virtual access GW2040 Series Quick Start Manual

Virtual Access GW2040 Series

Quick Start Guide

Table of contents

1 Preface .................................................................................................... 3

1.1 Safety instructions ................................................................................. 3

1.2 Electrical safety ...................................................................................... 3

1.3 Wireless safety ....................................................................................... 3

1.4 Product disposal ..................................................................................... 4

2 Introduction ............................................................................................ 5

2.1 GPRS ...................................................................................................... 5

2.2 HSDPA .................................................................................................... 5

2.3 HSUPA .................................................................................................... 5

2.4 UMTS ...................................................................................................... 5

2.5 EDGE ...................................................................................................... 5

2.6 CSD in EGSM900/GSM1800 MHz ............................................................. 5

2.7 More information .................................................................................... 6

3 Getting started ........................................................................................ 7

3.1 Serial number ......................................................................................... 7

3.2 Inserting the SIM card ........................................................................... 7

3.3 Connecting the antenna ......................................................................... 7

3.3.1 Antenna diversity ................................................................................... 8

3.4 Connecting the power supply ................................................................. 8

4 LED behaviour ......................................................................................... 9

4.1 Main LED behaviour ................................................................................ 9

4.2 Ethernet switch LED behaviour............................................................. 10

5 Configuring the GW2040 Series for 3G access ....................................... 11

5.1 Optional automatic configuration ......................................................... 11

5.2 Manually configuring a GW2040 Series router ..................................... 11

5.3 Configuring the APN and PIN ............................................................... 13

5.4 Configure authentication options ......................................................... 13

5.5 Save the configuration ......................................................................... 14

5.6 Reload the configuration ...................................................................... 14

5.7 Connection Monitor .............................................................................. 14

6 File system ............................................................................................ 15

6.1 Managing configuration files ................................................................ 15

6.1.1 Managing configuration via the web interface ............................................15

6.1.2 Managing configuration via the command line ...........................................17

6.2 Managing firmware .............................................................................. 18

6.2.1 Managing firmware via the web interface ..................................................18

6.2.2 Managing firmware via the command line .................................................19

7 Firmware updates information .............................................................. 21

8 Troubleshooting .................................................................................... 22

Copyright 2013 Virtual Access (Irl) Ltd. This material is protected by copyright. No part of this material may be reproduced,
distributed, or altered without the written consent of Virtual Access. All rights reserved. Third party trademarks are the property
of the third parties.

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1: Preface

1 Preface

1.1 Safety instructions

The router is complicated electronic equipment that may be repaired only by authorised
and qualified personnel.

• Do not try to open or repair the router yourself.

• Do not place the router in a damp or humid place.

• Do not stack the router.

• The router should be used in a sheltered area, within a temperature range of 0oC

to 40oC.

• Do not expose the router to direct sunlight.
HIGH VOLTAGES
Under no circumstances is the router to be operated with the cover removed.
DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES
Semiconductor devices contain dangerous substances, such as beryllium and arsenic.

Electronic devices must not be opened. If they become damaged, they must only be
handled using protective gloves. If the substances inside the electronic devices come into
contact with broken skin or wounds, hospital care must be sought immediately.
Electronic components must be disposed of as hazardous toxic waste and must not be
incinerated.

1.2 Electrical safety

The GW2040 Series router is a class I/II apparatus.
We recommend that an AC surge arrestor is installed in the AC outle t t o which this

equipment is connected.
Plug in the power supply into a socket outlet that is installed near the equipment and is

easily accessible.

1.3 Wireless safety

Wireless routers incorporate a wireless radio module. Ensure the antenna is positioned at
least one metre away from you and other people in normal operation.

If in a hospital or health care facility, do not use the router in areas where guidelines to
switch off mobiles phones are posted. Medical equipment may be se nsitive to RF energy.

The operation of cardiac pacemakers, other implanted m edical equipment and hearing
aids can be affected by interference from wireless routers when placed close to the
device. People with pacemakers are advised to keep the wireless router away from the
pacem a ke r wh ile it is on.

