SG-5100 LTE Modem connection issues

[zahnpasta]

Hello friends,

I'm trying to get my nano SIM card running with the built-in modem.

If i choose the device /dev/cuau0 in the PPP config i get the following error:

MODEM: Fail to open serial port /dev/cuau0 on speed 115200

On the /dev/cuau1 i get:

CHAT: The modem is not responding to "AT" at ModemCmd: label.

This nano SIM works perfectly fine in every other device.

any toughts ?

[viktor_g]

@zahnpasta What is your LTE Modem model?
please check https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/cellular/known-working-3g-4g-modems.html first

for many USB LTE modem you need to run the correct usb_modeswitch command

[zahnpasta]

As I wrote in the original post, I am using the built-in modem.

[viktor_g]

@zahnpasta said in SG-5100 LTE Modem connection issues:

As I wrote in the original post, I am using the built-in modem.

What model?

[zahnpasta]

It's Netgate SG-5100 appliance bought from a reseller. I don't know what type of modems you sell these with.

[viktor_g]

@zahnpasta Please show dmesg and usbconfig output

[zahnpasta]

dmesg:
Copyright (c) 1992-2020 The FreeBSD Project.
Copyright (c) 1979, 1980, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
FreeBSD is a registered trademark of The FreeBSD Foundation.
FreeBSD 11.3-STABLE #233 2c992b2181a(factory-RELENG_2_4_5): Tue Mar 24 15:26:54 EDT 2020
root@buildbot1-nyi.netgate.com:/build/factory-crossbuild-245-amd64/obj/amd64/kkVaWThR/build/factory-crossbuild-245-amd64/sources/FreeBSD-src/sys/pfSense amd64
FreeBSD clang version 8.0.1 (tags/RELEASE_801/final 366581) (based on LLVM 8.0.1)
VT(vga): resolution 640x480
CPU: Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU C3558 @ 2.20GHz (2200.07-MHz K8-class CPU)
Origin="GenuineIntel" Id=0x506f1 Family=0x6 Model=0x5f Stepping=1
Features=0xbfebfbff<FPU,VME,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,APIC,SEP,MTRR,PGE,MCA,CMOV,PAT,PSE36,CLFLUSH,DTS,ACPI,MMX,FXSR,SSE,SSE2,SS,HTT,TM,PBE>
Features2=0x4ff8ebbf<SSE3,PCLMULQDQ,DTES64,MON,DS_CPL,VMX,EST,TM2,SSSE3,SDBG,CX16,xTPR,PDCM,SSE4.1,SSE4.2,x2APIC,MOVBE,POPCNT,TSCDLT,AESNI,XSAVE,OSXSAVE,RDRAND>
AMD Features=0x2c100800<SYSCALL,NX,Page1GB,RDTSCP,LM>
AMD Features2=0x101<LAHF,Prefetch>
Structured Extended Features=0x2294e283<FSGSBASE,TSCADJ,SMEP,ERMS,NFPUSG,MPX,PQE,RDSEED,SMAP,CLFLUSHOPT,PROCTRACE,SHA>
Structured Extended Features3=0x2c000000<IBPB,STIBP,ARCH_CAP>
XSAVE Features=0xf<XSAVEOPT,XSAVEC,XINUSE,XSAVES>
IA32_ARCH_CAPS=0x1<RDCL_NO>
VT-x: PAT,HLT,MTF,PAUSE,EPT,UG,VPID,VID,PostIntr
TSC: P-state invariant, performance statistics
real memory = 4294967296 (4096 MB)
avail memory = 4008427520 (3822 MB)
Event timer "LAPIC" quality 600
ACPI APIC Table: <INTEL TIANO >
WARNING: L1 data cache covers less APIC IDs than a core
0 < 1
FreeBSD/SMP: Multiprocessor System Detected: 4 CPUs
FreeBSD/SMP: 1 package(s) x 4 core(s)
ioapic0 <Version 2.0> irqs 0-23 on motherboard
SMP: AP CPU #3 Launched!
SMP: AP CPU #1 Launched!
SMP: AP CPU #2 Launched!
Timecounter "TSC-low" frequency 1100035794 Hz quality 1000
ipw_bss: You need to read the LICENSE file in /usr/share/doc/legal/intel_ipw.LICENSE.
ipw_bss: If you agree with the license, set legal.intel_ipw.license_ack=1 in /boot/loader.conf.
module_register_init: MOD_LOAD (ipw_bss_fw, 0xffffffff806a64a0, 0) error 1
ipw_ibss: You need to read the LICENSE file in /usr/share/doc/legal/intel_ipw.LICENSE.
ipw_ibss: If you agree with the license, set legal.intel_ipw.license_ack=1 in /boot/loader.conf.
module_register_init: MOD_LOAD (ipw_ibss_fw, 0xffffffff806a6550, 0) error 1
random: entropy device external interface
ipw_monitor: You need to read the LICENSE file in /usr/share/doc/legal/intel_ipw.LICENSE.
