keep their remaining time; a member logging in with a username needs Server to answer, so that waits.