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1: Preface

Do not operate your wireless router in the presence of flammable gases, fumes or
potentially explosive atmospheres. Wireless routers should not be used anywhere that
blasting operations are taking place.

Wireless routers operate using radio signals and cellular networks cannot be guaranteed
to connect in all possib l e conditions. Theref ore, you should not rely solely on any wireless
device for life-critical communications.

1.4 Product disposal

The United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland are under an obligat ion to minimise the
disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic E quipment (WEEE) in domestic waste and
encourage recycling, recovery and environmentally sound disposal. Virtual Access is
committed to promoting the reuse, recycling and r ecovery of WEEE by contributing to the
appropriate compliance schemes.

Our product packaging is marked with the crossed out wheeled bin symbol to indicate
that the product must not be disposed of in domestic waste but dispose d of through an
approved WEEE take bac k scheme. For details o f your local collection facilities, please
contact your local authority.

Virtual Access WEEE registration number: WEE/CA2530XZ.

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2: Introduction

2 Introduction

This configuration guide explains how to set up and configure a 3G connection on a
Virtual Access GW2040 Series router.

3G is the third generation of mobile phone standards and technology. It is based on the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) family of standards unde r the International
Mobile Telecommunications programme, IMT-2000.

3G technologies enable network operators to offer users a wider range of more advanced
services while achieving greater network capacity through improved spectral efficiency.
Services include wide-area wireless voice telephony, video calls, and broadband wireless
data, all in a mobile environment.

The GW2040 Series contains a GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) 3G
wireless modem. The modem together with a SIM card establishes a WAN connection to
the Internet or private network.

Data bearers are frame protocols that transport data streams. The GSM (3G) modem
supports GPRS, Edge, HSDPA, HSUPA, UMTS and CSD.

2.1 GPRS

GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) uses packet-switched technology to transmit small
bursts of data. The 3G modem on the GW2040 Series supports multi-slot class 6, which
allows a maximum data rate of 384Kbps class 3. The maximum data rate available to the
3G modem depends on provisioning by the network operator.

2.2 HSDPA

HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) uses circuit-switched technology to
transmit data at speeds of up to 7.2Mbps.

2.3 HSUPA

HSUPA (High-Speed Uplink Packet Access) is a 3G mobile protocol with up link speeds of

5.76Mbps

2.4 UMTS

UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) is a 3rd generation technology
providing higher transfer rates.

2.5 EDGE

EDGE uses the same frequencies as GPRS but offers better speeds. It is used when the
signal strength for 3G is not sufficient.

2.6 CSD in EGSM900/GSM1800 MHz

CSD (Circuit-Switched Data) mode enables the 3G modem to transmit data over the
EGSM (Extended Global System for Mobile communications) frequency or the GSM
frequency. The modem behaves as a dual-band mobile phone behaves

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2: Introduction

2.7 More information

For a digital copy of this guide and more detailed GW2040 information about:

• Configuring a GSM Modem on a GW2040, and

• SIM Management on a GW2040

visit http://www.virtualaccess.com/customer-support.php
For more detailed router configuration information, read the Advanced Configuration

section:

http://www.virtualaccess.com/smg-docs/start.htm

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3: Getting started

3 Getting started

3.1 Serial number

When you receive your GW2040 Series package retain the outer packaging. The label
containing the model number, serial number (S/N) and pa rt number (P/N) is located on
the side of the packaging box.

Each GW2040 Series router is assigned a unique serial number. Record your device serial
number on your warranty card or somewhere you can easily access it. You must
reference your unique serial number (S/N) when you contact your distributor or Virtual
Access support for instal lation and configuration confirmation or s hould you request
service on the device.

Figure 1: The GW2040 label on the side of the packaging

Unpack the contents. There is a matching label located on the bottom of the router.