ipw_monitor: If you agree with the license, set legal.intel_ipw.license_ack=1 in /boot/loader.conf.
module_register_init: MOD_LOAD (ipw_monitor_fw, 0xffffffff806a6600, 0) error 1
iwi_bss: You need to read the LICENSE file in /usr/share/doc/legal/intel_iwi.LICENSE.
iwi_bss: If you agree with the license, set legal.intel_iwi.license_ack=1 in /boot/loader.conf.
module_register_init: MOD_LOAD (iwi_bss_fw, 0xffffffff806cd6c0, 0) error 1
iwi_ibss: You need to read the LICENSE file in /usr/share/doc/legal/intel_iwi.LICENSE.
iwi_ibss: If you agree with the license, set legal.intel_iwi.license_ack=1 in /boot/loader.conf.
module_register_init: MOD_LOAD (iwi_ibss_fw, 0xffffffff806cd770, 0) error 1
iwi_monitor: You need to read the LICENSE file in /usr/share/doc/legal/intel_iwi.LICENSE.
iwi_monitor: If you agree with the license, set legal.intel_iwi.license_ack=1 in /boot/loader.conf.
module_register_init: MOD_LOAD (iwi_monitor_fw, 0xffffffff806cd820, 0) error 1
wlan: mac acl policy registered
kbd1 at kbdmux0
000.000022 [4213] netmap_init netmap: loaded module
module_register_init: MOD_LOAD (vesa, 0xffffffff812ce960, 0) error 19
random: registering fast source Intel Secure Key RNG
random: fast provider: "Intel Secure Key RNG"
Netgate SG-5100 Status LED Driver 0.0.8 loaded
mlx5en: Mellanox Ethernet driver 3.5.2 (September 2019)
nexus0
vtvga0: <VT VGA driver> on motherboard
cryptosoft0: <software crypto> on motherboard
padlock0: No ACE support.
acpi0: <ALASKA A M I > on motherboard
acpi0: Power Button (fixed)
cpu0: <ACPI CPU> on acpi0
cpu1: <ACPI CPU> on acpi0
cpu2: <ACPI CPU> on acpi0
cpu3: <ACPI CPU> on acpi0
hpet0: <High Precision Event Timer> iomem 0xfed00000-0xfed003ff on acpi0
Timecounter "HPET" frequency 24000000 Hz quality 950
Event timer "HPET" frequency 24000000 Hz quality 550
Event timer "HPET1" frequency 24000000 Hz quality 440
Event timer "HPET2" frequency 24000000 Hz quality 440
Event timer "HPET3" frequency 24000000 Hz quality 440
Event timer "HPET4" frequency 24000000 Hz quality 440
atrtc0: <AT realtime clock> port 0x70-0x77 irq 8 on acpi0
atrtc0: Warning: Couldn't map I/O.
atrtc0: registered as a time-of-day clock, resolution 1.000000s
Event timer "RTC" frequency 32768 Hz quality 0
attimer0: <AT timer> port 0x40-0x43,0x50-0x53 irq 0 on acpi0
Timecounter "i8254" frequency 1193182 Hz quality 0
Event timer "i8254" frequency 1193182 Hz quality 100
Timecounter "ACPI-fast" frequency 3579545 Hz quality 900
acpi_timer0: <24-bit timer at 3.579545MHz> port 0x1808-0x180b on acpi0
pcib0: <ACPI Host-PCI bridge> port 0xcf8-0xcff on acpi0
pcib0: _OSC returned error 0x10
pci0: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib0
pcib1: <ACPI PCI-PCI bridge> at device 6.0 on pci0
pci1: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib1
pci1: <processor> at device 0.0 (no driver attached)
pcib2: <ACPI PCI-PCI bridge> mem 0xdff60000-0xdff7ffff irq 20 at device 14.0 on pci0
pci2: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib2
pcib3: <ACPI PCI-PCI bridge> mem 0xdff40000-0xdff5ffff irq 21 at device 15.0 on pci0
pci3: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib3
igb0: <Intel(R) PRO/1000 Network Connection, Version - 2.5.3-k> port 0xd000-0xd01f mem 0xdfd00000-0xdfd7ffff,0xdfd80000-0xdfd83fff irq 21 at device 0.0 on pci3
igb0: Using MSIX interrupts with 5 vectors
igb0: Ethernet address: 00:90:0b:58:8f:ae
igb0: Bound queue 0 to cpu 0
igb0: Bound queue 1 to cpu 1
igb0: Bound queue 2 to cpu 2
igb0: Bound queue 3 to cpu 3
igb0: netmap queues/slots: TX 4/1024, RX 4/1024
pcib4: <ACPI PCI-PCI bridge> mem 0xdff20000-0xdff3ffff irq 22 at device 16.0 on pci0
pci4: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib4
