Router that can control when internet is on/off, based on time ranges?

Question

Is there such a thing (a router) where you can set when you want the internet to be accessible?

e.g. Only allow 1 hour of internet usage per day.

or turn on internet between 6-8pm, otherwise off.

And set exclusions by MAC address.

Answer 1

I have suggested this to a couple parents before. Using a router like WRT54GL (linux variant) and installing something like dd-wrt firmware, or tomato firmware, you can control access at the router level, and EVEN add keyword filtering (blacklist words, sites, etc).

Great little routers, and if you want gigabit, just buy a gigabit switch, and plug it into your router as the last point out to your internet (unless your internet connecting is 100mbits+)

Answer 2

dd-wrt firmwares for Linksys routers have this option. I'm using it in my home network now.

Answer 3

I'm using a D-Link DIR-655 router, which includes an Access Control feature that will do what you want. Set up blocking based on schedules, ports, IP addresses and MAC addresses. It's an excellent router.

Answer 4

As far as I remember almost every Linksys router can manage time policies with its native firmware.

Answer 5

i like my soekris a lot, can do a lot of fancy things since it has a complete OS (and lots of user tools on it).

allowing internet on such a machine is just a matter of the right cronjob which brings the WAN interface up or down at the right time :)

Answer 6

Here is a guide on installing the tomato firmware for beginners: http://lifehacker.com/344765/turn-your-60-router-into-a-user+friendly-super+router-with-tomato

If installing custom firmware on a router seems to hard for you, there are people selling routers with the firmware already changed on ebay.

Answer 7

DD-WRT has everything you need to do what you want with a router. The Linksys WRT-54G series of routers is good and runs DD-WRT, but you pay for a name and the technology is nearly a decade old now. Other companies make routers with more up to date technology for less that also run DD-WRT.

Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH @ $89.99 for DD-WRT AND gigabit AND "N" wireless.

Buffalo WHR-HP-G300N @ $57.09 for DD-WRT AND "N" wireless, but no gigabit.

Buffalo WHR-G300N @ $34.99 for DD-WRT AND "N" wireless, but no external antennas.

I have three of the cheap one and I used the u.fl to RP-TNC adapters from a bricked WRT54G I had to give it external antennas, like putting money back in my pocket!

Also, using DD-WRT firmware on Buffalo routers does not void their 3 year warranty, because several of their routers come with DD-WRT on them from the factory.

Answer 8

There are at least a few if not many routers that will do that out of the box.

I had a TrendNet WGR533 and now own a Linksys E3000 - both allowed you to manage access by schedule using IP address or MAC address.