NetComm NTC-790, NTC-990 User Manual

NTC-790/NTC-990

User Manual

NTC-790 NTC-990 HSPA Cellular Router User Manual

This manual covers the following products:

NTC-790 NTC-990

Revision 1.55 NetComm Limited March 2009

Table of Contents

1 Introduction............................................................................................................................4

2 Cellular Router Overview.......................................................................................................4

2.1 Status Indicators.............................................................................................................5

3 What you will need to configure the Cellular Router..............................................................7

4 Installing and unlocking the SIM card..................................................................................11

4.1 Inserting the SIM card..................................................................................................11

4.2 Unlocking the SIM........................................................................................................12

4.3 Enter PUK ....................................................................................................................16

4.4 The ‘Remember PIN’ feature........................................................................................18

5 Locking to a specific band...................................................................................................19

6 How to Establish a Connection to the cellular network........................................................21

6.1 Initiating a PPP Connection from the Cellular Router...................................................22

6.1.1 To connect using a pre-configured profile.............................................................23

6.1.2 To connect using a user configured profile............................................................24

6.1.3 To confirm successful connection .........................................................................26

6.1.4 How to establish a Connection using the Cellular Router in PPPoE mode ...........27

7 Ethernet Related Commands ..............................................................................................28

7.1 How to configure the Ethernet IP address....................................................................28

7.2 How to configure DNS Masquerading ..........................................................................28

7.3 How to configure the DHCP Server..............................................................................29

7.3.1 How to configure the DHCP relay agent................................................................30

7.3.2 How to configure static DHCP assignments..........................................................31

7.4 How to configure your Device’s IP address manually (no DHCP)................................32

8 Advanced Features .............................................................................................................33

8.1 How to configure the Periodic Ping Reset Monitor.......................................................33

8.2 How to configure a Periodic Reset Timer.....................................................................35

8.3 Remote Administration.................................................................................................36

8.4 NAT Configuration........................................................................................................ 37

8.4.1 How to configure Port Forwarding.........................................................................38

8.5 How to configure dynamic DNS client ..........................................................................41

8.6 How to configure the Serial PAD (Packet Assembler and Disassembler) ....................42

9 Routing Features.................................................................................................................46

9.1 How to configure PPTP Client......................................................................................46

9.2 Configuring Static Routes.............................................................................................48

9.3 How to Configure RIP................................................................................................... 51

9.4 How to configure VRRP................................................................................................52

10 Router Application and Configuration management............................................................54

10.1 To save a copy of the routers configuration..................................................................54

10.2 To restore a copy of the routers configuration..............................................................55

10.3 To restore the routers configuration to the factory defaults..........................................55

10.4 To upgrade to a new router application version............................................................56

11 Troubleshooting................................................................................................................... 58

11.1 Viewing the system log.................................................................................................58

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11.2 Common problems and solutions.................................................................................60

11.2.1 I cannot seem to access the web page interface ..................................................60

11.2.2 The Cellular Router was connected but cannot get back on.................................60

11.2.3 Cellular Router is rebooting frequently..................................................................60

11.2.4 Cellular Router has connection but cannot access the internet.............................60

11.2.5 I cannot seem to get a wireless WAN connection.................................................61

11.2.6 I have set the Band but now it does not show the correct Frequency on the Home

page and I cannot get a connection.....................................................................................61

11.2.7 The SIM status indicates that the SIM is “not installed or reboot required” on the

Home page..........................................................................................................................61

11.2.8 How can I reset the cellular router’s IP address to default ....................................62

11.2.9 I am having problems getting a PPTP connection.................................................63

12 RS-232 Serial Port Integration Parameters.........................................................................64

13 RJ-45 Ethernet Port Integration Parameters .......................................................................65

14 Specifications......................................................................................................................66

15 Download and Upload Speeds............................................................................................67

16 Custom Application and Scripting ........................................................................................67

17 Additional Software Packs...................................................................................................68

18 Legal & Regulatory Information...........................................................................................69

19 Customer information..........................................................................................................69

20 GNU General Public License...............................................................................................69

21 Product Warranty.................................................................................................................70

22 Limitation of Warranty..........................................................................................................70

Revision 1.55 NetComm Limited March 2009

1 Introduction

Thank you for purchasing the Cellular Router from NetComm. This manual illustrates how to set-up and configure your Cellular Router appropriate for your application.