igb1: <Intel(R) PRO/1000 Network Connection, Version - 2.5.3-k> port 0xc000-0xc01f mem 0xdfc00000-0xdfc7ffff,0xdfc80000-0xdfc83fff irq 22 at device 0.0 on pci4
igb1: Using MSIX interrupts with 5 vectors
igb1: Ethernet address: 00:90:0b:58:8f:af
igb1: Bound queue 0 to cpu 0
igb1: Bound queue 1 to cpu 1
igb1: Bound queue 2 to cpu 2
igb1: Bound queue 3 to cpu 3
igb1: netmap queues/slots: TX 4/1024, RX 4/1024
pcib5: <ACPI PCI-PCI bridge> mem 0xdff00000-0xdff1ffff irq 23 at device 17.0 on pci0
pci5: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib5
ahci0: <Intel Denverton AHCI SATA controller> port 0xe0c0-0xe0c7,0xe0b0-0xe0b3,0xe040-0xe05f mem 0xdff96000-0xdff97fff,0xdffa2000-0xdffa20ff,0xdffa1000-0xdffa17ff irq 20 at device 19.0 on pci0
ahci0: AHCI v1.31 with 1 6Gbps ports, Port Multiplier supported
ahcich0: <AHCI channel> at channel 0 on ahci0
ahciem0: <AHCI enclosure management bridge> on ahci0
ahci1: <Intel Denverton AHCI SATA controller> port 0xe0a0-0xe0a7,0xe090-0xe093,0xe020-0xe03f mem 0xdff94000-0xdff95fff,0xdffa0000-0xdffa00ff,0xdff9f000-0xdff9f7ff irq 21 at device 20.0 on pci0
ahci1: AHCI v1.31 with 1 6Gbps ports, Port Multiplier supported
ahcich8: <AHCI channel> at channel 7 on ahci1
ahciem1: <AHCI enclosure management bridge> on ahci1
xhci0: <Intel Denverton USB 3.0 controller> mem 0xdff80000-0xdff8ffff irq 19 at device 21.0 on pci0
xhci0: 32 bytes context size, 64-bit DMA
usbus0 on xhci0
usbus0: 5.0Gbps Super Speed USB v3.0
pcib6: <ACPI PCI-PCI bridge> irq 16 at device 22.0 on pci0
pci6: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib6
ix0: <Intel(R) PRO/10GbE PCI-Express Network Driver, Version - 3.2.12-k> mem 0xdee00000-0xdeffffff,0xdf004000-0xdf007fff irq 16 at device 0.0 on pci6
ix0: Using MSI-X interrupts with 5 vectors
ix0: Ethernet address: 00:90:0b:58:8f:b0
ix0: netmap queues/slots: TX 4/2048, RX 4/2048
ix1: <Intel(R) PRO/10GbE PCI-Express Network Driver, Version - 3.2.12-k> mem 0xdec00000-0xdedfffff,0xdf000000-0xdf003fff irq 17 at device 0.1 on pci6
ix1: Using MSI-X interrupts with 5 vectors
ix1: Ethernet address: 00:90:0b:58:8f:b1
ix1: netmap queues/slots: TX 4/2048, RX 4/2048
pcib7: <ACPI PCI-PCI bridge> at device 23.0 on pci0
pci7: <ACPI PCI bus> on pcib7
ix2: <Intel(R) PRO/10GbE PCI-Express Network Driver, Version - 3.2.12-k> mem 0xde800000-0xde9fffff,0xdea04000-0xdea07fff irq 16 at device 0.0 on pci7
ix2: Using MSI-X interrupts with 5 vectors
ix2: Ethernet address: 00:90:0b:58:8f:b2
ix2: netmap queues/slots: TX 4/2048, RX 4/2048
ix3: <Intel(R) PRO/10GbE PCI-Express Network Driver, Version - 3.2.12-k> mem 0xde600000-0xde7fffff,0xdea00000-0xdea03fff irq 17 at device 0.1 on pci7
ix3: Using MSI-X interrupts with 5 vectors
ix3: Ethernet address: 00:90:0b:58:8f:b3
ix3: netmap queues/slots: TX 4/2048, RX 4/2048
pci0: <simple comms> at device 24.0 (no driver attached)
pci0: <simple comms, UART> at device 26.0 (no driver attached)
pci0: <simple comms, UART> at device 26.1 (no driver attached)
pci0: <simple comms, UART> at device 26.2 (no driver attached)
sdhci_pci0: <Intel Denverton eMMC 5.0 Controller> mem 0xdff9a000-0xdff9afff,0xdff99000-0xdff99fff irq 16 at device 28.0 on pci0
sdhci_pci0: 1 slot(s) allocated
mmc0: <MMC/SD bus> on sdhci_pci0
isab0: <PCI-ISA bridge> at device 31.0 on pci0
isa0: <ISA bus> on isab0
pci0: <memory> at device 31.2 (no driver attached)
pci0: <serial bus> at device 31.5 (no driver attached)
acpi_tz0: <Thermal Zone> on acpi0
uart0: <16550 or compatible> port 0x3f8-0x3ff irq 7 flags 0x10 on acpi0
uart0: console (115200,n,8,1)
uart1: <16550 or compatible> port 0x2f8-0x2ff irq 10 on acpi0
wbwd0: <Nuvoton NCT6776 (0xc3/0x33) Watchdog Timer> at port 0x2e-0x2f on isa0