Figure 2: The GW2040 label on the bottom of the router

3.2 Inserting the S IM card

1. Ensure the unit is powered off.

2. Hold the SIM card with the chip side facing down and the cut corner top left.

3. Gently push the SIM card into SIM slot 1 until it clicks in.

4. To remove the SIM card, gently push the SIM card. The card will click out.

WARNING
The SIM card MUST be inserted into the router before the unit is powered on.
Do not insert or remove the SIM card after the unit has been powered on.

3.3 Connecting the antenna

The GW2040 is shipped with one antenna suitable for the model you ordered. If you
require antenna diversity, contact your reseller.

Screw the antenna into the back MAIN SMA connector.

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3: Getting started

3.3.1 Antenna diversity

The GW2040 has an AUX connector for connection of a second antenna to allow for
antenna diversity. Antenna diversity helps impro ve the quality and reliability of a wireless
link by mitigating problems associated with multipath distortion.

Multipath distortion is a form of RF interference that occurs when a radio signal has more
than one path between the receiver and the transmitter. It commonly occurs when there
is no clear line of sight between the transmitter and receiver and instead the signal is
reflected off hard surfaces such as shelves, ceilings and walls.

3.4 Connecting the power sup pl y

1. Plug the power cable into an electrical socket suitable for a DC12V/1A power

supply.

2. The router initialises. The Power LED lights green, the CONFIG LED flashes, and

all the LEDs temporarily light in sequence. Then your router activates.

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4: LED behaviour

4 LED behaviour

4.1 Main LED behaviour

The GW2010 and GW2040 Series router has a single colour LED. When the router is
powered on, the LED is green.

Figure 3: Example of LED activity: power and config are on

The possible LED states are:

• Off

• Flashing slowing

• Flashing quickly

• On

The following table describes the possible LED behaviour and meaning.

Power LED

Off No power
On Power

Config LED

Off

Error reading con fig from flash. Nor m ally this means an
unrecognised command in the boot configuration file in

flash.
Flashing slowly Unit running in r ecovery mode.
Flashing quickly Unit running in factory configura tion.
On Unit running a valid configuration file.

SIM LEDs

Off SIM not selected or the SIM is not inserted.

Flashing

SIM selected and not registered on the network.

On

SIM selected and registered on the network.

Signal LEDs

None IPCP not connec te d.
1 IPCP connected and signa l strength <= -89dBm.

2

IPCP connected and signa l strength >= -89dBm AND <=-

69dBm.

3

IPCP connected and signa l strength >-69dBm

All LEDs
flashing
slowly in
synchronisati
on

The unit has lost its a p plication firmware and is no longer

operational.

Table 1: LED behaviour

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4: LED behaviour

4.2 Ethernet switch LED behaviour

The Ethernet switch has two LEDs per port: a link LED (green) and a speed LED (amber).
When looking at the switc h t he LED on the left hand side is the link LED, and on the right
hand side is the speed LED.

Figure 4: Ethernet LED activity

Link LED

Off No physical Ethe r net link detected.
Flashing Data being transmitted or r ec eiv ed on the Ethernet port.
On Physical Ethernet link detec ted .

Speed

Off 10M Ethernet link

On

100M Ethernet link

All LEDs flashing
slowly in
synchronisation

The unit has lost its bootloader and is no longer

operational.

Table 2: Ethernet switch LED behaviour

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5: Configuring the GW2040 Series for 3G access

5 Configuring the GW2040 Series for 3G access

Depending on the factory configuration installed on the GW2040 Series router, the device
either automatically self-configures or it requires m anual configuration.

5.1 Optional automatic configu r ation

Virtual Access GW2040 S eries routers can be automatically configured from a service
provider’s central management service using the automated configuration process.

The GW2040 Series router contacts a central server and automatically pulls down its run
time configuration.

To verify this setting, browse to the router’s start page. You can access the router’s start
page by plugging an Ethernet cable into port A on the Ethernet switch.

The GW2040 Series router is configured as a DHCP server. The default IP of the router is

192.168.100.1/24.
From the start page, click Advanced -> Expert View to check that your router has

been configured for automatic configuration.
For the automated configuration process, the Factconf Name: field should show

‘GWXXXX_Zero; and the Factconf Type: field should show ‘activation’.

