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Useful 3G modem 'mode switching' script

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
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  • J
    jamesc
    last edited by Feb 16, 2012, 3:10 PM

    Hi all,

    One of the problems associated with 3G dongles and pfSense is that pfSense detects the device as a CD/flash drive and not a modem.

    For this reason, these devices need to be switched before they can be used, I believe u3g is the driver that takes care of this in FreeBSD but only a limited number of devices are supported.

    usb_modeswitch is the other method that can be used and a FreeBSD port for this has been recently made available:

    http://www.freshports.org/sysutils/usb_modeswitch/

    However, I came across this script which takes care of everything, it just needs a little modification to make it work with pfSense.  Basically, the script just needs to carry out the 'mode switch' and let pfSense handle the ppp dialing.

    http://sakis.tel4u.gr/blog/sakis3g/#networks

    The script can be downloaded here:

    http://www.sakis3g.org/versions/latest/i386/sakis3g.gz

    This is way beyond my level of skill so would anyone be willing to take a look?  :)

    Cheers,

    James

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    • S
      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
      last edited by Feb 16, 2012, 4:00 PM

      @jamesc:

      a FreeBSD port for this has been recently made available:

      http://www.freshports.org/sysutils/usb_modeswitch/

      That's pretty exciting news, that could make a lot more modems usable.

      What version of FreeBSD is it available for?

      Steve

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      • J
        jamesc
        last edited by Feb 16, 2012, 4:04 PM

        FreeBSD 8.2, i've successfully installed it on pfSense 2.0.1

        Now I just need to make it do something useful!

        One of the pre-req's is having libusb, I think (but not sure) pfSense already comes with this?

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        • S
          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
          last edited by Feb 16, 2012, 4:10 PM

          Almost certainly.
          If you've installed it that's great news.
          Does it have a problem with u3g also running?

          Often some libraries might have changed between 8.1 current sufficiently for stuff not to work.

          Direct link to the pkg from 8-stable:```

          ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/i386/packages-8-stable/Latest/usb_modeswitch.tbz

          
          Steve
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          • J
            jamesc
            last edited by Feb 16, 2012, 4:21 PM

            Nope, it doesn't complain about u3g.  The usb_modeswitch command works without any errors.

            But how do you stop pfSense from using u3g when it attempts to bring up a modem that requires switching.  For example, I have a ZTE dongle sat here and when I plug it in, u3g tries to do it's thing but it can't because it sees it as a storage device.  I'm guessing when usb_modeswitch is configured with the relevant data package, this will intervene?

            I could really do with some help getting the data package on to pfSense to do a bit more testing but there isn't much documentation available and i'm a bit of a noob when it comes to FreeBSD!

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            • S
              stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
              last edited by Feb 17, 2012, 12:40 AM

              Is it a problem that u3g tries and fails? Usually it won't try anything on a modem it doesn't recognise.
              I'm unfamiliar with usb_modeswitch, though I have used it unwittingly with Unbuntu where it just worked.
              The data package instructs it how to handle a modem right?

              I would guess you just need to upload it and tell usb_modeswitch where to look for it.
              What version of pfSense are you running? (full, embedded, nano)

              What OS are you uploading from?

              Steve

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              • J
                jamesc
                last edited by Feb 17, 2012, 11:06 AM

                The modem is recognised, i.e the console tells me its a ZTE but its not usable in pfSense.

                Yes, the data package contains all the vendor id's and device id's.

                Usb modeswitch then knows what to do with the device, i.e switch it to modem mode.

                Im using pfSense 2.0.1 full.

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                • S
                  stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                  last edited by Feb 17, 2012, 2:01 PM

                  Presumably the data packets are cross platform and one already exists for your modem?

                  You can upload files to pfSense easily enough. Either via the webGUI Diagnostics: Command Prompt: Upload
                  or using sftp/scp. I use WinSCP from Windows. If you use the web upload it will end up in /tmp which will be lost on reboot so you'll have to move the file afterwards. Also I have found that very small files sometimes refuse to upload via the webGUI.

