Automated Configuration for Network Appliances

1. A method for configuring a network appliance, the method comprising: detecting, by the network appliance, a subscriber network; transmitting, to a remote configuration service, information identifying the network appliance; receiving, via the subscriber network, configuration information for automated configuration of the network appliance, wherein the configuration information includes first parameters for configuring the subscriber network, and second parameters for configuring an access network for connecting computing devices to the network appliance, and wherein the first parameters and the second parameters are based on identifier and location information associated with the network appliance; and performing the automated configuration of the network appliance using the configuration information, wherein the automated configuration does not require user input, and wherein performing the automated configuration includes using the first parameters and the second parameters to configure the network appliance for use with the access network and the subscriber network; providing, by a web server residing in the network appliance, configuration options for user selection in a graphical user interface, wherein the configuration options are for configuring the network appliance beyond the automated configuration; detecting selection of a group of the configuration options; configuring the network appliance based on the group of the configuration options; and providing, to the remote configuration service, information indicating the group of the configuration options.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: transmitting the location information indicating a location of the network appliance, wherein the location information affects values of at least one of the first parameters and the second parameters.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the configuration information further includes third parameters for determining monetary costs for providing internet connectivity to the computing devices.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising: configuring the network appliance to charge specific monetary values for providing internet access to mobile computing devices, wherein the network appliance is configured to enable the mobile computing devices to access the internet via the access network and the subscriber network.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising: receiving, in the network appliance, a network access request and authentication credentials, wherein the network access request arrives over the access network and originates from a mobile computing device; transmitting, via a secure virtual private network, the authentication credentials for authentication by a remote authentication service; receiving, from the remote authentication service, an indication that the authentication credentials have been authenticated; notifying the mobile computing device that network access is granted; receiving a request to retrieve content from a website on an internet; and forwarding the request to the website via an unsecured channel.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the group of configuration options modifies at least some of the configuration information, including one or more of the identifier and the location information.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein configuring the network appliance based on the group of the configuration options comprises configuring the access network without configuring the subscriber network based on the group of the configuration options.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein configuring the network appliance based on the group of the configuration options comprises configuring the subscriber network without configuring the access network based on the group of the configuration options.

9. A network appliance configured to perform automated configuration upon deployment at a venue, the network appliance comprising: an access network interface configured to connect the network appliance to mobile computing devices; a subscriber network interface configured to connect the network appliance to a subscriber network; a configuration unit configured to, determine an identifier and location information associated with the network appliance; transmit, via the subscriber network interface, the identifier and location information to a remote configuration service; receive, from the remote configuration service via the subscriber network interface, configuration information based on the identifier and location information, wherein the configuration information is for use in automated configuration of the access network interface and the subscriber network interface; and configure the access network interface and the subscriber network interface using the configuration information; a split tunnel unit configured to, forward authentication requests received from the mobile computing devices to a remote authentication service via a secure virtual private network, wherein the secure virtual private network utilizes the subscriber network; and forward internet access requests received from authenticated mobile computing devices to the internet via the subscriber network independent of the secure virtual private network; and a web server configured to, provide configuration options for user selection in a graphical user interface, wherein the configuration options are for configuring the network appliance beyond the automated configuration.

10. The network appliance of claim 9 , wherein the configuration information includes billing information for determining monetary costs for providing internet connectivity to the mobile computing devices.

11. The network appliance of claim 9 , wherein the identifier includes a serial number associated with the network appliance, and wherein the location information includes a zip code in which the network appliance resides.

12. The network appliance of claim 9 , wherein the configuration information for configuring the access network interface includes one or more of Internet Protocol addresses for an access network, a Service Set Identifier, WiFi Protected Access protocol information, and WiFi Protected Access II protocol information.

13. The network appliance of claim 9 , wherein the configuration information for configuring the subscriber network interface includes Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol information and Domain Name Server information.

14. A computer readable storage device including instructions which when executed by a computing device cause the computing device to perform operations for configuring a network appliance, the instructions comprising: instructions to detect, by the network appliance, a subscriber network; instructions to transmit, to a remote configuration service, information identifying the network appliance; instructions to receive, via the subscriber network, configuration information for automated configuration of the network appliance, wherein the configuration information includes first parameters for the subscriber network, and second parameters for an access network for connecting computing devices to the network appliance, and wherein the first parameters and the second parameters are based on identifier and location information associated with the network appliance; and instructions to perform the automated configuration of the network appliance using the configuration information, wherein the automated configuration does not require user input, and wherein performing the automated configuration includes using the first parameters and the second parameters to configure the network appliance for use with the access network and the subscriber network; instructions to provide, by a web server residing in the network appliance, configuration options for user selection in a graphical user interface, wherein the configuration options are to configure the network appliance beyond the automated configuration; instructions to detect selection of a group of the configuration options; instructions to configure the network appliance based on the group of the configuration options; and instructions to provide, to the remote configuration service, information indicating the group of the configuration options.

15. The computer readable storage device of claim 14 , the instructions further comprising: instructions to transmit the location information indicating a location of the network appliance, wherein the location information affects values of at least one of the first parameters and the second parameters.

16. The computer readable storage device of claim 14 , wherein the configuration information further includes third parameters for determining monetary costs for providing internet connectivity to the computing devices.

17. The computer readable storage device of claim 16 , the instructions further comprising: instructions to configure the network appliance to charge specific monetary values for providing internet access to mobile computing devices, wherein the network appliance is configured to enable the mobile computing devices to access the internet via the access network and the subscriber network.

18. The computer readable storage device of claim 14 , the instructions further comprising: receiving, in the network appliance, a network access request and authentication credentials, wherein the network access request arrives over the access network and originates from a mobile computing device; transmitting, via a secure virtual private network, the authentication credentials for authentication by a remote authentication service; receiving, from the remote authentication service, an indication that the authentication credentials have been authenticated; notifying the mobile computing device that network access is granted; receiving a request to retrieve content from a website on the internet; and forwarding the request to the website via an unsecured channel.