The Cellular Router is configured via a web browser. This manual will take you t hrough the steps required to configure and use your unit correctly.

Additionally the router may be configured via the units serial (V.24) port using “AT” (V.250) commands, this method of operation is further detailed in the document “NTCSeriesCellularRoutersV250(AT)manual-v1-52”

2 Cellular Router Overview

This section describes the main physica l features of the Cellular Router.

Revision 1.55 NetComm Limited March 2009

2.1 Status Indicators

There are a total of five LED's on the Cellular Router: three green, one amber and one red. The green LED next to the DC power jack is the DC Power Indicator. The other four LED’s are grouped on the opposite end of the router, next to the RF antenna connector. Listed below are the specifications of the LED’s and their corresponding colours.

POWER (Green)

The green Power LED indicates correct power is applied to the DC power input jack.

DCD (Amber)

The amber Carrier Detect LED illuminates to indicate a Data connection.

Tx Rx (Red)

The red LED will light upon data being sent to or received from the cellular network.

Service Type (Green)

The green LED will illuminate when cellular network coverage is detected.

Solid on : indicates UMTS/HSDPA available coverage Flashing : indicated EDGE available coverage Off : Indicates GSM/GPRS available coverage only.

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RSSI (Green)

Of the three radio link status indicators, the green LED is used to show Received Signal Strength. There are three possible states that the RSSI LED can operate in, based upon signal level:

Solid : Indicates the RSSI level is -90dbm, or greater (strong) Flashing once per second : Indicates the RSSI level is -110dbm and -90dbm, (medium) Off : Indicates the RSSI level is less than -110dbm (poor)

Revision 1.55 NetComm Limited March 2009

3 What you will need to configure the Cellular Router

You will need the following hardware components to set up the Cellular Router:

Power Supply (8-28VDC) Ethernet cable Laptop or PC. Active Telecommunications carrier SI M card (USIM)

NOTE – The Ethernet port on the Cellular Router is a DTE non-auto switch so you will need a crossover cable if connected directly to your PC. However, if there is a Hub/Switch connected betwee n the Cellular Router and PC you will need to use a straight through cable.

How to access the Cellular Router using the Web Browser

Install the supplied antenna to the Cellular Router. This needs to be screwed to the RF Antenna connector.

• For 850MHz networks use the Black antennas provided

• For 900MHz networks use the Black antennas provided

• For 2100/1900MHz networks use the Gray antenna provided

Connect power adapter to the mains and plug the output jack to the power jack of the Cellular Router. The green Power LED on the panel should illuminate.

Connect an Ethernet crossover cable or straight through cable as appropriate between the Cellular Router’s Ethernet connector and the Ethernet Connector on your PC or switch. Configure your PC’s Ethernet interface to be dynamically assigned an IP address by doing the following:

Revision 1.55 NetComm Limited March 2009

For Windows users:

Follow the path Start -> Control Panel -> Network Connections. Right click Local Area Conn ection and select Properties to open the configuration dialogue box of Local Area Connection as below:

Find and click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) from the protocol list box and then click the Properties button The TCP/IP configuration window will pop up as illustrated below.

Revision 1.55 NetComm Limited March 2009

Under General tab, select radio button Obtain an IP address automatically and Obtain DNS server address automatically. Then press OK button to close TCP/IP configuration window.

Press the Close button to complete the computer preparation for the Cellular Router.

Enter the address below in your web browser and connect . The username and password are defined below. Whenever you make changes please refresh your web pages to prevent errors due to caching of web pages.

http://192.168.1.50

Username: admin Password: password

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Below illustrates the steps required to access the Cellular Router’s web browser:

NOTE – If the Ethernet IP address of the Cellular Router needs to be changed then refer to the section: Configuring the Ethernet IP address.