Figure 5: The GW2040 system information for automatic configuration

Contact your service provider to avail of this service.

5.2 Manually configuring a GW2040 Series router

To manually configure your GW2040 Series router with 3G check that the router has
been pre-loaded with a manual factory configu rat ion. The manual factory co nfiguration
for this model comprises settings for basic Internet co nnectivity of 3G data services.

To verify this setting, browse to the router’s start page. You can access the router’s start
page by plugging an Ethernet cable into port A on the Ethernet switch.

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5: Configuring the GW2040 Series for 3G access

Figure 6: The start page

The GW2040 Series router is configured as a DHCP server. The default IP of the router is

192.168.100.1/24.
When the start page has opened, click Advanced -> Expert View to check that the

router has been supplied for manual configuration. The Factconf Name: field should show
‘GWXXXX_man; the Factconf Type: field should show ‘manual’.

Figure 7: The GW2040 system information for manual configuration

Once you confirm that the router has a manual factory configuration installed, you can
proceed to configure the following parameters:

• APN

• SIM PIN (if using 3G)

• PPP Username and password

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5: Configuring the GW2040 Series for 3G access

5.3 Configuring the APN and PIN

1. To set the APN and PIN, browse to the router’s start page and click Advanced ->
Expert View -> interfaces -> modem-0 -> gsm. The Modem Interf a ce on

GSM page appears.

Figure 8: The modem interface on GSM

2. Type in the APN and PIN details.

3. Click Update and save to flash. Note which configuration you have committed
the changes to. For more information, read section 4.5, ‘Save the configuration’.

5.4 Configure auth entication options

Access to each PPP interface can be restricted based on a username and password.

1. In the Expert View menu, click interfaces -> ppp-1 (3G) -> ppp-
>authentication->name and password. The Username and Password page
appears.

Figure 9: The username and password page

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5: Configuring the GW2040 Series for 3G access

2. Enter in the relevant details, click Update and save to flash.

Note: password validation does not require a minimum length or the use of numeric

characters.

5.5 Save the configuration

1. In the Configuration Update Result page, click Save to flash. The Save
Configuration to Flash page appears.

2. In the drop-down menu select the configuration you want to save changes to and
click Save.

There are 3 options to save to:

• Config 1

• Config 2

• Alternate Config

3. Select config 1.

For more information on config options, read section 6.1, ‘M anaging configuration files’.

5.6 Reload the configuration

1. In the Expert View menu, select set boot configuration.

2. In the drop-down menu, select the configuration option you have chosen to save
to.

3. Click Select, then select reload.

5.7 Connection Monitor

To check the status of eac h of the connections, in the Advanced menu, click Connection
Monitor. The Connection Monitor page appears.

Figure 8: The Connection Monitor interface

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6: File system

6 File system

6.1 Managing configuration files

The GW2040 has three configuration file segments in flash: factonf, config1 and config2.
Routers are shipped in factory configuration. Live routers will toggle between config1 and
config2. When you make configuration changes it is good practise to save to the
alternate configuration segment for recovery to the original configuration if problems
occur. Changing the active configuration file requires a reload to take effect.

6.1.1 Managing configuration vi a t he web interface

To view the active configuration, from the start pa ge, cl i ck Advanced.
In the Advanced menu, click Diagnostics.

Figure 10: The diagnostics page

To change the boot configuration file, from the start page, click Advanced.
In the Advanced menu, click Expert Vie w->set boot configuration.

Figure 11: The next boot configuration page

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6: File system

To view any of the configuration files, from the start page, click Advanced.
In the Advanced menu, click Expert Vie w->Configuration Files.

Figure 12: The Config 1 page

To upload any of the configuration files to your local PC, from the start page, click
Advanced.

In the Advanced menu, click Expert Vie w->Configuration Files->uplo ad from
router.