                  For testing you can tell usb_modeswitch where to find the file:

                  
                  /usr/share/usb_modeswitch -c /tmp/your_modem.txt
                  
                  

                  Assuming  usb_modeswitch installs there in FreeBSD since the instructions are all for Linux.

                  Steve

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                  • J
                    jamesc
                    last edited by Feb 17, 2012, 4:33 PM

                    Ah, i probably didnt explain it well. I dont have a problem downloading the package onto pfSense (i use fetch to download it directly before extracting it). The problem is there are a number of components in the package and I dont know where in FreeBSD/pfSense these files need to reside.

                    As you said, the data package is intended for Linux.

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                    • S
                      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                      last edited by Feb 17, 2012, 4:44 PM

                      You have a link to the package?

                      Steve

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                      • J
                        jamesc
                        last edited by Feb 17, 2012, 4:51 PM

                        http://www.draisberghof.de/usb_modeswitch/usb-modeswitch-data-20120120.tar.bz2

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                        • S
                          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                          last edited by Feb 17, 2012, 4:56 PM

                          Ah OK, that is a collection of data for all supported modems rather than something specific to yours.
                          Does that not get installed with the port anyway?
                          I'm going to have to do some reading/testing…..

                          Steve

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                          • S
                            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                            last edited by Feb 17, 2012, 5:19 PM

                            Hmm OK so it looks like under Linux usb_modeswitch ties into the usb subsystem and will automatically recognise devices as they are plugged in and switch them. FreeBSD has a completely different system so none of the automatic part is included in the port.

                            In FreeBSD you will have to call it manually either with the required parameters in the command line or pointing at a file that contains them.
                            That's not a problem we can easily make the script run at boot time.

                            So what is your modem? Specifically what are the VID and PID?

                            Steve

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                            • J
                              jamesc
                              last edited by Feb 17, 2012, 5:33 PM

                              That doesnt sound too painful, the script would need to be called at startup before pfSense did its ppp dial.

                              My modem is a ZTE 636, i also have a Huawei E220 and vodafone K3565 for further testing. Im away til Sunday so dont have access to my test environment but im still checking the forum via my iPhone :-)

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                              • S
                                stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                last edited by Feb 17, 2012, 6:07 PM

                                Ok, to confirm we really need the VID and PID but according to the device_reference.txt:

                                ZTE MF622 (aka "Onda MDC502HS")

                                ZTE MF626

                                ZTE MF628+ (tested version from Telia / Sweden)

                                ZTE MF633

                                ZTE MF636 (aka "Telstra / BigPond 7.2 Mobile Card")

                                ZTE MF637

                                and probably others not listed here

                                Contributor: Joakim Wennergren and others

                                DefaultVendor=  0x19d2
                                DefaultProduct= 0x2000

                                TargetVendor=  0x19d2
                                TargetProduct=  0x0031

                                MessageContent="5553424312345678000000000000061e000000000000000000000000000000"
                                MessageContent2="5553424312345679000000000000061b000000020000000000000000000000"

                                NeedResponse=1

                                It says to not use the reference file directly, perhaps because it's quite large, so create a new file with the above lines in. Hope!  ;)

                                Steve

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                                • J
                                  jamesc
                                  last edited by Feb 17, 2012, 6:16 PM

                                  Cheers Steve, it kinda makes sense now!  Were you able to find more documentation on the port, i.e you mentioned that a manual approach is required for FreeBSD, did you read this somewhere or is this from your own knowledge?

                                  I'll do some testing on Sunday and report back here :-)

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                                  • S
                                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                    last edited by Feb 17, 2012, 6:32 PM Feb 17, 2012, 6:30 PM

                                    I just looked at what files are installed from the port and it's very few. Only the usb_modeswitch binary and a conf file for disabling it entirely.
                                    Unless I'm missing something.

