LEDE/OpenWRT — Setting Max Concurrent Clients

OpenWRT allows you to set a hard limit on the maximum amount of clients that can connect to your network at one time, this can be a helpful tool if you wish to load balance your networks, or restrict total usage on your network.

SSH to your LEDE/OpenWRT device

If you are using Windows then start PuTTY and click Session on the left side, select SSH from the options, and then enter in the IP Address of your LEDE/OpenWRT box into the Host Name field.

Once you’ve done this just click on Open to start up the SSH connection.

PuTTY

If you are connecting via terminal, then just SSH to your LEDE/OpenWRT device using the following command, where 192.168.1.1 is your LEDE/OpenWRT device’s IP address.

ssh root@192.168.1.1

Configuration

First we need to access the wireless config file to make changes. So run the following command:

vi /etc/config/wireless

Once this is open, take a look for the SSID of your network that you want to limit.

config 'wifi-iface'
        option 'device'     'wl0'
        option 'network'    'lan'
        option 'mode'       'ap'
        option 'ssid'       'LimitedWiFi'
        option 'encryption' 'psk2'
        option 'key'        'WhileStocksLast'

Above, we have found the interface for the SSID ‘LimitedWiFi’.

Once you have found the network you want to edit, we need to add/edit in the following:

option 'maxassoc'   '10'

In this example we have set a hard limit of 10 concurrent clients.

Once you’ve made your change, you should be left with something similar to the below:

config 'wifi-iface'
        option 'device'     'wl0'
        option 'network'    'lan'
        option 'mode'       'ap'
        option 'ssid'       'LimitedWiFi'
        option 'encryption' 'psk2'
        option 'key'        'WhileStocksLast'
        option 'maxassoc'   '10'

When you are happy you will need to reboot your device by running this command:

reboot

If you found this post helpful please let us know by clicking the ♥ below.

This blog was brought to you by Cucumber WiFi. Cucumber helps you run a more efficient WiFi network. Check it out here.

Cucumber WiFi — control any (WiFi) device from the cloud.