orm0: <ISA Option ROM> at iomem 0xc0000-0xc0fff on isa0
ppc0: cannot reserve I/O port range
est0: <Enhanced SpeedStep Frequency Control> on cpu0
est: CPU supports Enhanced Speedstep, but is not recognized.
est: cpu_vendor GenuineIntel, msr 219900001600
device_attach: est0 attach returned 6
est1: <Enhanced SpeedStep Frequency Control> on cpu1
est: CPU supports Enhanced Speedstep, but is not recognized.
est: cpu_vendor GenuineIntel, msr 219900001600
device_attach: est1 attach returned 6
est2: <Enhanced SpeedStep Frequency Control> on cpu2
est: CPU supports Enhanced Speedstep, but is not recognized.
est: cpu_vendor GenuineIntel, msr 219900001600
device_attach: est2 attach returned 6
est3: <Enhanced SpeedStep Frequency Control> on cpu3
est: CPU supports Enhanced Speedstep, but is not recognized.
est: cpu_vendor GenuineIntel, msr 219900001600
device_attach: est3 attach returned 6
Timecounters tick every 1.000 msec
ugen0.1: <0x8086 XHCI root HUB> at usbus0
uhub0: <0x8086 XHCI root HUB, class 9/0, rev 3.00/1.00, addr 1> on usbus0
ses0 at ahciem0 bus 0 scbus1 target 0 lun 0
ses0: <AHCI SGPIO Enclosure 2.00 0001> SEMB S-E-S 2.00 device
ses0: SEMB SES Device
ses1 at ahciem1 bus 0 scbus3 target 0 lun 0
ses1: <AHCI SGPIO Enclosure 2.00 0001> SEMB S-E-S 2.00 device
ses1: SEMB SES Device
mmcsd0: 8GB <MMCHC M32508 5.2 SN 1A885336 MFG 08/2018 by 112 0x0000> at mmc0 50.0MHz/8bit/65535-block
mmcsd0boot0: 4MB partion 1 at mmcsd0
mmcsd0boot1: 4MB partion 2 at mmcsd0
mmcsd0rpmb: 4MB partion 3 at mmcsd0
Trying to mount root from ufs:/dev/ufsid/5ebda8c4756fbf1e [rw,noatime]...
uhub0: 8 ports with 8 removable, self powered
random: unblocking device.
CPU: Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU C3558 @ 2.20GHz (2200.07-MHz K8-class CPU)
Origin="GenuineIntel" Id=0x506f1 Family=0x6 Model=0x5f Stepping=1
Features=0xbfebfbff<FPU,VME,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,APIC,SEP,MTRR,PGE,MCA,CMOV,PAT,PSE36,CLFLUSH,DTS,ACPI,MMX,FXSR,SSE,SSE2,SS,HTT,TM,PBE>
Features2=0x4ff8ebbf<SSE3,PCLMULQDQ,DTES64,MON,DS_CPL,VMX,EST,TM2,SSSE3,SDBG,CX16,xTPR,PDCM,SSE4.1,SSE4.2,x2APIC,MOVBE,POPCNT,TSCDLT,AESNI,XSAVE,OSXSAVE,RDRAND>
AMD Features=0x2c100800<SYSCALL,NX,Page1GB,RDTSCP,LM>
AMD Features2=0x101<LAHF,Prefetch>
Structured Extended Features=0x2294e283<FSGSBASE,TSCADJ,SMEP,ERMS,NFPUSG,MPX,PQE,RDSEED,SMAP,CLFLUSHOPT,PROCTRACE,SHA>
Structured Extended Features3=0xac000400<MD_CLEAR,IBPB,STIBP,ARCH_CAP,SSBD>
XSAVE Features=0xf<XSAVEOPT,XSAVEC,XINUSE,XSAVES>
IA32_ARCH_CAPS=0x69<RDCL_NO,SKIP_L1DFL_VME,MDS_NO>
VT-x: PAT,HLT,MTF,PAUSE,EPT,UG,VPID,VID,PostIntr
TSC: P-state invariant, performance statistics
padlock0: No ACE support.
aesni0: <AES-CBC,AES-XTS,AES-GCM,AES-ICM> on motherboard
coretemp0: <CPU On-Die Thermal Sensors> on cpu0
est0: <Enhanced SpeedStep Frequency Control> on cpu0
est: CPU supports Enhanced Speedstep, but is not recognized.
est: cpu_vendor GenuineIntel, msr 219900001600
device_attach: est0 attach returned 6
coretemp1: <CPU On-Die Thermal Sensors> on cpu1
est1: <Enhanced SpeedStep Frequency Control> on cpu1
est: CPU supports Enhanced Speedstep, but is not recognized.
est: cpu_vendor GenuineIntel, msr 219900001600
device_attach: est1 attach returned 6
coretemp2: <CPU On-Die Thermal Sensors> on cpu2
est2: <Enhanced SpeedStep Frequency Control> on cpu2
est: CPU supports Enhanced Speedstep, but is not recognized.
est: cpu_vendor GenuineIntel, msr 219900001600
device_attach: est2 attach returned 6
coretemp3: <CPU On-Die Thermal Sensors> on cpu3
est3: <Enhanced SpeedStep Frequency Control> on cpu3
est: CPU supports Enhanced Speedstep, but is not recognized.
est: cpu_vendor GenuineIntel, msr 219900001600

