[freeside] New install questions

Sat Oct 30 06:02:24 PDT 2004

Hi,

I'm sure freeside can do most if not all you require.  

I have a WISP setup with freeside-1.5.x and freeradius-1.x.  

I enter the new user information, provision the account and freeside updates
the radius database (postgresql, it can export to users files too though I
haven't tested that).  When the account expires the account is disabled
automatically, there's an option of how many days to wait before disabling the
account.  

It also sends out invoices and reciepts via postal mail or email or both.

It can export accounts to your mail server and web server too!

I thinks you should install freeside-1.5.x and try it out.  The only tediouus
(read `time consuming`) part is the installation of the perl modules.  Once you
get through that it's a breeze! 

--- "Gerald V. Livingston II" <gerald.freeside at sysmatrix.net> wrote:

> Preparing to set up a new system then manually move our customer base
> (under 10,000) and I have a few questions.
> 
> 1. Should I install 1.4.x or go ahead and st up 1.5.x? Online docs, though
> incomplete, are for 1.5.x indicating 1.4.x support is beginning to wane.
> 
> 2. I know I can get the base system operational, I've done it for testing
> (a couple of years ago). There are questions on admin though:
> 
> Here is our basic business model and I'd like suggestions on how to set up
> the packages to handle it properly. I recall being a bit befuddled about
> the whole services/packages arrangement when I played with Freeside
> previously. 
> 
> Section I
> 
> 1. Basic internet dialup at $10/month. No contract, no discounts, no
> initial setup fee, no connect tracking in the billing system. Monthly,
> quarterly, semi-annual, annual prepayment options -- automatic billing on
> the anniversary date at the above intervals (ie. sign up on 12 March for
> quarterly and get auto-billed on 12 June for the next quarter).
> 
> 2. Unlimited (within reason) additional free email accounts that need to be
> tracked for removal at account close.
> 
> 3. Free personal web space that needs to be tracked for removal if
> activated by the customer.
> 
> Ie. We want to be able to add a new customer and mark that they are a
> dialup customer this includes 1 dialup connection and 1 email address
> matching the dialup username. Cost is $10/month (or $30/Q, $60/SA, $120/A).
> 
> POP tracking is neither required nor desired, we lease all POPs nationwide
> and have no particular interest in which POP a user connects to.
> 
> When the user is added we would like exports to be generated to activate
> the user on our Radiator server for dialup and a text export in a
> particular format which can be fed through scripting to "adduser" on our
> current mail server (Ipswitch IMail -- hopefully to be replaced with a
> Postfix server soon --- but that's my baby too, one project at a time
> <sigh>).  
> 
> No other usage tracking interaction with Radiator is required.
> 
> If possible we would like the system to be able to disable an account on
> Radiator if it is placed on hold for non-payment in billing -- I haven't
> read that far into the docs to know if it can be done. We currently do it
> by hand by changing the password in Radiator.
> 
> Some sort of verification needs to happen to avoid duplicate usernames.
> 
> And, the twister -- the above is our primary business model -- but....
> 
> 2 domains are involved due to another local ISP more or less turning his
> business over to us for unpaid debt. Because of billing system issues those
> users have not yet been integrated into our current system and the pricing
> is different ($12.75/month -- discount for prepay -- $10 initial setup
> fee). This means a separate set of packages for those users. Same deal with
> free email/web space.
> 
> We are letting the second userbase dissolve by attrition and lack of
> advertising but expect many users to stay active for several years to come
> so it has to integrated as well. We still get the occasional new user in
> this domain from word of mouth as well (since customer support and
> available POPs improved after we took the business).
> 
> Section II
> 
> 1. Two very basic web hosting packages primarily used by our already
> established customers. Same deal, flat rate, no extras that I know of. They
> are currently billed quarterly only.
> 
> 2. One of the hosting packages, if combined with the standard dialup, bills
> monthly at the combined rate (but only if they have both).
> 
> 3. When we add bandwidth the owner plans to expand our hosting offerings
> using Cpanel or some such package. That is not currently a concern but will
> be over the next few months.
> 
> 4. Currently, all web hosting setups are done by hand and I expect it to
> stay that way. The webmaster wants total control and final verification. I
> agree with him. So, the hosting packages need only exist in billing and
> should not require any exports unless the status changes when hosting
> offerings expand. DNS will always be handled by hand.
> 
> *********----------------***********
> 
> If I can get the above set up the actual DOING of it should help me
> understand the package/service setup well enough to add more options at a
> later date.
> 
> *********----------------***********
> 
> New signups are currently handled through a custom https/php page that
> connects to the Authorize.Net gateway. After the initial charge is accepted
> the script generates a notification to the tech on duty with the user/pass
> info for manual entry into Radiator and IMail -- it saves the complete
> billing to a secured CSV text file that I import to the billing system
> weekly.
> 
> At some point I'll decide if I want signups completely automated but we
> like to have visual verification before account activation to help spot
> obvious cases of potential fraud or spammers that we don't want as
> customers (we've had people try to sign up who's return notification
> address was similar to makemoneynow$$$@yahoo.com or 
> xxxphotos at msn.com -- no thank you, don't need the $10 that bad).
> 
> For now we will probably keep the https/php signup pages but we would like
> to be able to enter the customer's complete billing info once, on Freeside,
> and have the Radiator and email account info automatically exported and
> activated. We'd like the same for the free addons, add the extra to the
> account and have that new info exported to the proper server (email or
> personal web server via an adduser command).
> 
> *****************--------------------*******************
> 
> We want billing to be handled daily. Run by had at first then automatically
> but a skim of the docs makes it appear that part will be trivial after the
> installation of Business::OnlinePayment.
> 
> *****************----------------------*******************
> 
> Any assistance and pointers appreciated. Starting with which version to
> install so I can make use of any further info <grin>. The boss gave me
> WAAAAYYY too much server for this system so I'm going to make it a
> firewalled Samba storage server for some of our critical config files as
> well. I still have to get Debian installed using a 2.4.27 kernel rather
> than the current 2.4.18 in "stable". The server has dual 250G
> SATA drives that I'm going to RAID0 together. It also has an onboard Intel
> Gigabit NIC that I know isn't supported by 2.4.18 <sigh>. Like I said,
> WAAAAYYY to much box for a billing server.
> 
> Gerald,
> 
> Sysmatrix.net billing and mail server administrator
> 
> 
> 

=====
Julius Igugu
SouthWork Co. Ltd.

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