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4 Installing and unlocking the SIM card

4.1 Inserting the SIM card

First make sure the SIM card is inserted correctly. You insert the SIM with gold side up and in the direction as shown below:

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4.2 Unlocking the SIM

If the SIM card is locked you will need to unlock it with a PIN provided with your SIM card. You can find out if the SIM is locked by viewing the SIM Status on the Home page:

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If the SIM Status is ENTER PIN as above then do the following:

Click on the “Security” Link on the left

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When you click on the ‘Security’ link you should see the following message:-

Click OK

Next, enter the PIN code and confirm the PIN code. Then click Save.

Once the SIM has been unlocked you will see a pop up confirming this.

Revision 1.55 NetComm Limited March 2009

Now Click on the link and the Home Status page should look as below with SIM Status OK:

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4.3 Enter PUK

If after three attempts you are requested to enter a PUK code:

You will need to contact your carrier to obtain this number.

Your carrier will issue you a PUK code to enable you to unlock the USIM and enter a new PIN code. Enter the new PIN and PUK codes, press save .

If you have entered the PUK correctly you should see the following message:

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Now Click on the link and the Home Status page should look as below with SIM Status OK:

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4.4 The ‘Remember PIN’ feature

This feature is intended to allow the router to automatically send the PIN to the USIM each time the USIM asks for it (usually at power up).

The intent of this feature is to ensure that a USIM removed from a router installed in an unattended location by an unauthorized user cannot be used to make calls or otherwise be of any value outside the router on which it is installed.

When this feature is enabled the PIN entered by the user when they set the "Remember PIN" feature is encrypted and stored locally in the cellular router, the next time the USIM asks the cellular router for the PIN the cellular router decrypts the PIN and automatically sends it to the USIM without user intervention.

When this feature is disabled and the USIM is PIN locked the user must manually enter the PIN via the cellular router‘s configuration interface, this is clearly not desirable where the cellular router is unattended.

Revision 1.55 NetComm Limited March 2009

5 Locking to a specific band

You may want to lock the Cellular Router on to a specific band, to do this click on the “Band” link. You may want to do this if you’re using the router in a country with multi frequency networks that may not

all support HSPA, you can select the router to only connect on the network frequencies that suit your requirements.

Revision 1.55 NetComm Limited March 2009

For NTC-790, the following band settings options are applicable.

UMTS 850MHz Only = UMTS 850 MHz Only WCDMA ALL = UMTS 850/2100/1900MHz UMTS 850MHz, 2G = UMTS 850 MHz GSM/EDGE/GPRS 900/1800/1900MHz 2G = GSM/EDGE/GPRS 900/1800/1900MHz All Bands (autoband) = UMTS 850/2100/1900MHz GSM/EDGE/GPRS 900/1800/1900MHz

For NTC-990, the following 900Mhz band setting options are applicable.

UMTS 900MHz Only = UMTS 900 MHz only

WCDMA ALL = UMTS 900/2100/1900MHz UMTS 900MHz, 2G = UMTS 900 MHz GSM/EDGE/GPRS 900/1800/1900MHz 2G = GSM/EDGE/GPRS 900/1800/1900MHz All Bands (autoband) = UMTS 900/2100/1900MHz GSM/EDGE/GPRS 900/1800/1900MHz

NOTE – After changing the band if the band does not get set correctly or is not reflected on the frequency field on the “Home” Status page then you may need to reboot the unit by clicking on the Reset Button on the top right hand corner of the page.

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6 How to Establish a Connection to the cellular network

This section describes how to set up the Cellular Router to initiate a Wireless connection.

There are 2 different ways to set up a wireless connection via PPP:-

• Initiating the PPP Connection directly from the Cellular Router acting as the PPP Client (most common).

• Initiating the PPP Connection from a different PPP client (i.e. laptop or router) with the Cellular Router running in PPPoE mode. This mode is used for example, when you also have an ADSL connection present such that if the Wireless connection on the Cellular Router fails then the ADSL router can be used as backup.

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