If I have an open mesh wireless network (or, really, any open access network) and I want to keep the network open access: that is, anyone with the right hardware should be able to connect and talk to other computers on the network, but I want to require authentication for Internet access, what should I use?
PPP seems like the right tool for the job. I thought at first PPPoE, but I've been informed that probably cannot work over wireless. So then I have to tunnel using PPTP? I'm trying to minimize overhead, which is why I initially shied away from PPTP/OpenVPN solutions.
If IPSec can be run in tunnel mode without encryption that may also achieve this, I think.
Are there other good solutions that I'm not thinking of?
Note that I do not consider using an HTTP proxy server or the other sorts of weird hacks you often see at hotel wifi acceptable solutions.
If possible I would like to make it so that people who authenticate are able to have a public IP, and not just sit behind a NAT.