usbconfig:
ugen0.1: <0x8086 XHCI root HUB> at usbus0, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=SUPER (5.0Gbps) pwr=SAVE (0mA)

[HG]

I am surprised that the SG-5100 should have a built-in modem... I don't find it in any specs or documentation, e.g. https://www.netgate.com/solutions/pfsense/sg-5100.html or https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/solutions/sg-5100/.

[zahnpasta]

I'm not, since its advertised at the shop, the sole reason i bought this appliance.
https://store.netgate.com/SG-5100.aspx
Just look at the hardware specs.

Also advertised by every reseller i could find:
https://shop.micropyme.com/en/home/757-sg-5100-pfsense-security-gateway-appliance.html
https://www.voleatech.de/en/product/sg-5100/

Furthermore there is a nano sim slot, where i put the sim card in, what else would it be ?

[serbus]

Hello!

"Expansion
1x Mini-PCIe (PCIe), 1x M.2 2242 Keyed B/B+M (USB 3.0/SATA), 1x Nano SIM"

Those are expansion slots where you can install your own devices. I believe you can install a modem in the mini-pcie slot and it can use the sim you install in the nano-sim slot.

There is a list of various format (usb, pcie, etc...) modems here that should work with pfsense :

https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/cellular/known-working-3g-4g-modems.html

John

[HG]

@zahnpasta I don't see anything about a modem in the links you shared, just the SIM slot which I expect is used when you install a PCIe modem as John said. If it had a build-in modem, some more information would be in the specs, like the mobile network standards and frequency bands (and of course also explicitly say that is has a wireless broadband modem/radio) which I don't see.

[zahnpasta]

Cool, so i'm expected to buy a modem, but i dont know which one.

The list you provided just shows every modem wether its usb or pcie, but i need to have one which is capable of using the built-in sim slot, so i dont need to open up the whole device just to change the sim card.

I find it rather confusing to have a sim slot but not a modem, plus no information on what modem should be placed in there.

[HG]

I believe you need a PCIe if you want to use the internal SIM slot. I think the USB ones are external ones anyway. Unfortunately, I don't have own experience (I have an SG-5100 as well, but I have no need for mobile broadband there), but none of the PCIe modems that I quickly checked seem to have a SIM slot. They are usually used in devices like notebooks that have the SIM slot separately as well (for the same reason, to have it at the right place to be accessible).

I think one of the most important aspects when selecting a modem from the list are the mobile network standards (e.g. 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G) and the best set of frequency bands for your country.