SG-3100 - which cellular module
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Just for reference for anyone looking at this.
The diag port is Qualcomm chipset encrypted log stream. You need to have a QXDM license from Qualcomm if you want to decrypt this data.
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You need to have a QXDM license from Qualcomm if you want to decrypt this data.
Urgh.
I suspected that might be the case with the ports.
It looks like you need to use either QMI (rmnet) or MBIM to pass the data in order to leave the AT interface for status as you say.
It also looks like you can't use Direct IP as you could with some earlier Sierra devices. Though I wonder if config type 3 (rndis) might give that….
And as mentioned in this thread that you will be limited to non-LTE speeds if you use ppp. :-\
Still looking into it.
Steve
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Yeah, PPP and Serial mode is not really the way to go anymore. In some cases, even USB CDC Ethernet with the on-card configuration interface (and basically a full router) is the fastest way to go.
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Yes, often easiest as long as it presents an interface pfSense can use.
The EM7345 looks interesting. Offers an AT and USB-Ethernet interface. Not sure if either are usable though right now.
I'm still waiting for Three to deliver a SIM card I can use to test some of this is real world conditions. >:(
Steve
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Got a SIM eventually.
Connected up no problems to Three in the UK using the EM7305. Seeing ~32/9Mbps here in London.
http://beta.speedtest.net/result/6887753572That's using a ppp connection on the AT port so I imagine it's using HSPA+. No easy way to know since as we've seen there no way to interrogate the modem once it's dialed up. Unless I'm missing something.
Steve
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Got a SIM eventually.
Connected up no problems to Three in the UK using the EM7305. Seeing ~32/9Mbps here in London.
http://beta.speedtest.net/result/6887753572That's using a ppp connection on the AT port so I imagine it's using HSPA+. No easy way to know since as we've seen there no way to interrogate the modem once it's dialed up. Unless I'm missing something.
Steve
PPP/AT mode is fairly limited, not much you can do there. Tried CDC mode yet?
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As far as I can see there is no way do that on the EM73XX devices. There is no direct IP mode any more like there was on earlier hardware.
I'd love to be wrong though. ;)
Steve
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As far as I can see there is no way do that on the EM73XX devices. There is no direct IP mode any more like there was on earlier hardware.
I'd love to be wrong though. ;)
Steve
Someone else had some problems with MBIM, but QMI works which is pretty fast too: https://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/modemmanager-devel/2015-April/001875.html
There are a bunch of people enabling dual interface mode, Debug mode etc. and accessing GPS via AT and serial with QMI on (but not MBIM at the same time it seems – I have only spotted MBIM on Windows so far). -
Mmm, well as I said I could be wrong but I don't think there are any QMI drivers in FreeBSD and definitely no MBIM.
There is an older driver for Direct IP devices but I don't believe anything recent can expose that.
https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd/blob/master/sys/dev/usb/net/if_usie.cSteve
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I’m using an external hotspot connected to OPT1. Works fine as a backup. Reading through this I’m not clear what the final solution is if I want to integrate my cell service and make use of the built in SIM slot. I see benefits either way with internal vs external but only currently understand how to use external. Will Netgate have a solution in the near future?
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@johnkeates:
Someone else had some problems with MBIM, but QMI works which is pretty fast too: https://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/modemmanager-devel/2015-April/001875.html
There are a bunch of people enabling dual interface mode, Debug mode etc. and accessing GPS via AT and serial with QMI on (but not MBIM at the same time it seems – I have only spotted MBIM on Windows so far).Correct me if i'm wrong here but that link is for linux, the lib_qmi module is only in linux not FreeBSD, as far as I know there is no qmi support in FreeBSD. OpenBSD appears to have MBIM support in https://man.openbsd.org/umb.4. Again as far as i know thats not ported to FreeBSD.
For anyone wondering the Sierra EM7455 works in SG-3100 with 2.4.2 when you use PPP to connect to /dev/cuaUX.0 where X is the interface it appears on usually 0 (zero). You just can't see your technology (3G/4G) or your signal strength etc.
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Pretty sure you're limited to 3.5G over PPP. What speeds are you seeing?