Figure 13: The configuration file upload page

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6: File system

6.1.2 Managing configuration via t he com mand li ne

Command line: show ident

Display the operating and web software version information.

Figure 14: Output showing operatin g and web software version information

Command line: show current config

Display the name of the configuration file that is currently running.

Figure 15: Output of the command line show current config

Command line: show next config

Display the name of the configuration file that will load the next time the device reloads.

Figure 16: Output of the command line show next config

set next config <configFile>

Make the configuration f ile held in flash the file to be used the next time the system
boots. The table below shows the 4 file options.

factconf Use the configur a tion stored in the factory configur ation file the

next time the system boots.

config1 Use the configur a tion stored in conf ig 1 the next time the system

boots.

config2 Use the configur a tion stored in conf ig 2 the next time the system

boots.

altconfig If config1 is runn ing, use the configuration stored in config2 the

next time the system boots.
If config2 is runn ing, use the configuration stored in config1 the

next time the system boots.

Table 3: The possible strings for the set next config command

Figure 17: Output of the command line set next config

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6: File system

Command line: show cfg

Display the running configuration file

Command line: show factconf

Display the factcory configuration file

Command line: show config1

Display config1

Command line: show config2

Display config2

6.2 Managing firmware

The GW2040 firmware consists of two deliverables - an ‘.img’ extension image file that
defines the operation of the router and a ‘.web’ extension web file for the embedded web
server.

The GW2040 has two flash segments available for the image: image1 and image2. Only
one segment will be active. It is good practise to upgrade image firmware to the
alternate image segment. Changing the active image requires a reload to take effect.

6.2.1 Managing firmware via the web interface

To view the active image, from the Start page, click Advanced.
In the Advanced menu, click Diagnostics.

Figure 18: The diagnostics page

To change the active image, from the start page, click Advanced> Expert View.
In the top menu, click Operations.
In the Operations menu, click file transfers->set boot image.

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6: File system

Figure 19: The next boot software (program) image page

6.2.2 Managing firmware via the command line

Command line: show system software version

Display the operating software version number.

Figure 20: Output of the command line show system software version

Command Line: show system software variant

Display the operating software country code.

Figure 21: Output of the command line show system variant Command line: show current

image

Display the name of the operating software image file that is currently running.

Figure 22: Output of the command line show current image

Command line: set next image <filename>

Make the image held in flash i n segment filename the one that will be used the next time
the system boots.

Figure 23: Output of the command line set next image

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6: File system

Image 1

Image stored in image segment 1

Image 2 Image stored in image segment 2
Alt image Image stored in image segment that is not currently running.

(Show current Image)

Table 4: Descriptions of image command

Command line: show next image

Display the name of the operating software file that will be loaded the next time the
device reloads .

Figure 24: Output of the command line show image

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7: Firmware updates information

7 Firmware updates information

To obtain firmware updates for your GW2040 Series router, contact your reseller.

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8: Troubleshooting

8 Troubleshooting

Problem Possible cause s Solution

I cannot access the GW2040

The configured IP address or
subnet, or both on your PC is
incorrect.

Change the IP on y our PC to
contact the GW2040 on

192.168.100.1/24

The GW2040 is not running its
factory configuration.

Check the config LED status.
Flashing indicate s its running
its factory conf iguration. If it
is solid, hold in the res et
button for between 3 and 15
seconds and then release.

I cannot access the WAN
network after ma nual
configuration

The SIM is not inserted .

Power off the GW2040, insert
the SIM card and then power
on the GW2040.

The APN is incorrect.

Check the correct APN has
been configured.

SIM username or password, or
both are incorrect.

Check the correct SIM
username and password
settings.

There is a conne c tion failure.

Check the status of
Connection Monitor by, from
the Start page, browsin g to

>Advanced > Connection
monitor.

The router performance is
slow.

There is poor 3G signal
strength.

Check the signal strength by ,
from the Start page, browsing
to Status > 3G Info. Move
the GW2040 to a better
location and recheck signal
strength

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