                                    I too have a Huawei K3565. It's not listed but I bet someone has the data for it. Anyway here's an example of how to find the VIP and PID:

                                    
                                    [2.0.1-RELEASE][root@pfsense.fire.box]/dev(21): usbconfig 
                                    ugen0.1: <uhci root="" hub="" intel="">at usbus0, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=FULL (12Mbps) pwr=ON
                                    ugen1.1: <uhci root="" hub="" intel="">at usbus1, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=FULL (12Mbps) pwr=ON
                                    ugen2.1: <ehci root="" hub="" intel="">at usbus2, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=HIGH (480Mbps) pwr=ON
                                    ugen2.2: <huawei mobile="" huawei="" technology="">at usbus2, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=HIGH (480Mbps) pwr=ON
                                    [2.0.1-RELEASE][root@pfsense.fire.box]/dev(22): usbconfig -d 2.2 dump_device_desc
                                    ugen2.2: <huawei mobile="" huawei="" technology="">at usbus2, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=HIGH (480Mbps) pwr=ON
                                    
                                      bLength = 0x0012 
                                      bDescriptorType = 0x0001 
                                      bcdUSB = 0x0200 
                                      bDeviceClass = 0x0000 
                                      bDeviceSubClass = 0x0000 
                                      bDeviceProtocol = 0x0000 
                                      bMaxPacketSize0 = 0x0040 
                                      idVendor = 0x12d1 
                                      idProduct = 0x1001 
                                      bcdDevice = 0x0000 
                                      iManufacturer = 0x0002   <huawei technology="">iProduct = 0x0001   <huawei mobile="">iSerialNumber = 0x0000   <no string="">bNumConfigurations = 0x0001</no></huawei></huawei></huawei></huawei></ehci></uhci></uhci> 
                                    

                                    Steve

                                    Edit: It is listed just as the E169.

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                                    • J
                                      jamesc
                                      last edited by Feb 17, 2012, 6:47 PM

                                      Yes, i think K3565 is just the Vodafone model number, its actually an E169 underneath. Have you managed to get it to switch?

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                                      • S
                                        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                        last edited by Feb 17, 2012, 7:00 PM Feb 17, 2012, 6:51 PM

                                        Nope!  ::)

                                        
                                        [2.0.1-RELEASE][root@pfsense.fire.box]/dev(24): usb_modeswitch -c /tmp/e169.txt
                                        
                                        Looking for target devices ...
                                         No devices in target mode or class found
                                        Looking for default devices ...
                                           found matching product ID
                                         No devices in default mode found. Nothing to do. Bye.
                                        
                                        [2.0.1-RELEASE][root@pfsense.fire.box]/dev(25): cat /tmp/e169.txt
                                        # Huawei E169 and others
                                        #
                                        # Contributor: Dale Lane
                                        
                                        DefaultVendor=  0x12d1
                                        DefaultProduct= 0x1001
                                        
                                        TargetClass=    0xff
                                        
                                        # choose one of these:
                                        HuaweiMode=1
                                        
                                        

                                        Steve

                                        Edit: Seems to be because it's already in the target class (0xff):

                                        
                                        Looking for target devices ...
                                         No devices in target mode or class found
                                        Looking for default devices ...
                                          searching devices, found USB ID 12d1:1001
                                           found matching vendor ID
                                           found matching product ID
                                           target class ff matching
                                           not adding device
                                          searching devices, found USB ID 0000:0000
                                          searching devices, found USB ID 0000:0000
                                          searching devices, found USB ID 0000:0000
                                         No devices in default mode found. Nothing to do. Bye.
                                        
                                        

                                        Possibly already switched?  :-\

                                        Doh! looks like E169 is already a supported modem.  ::)

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                                        • J
                                          jamesc
                                          last edited by Feb 17, 2012, 7:13 PM

                                          Looks that way, your console output when you plug the device in doesnt say that its a SCSI device so its already switched!

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