I was looking at that OpenBSD driver too, looks ideal! BUt as you say it's not ported to FreeBSD not could I find any evidence of anyone currently porting it. Unfortunately it's beyond my coding skills :(
Looking at the EM7455 it really looks like it might support other USB compositions. Some of Sierras other embedded devices built on the same or similar hardware do support two AT ports as well as other usb Ethernet type connections. It looks like the AT command is limiting what is allowed there. It also looks like you should be able to set muliple USB compositions by setting a different config index but only index 1 is allowed. And there are config types 2 and 3 defined (3 being rndis) but they are also not possible to set and I could find nothing documented.
Steve
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Pretty sure you're limited to 3.5G over PPP. What speeds are you seeing?
I was looking at that OpenBSD driver too, looks ideal! BUt as you say it's not ported to FreeBSD not could I find any evidence of anyone currently porting it. Unfortunately it's beyond my coding skills :(
Looking at the EM7455 it really looks like it might support other USB compositions. Some of Sierras other embedded devices built on the same or similar hardware do support two AT ports as well as other usb Ethernet type connections. It looks like the AT command is limiting what is allowed there. It also looks like you should be able to set muliple USB compositions by setting a different config index but only index 1 is allowed. And there are config types 2 and 3 defined (3 being rndis) but they are also not possible to set and I could find nothing documented.
Steve
Can connect on 4G but get a max download speed of 20Mbps.
Contacted the supplier and they contacted Sierra, apparently there is only one AT port now in the modules. Where as Huawei have 2 ports in their ME909-521 and ME909-523.
I don't know enough about ppp but i'm researching if MPD5 can be modified to send AT CHAT commands on the interface after the link has been established and if the modem will respond to AT commands.
Other than that it will need umb ported across, but as you say not trivial.
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The one thing that strikes me about this thread is that I feel this problem is a Sierra u3g one. This started for me back on the MC7700 modem.
I used to be able to use the AT command prompt with CU to see connection status with AT!gstatus=? and other AT! tools. This is while connected.
After O/S version change I lost the AT command console when I connected. It would lock me out of cu..
I have not seen the feature since. I am now using MC7355 on FreeBSD and no AT console while connected on that either.
Wonder if the endpoints in the sierra u3g driver are right. Something tells me they are not.
Can anyone see connection stats with AT command console using cu while connected with Sierra modem?Maybe this came about because of firmware changes and usbcomps on Sierras end.
I know I used to use cu to monitor my cellular connection. Now I cannot.I have tested the Sierra EM7355 m.2 module and it works.
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Sierra used to provide a modem serial port and a AT port they have since discontinued that approach. So unless you have a MBIM or QMI drivers you can't check the signal/status and be connected with Sierra. I have gotten the Huawei ME909s-120 to work but that is a miniPCIe interface not an M.2 interface. Also the Telit LE910 range supports the CDC driver, have only started to test it but is looking promising (but again miniPCIe). The fact that you have an M.2 slot on the SG-3100 means that you are stuck with the Sierra, I'm not aware of any other M.2 device that has driver support in FreeBSD and not EOL or EOS. Netgate might be working on something interesting to see what they do.
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There are some Huawei m.2 cards that I believe work but I have not tested them myself.
It is interesting when you look at the hardware it seems like it could do two AT ports if the firmware exposed them. For whatever reason Sierra seems to have chosen not to. With QMI/MBIM I guess there is no reason to.
Steve
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There are some Huawei m.2 cards that I believe work but I have not tested them myself.
The ones that i could find from Huawei that are in "sale" are:
1. Huawei ME906s-158 M.2 EU2. Huawei ME936 - Global
3. Huawei MU736 - 3G/EDGE only
4. Huawei ME916s-168 - not yet released.
I haven't been able to buy 1 & 2 as the company i buy from are out of stock, so if someone else has tested them i'd be eager to hear.
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Curious to any further progress made since the last post. Im using a external Sierra Wireless ES450 which works brilliantly but would be interested to move to an onboard solution to reduce hardware.
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@q54e3w said in SG-3100 - which cellular module:
Curious to any further progress made since the last post. Im using a external Sierra Wireless ES450 which works brilliantly but would be interested to move to an onboard solution to reduce hardware.
External solution still seems to be the best bet. It hangs off the firewall vs being inside but with something like the Nighthawk MR1100 you get an ethernet connection for WAN and the possibility at some point of up to a gig service.
