Useful 3G modem 'mode switching' script

jamesc

Thanks Steve.

I found a simcard, there's no credit on it but it still connects and gets an IP address.

I've tried both the shellcmd and earlyshellcmd options but sometimes there is a delay until the actual switch occurs. The boot sequence continues regardless, the PPP interface is brought up but the modem is not yet ready so a WAN connection isn't established. If I go into the GUI and manually hit connect, PPP is dialled and the WAN comes online.

Any idea of how we can delay bringing up PPP until we know the modem has successfully switched?

stephenw10

What happens when it tries to dial out before the interface is switched?
I'm surprised that it doesn't just keep trying.
Maybe using dial-on demand or idle time out.

You could write a script that ran usb_modeswitch, waited and then called the appropriate interface connect function.

Steve

jamesc

It doesnt do anything, the box continues its boot process as if no modem was plugged in. I see the modem details flash up on the console towards the end of the boot process but PPP has already initialised at this point (without seeing the modem) so i suspect it wont keep on attempting a dial out because as far it's concerned, no modem was detected at the time of initialisation, I hope that makes sense!

stephenw10

Yes I see exactly what you mean.
Would probably be best to use an rc script then.
This is just a guess but perhaps:


#!/bin/sh
/usr/local/sbin/usb_modeswitch -c yourmodem.txt
sleep 5
/etc/rc.reload_interfaces

Try issuing a /etc/rc.reload_interfaces and see if it finds the modem and connects.

Steve

jamesc

I had just finished creating a similar script and was looking for a command that would restart PPP, the reload_interfaces seems to do the trick nicely, thank you.

jly2680

how can i put my usbmode_switch script in startup??i have bandluxe 21 mbps 3g modem and successfully flip it to modem mode using usb_modeswitch..I want to connect my modem's ppp in start up..thanks

stephenw10

If it's an RC script, as I detailed above, put it in /usr/local/etc/rc.d and it will run at boot.

Steve

jly2680

i already put my script in /usr/local/etc/rc.d/ but when i reboot pfsense,,ppp dials in fiirst before flipping my usb modem,thus i need to dial my ppp manually..i want to flip my modem first then ppp dials in..TIA

stephenw10

Yes Jamesc experienced that problem above.
Doesn't it redial when you reload the interfaces in the script?

Steve

jly2680

thanks..reload interfaces did the trick..now i will add 1 more different usb modem.. :)

jly2680

problem occurs: persistent disconnections..i cant make my modem to hold for an hour or so..my ppp connection disconnects every 10 seconds..i try to use my 3g modem directly with my laptop but never had a connection hangup..

stephenw10

Is it exactly 10 seconds every time? This might indicate some sort of ppp error. Or more random?
What do you see in the logs? Does it do this if you setup the connection manually instead of using the script?
Have you set the PPP session to be 'always on' (idle timeout = 0, which is the default setting)

using rc.reload_interfaces seemed a bit crude when I suggested it earlier and it still does. It maybe that it is causing some other undesired consequence. It would be much better to simply reload WAN or indeed just have it redial. Sadly I'm not sufficiently familiar with the code to suggest anything better. :(

Steve

Edit: rc.linkup WAN up (or should that be 'up WAN') perhaps? :-\ Complete guesswork!

jly2680

i think ppp error side?

Mar 5 23:07:52	ppp: [opt2] IPCP: SendConfigReq #3
Mar 5 23:07:52	ppp: [opt2] IPADDR 176.225.134.77
Mar 5 23:07:52	ppp: [opt2] IPCP: rec'd Configure Ack #3 (Ack-Sent)
Mar 5 23:07:52	ppp: [opt2] IPADDR 176.225.134.77
Mar 5 23:07:52	ppp: [opt2] IPCP: state change Ack-Sent --> Opened
Mar 5 23:07:52	ppp: [opt2] IPCP: LayerUp
Mar 5 23:07:52	ppp: [opt2] 176.225.134.77 -> 10.0.0.1
Mar 5 23:07:52	ppp: [opt2] IFACE: Up event
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: Multi-link PPP daemon for FreeBSD
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp:
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: process 28199 started, version 5.5 (root@FreeBSD_8.0_pfSense_2.0-snaps.pfsense.org 10:25 12-Oct-2011)
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: caught fatal signal term
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2] IFACE: Close event
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2] IPCP: Close event
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2] IPCP: state change Opened --> Closing
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2] IPCP: SendTerminateReq #4
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2] IPCP: LayerDown
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: waiting for process 16679 to die...
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2] IFACE: Down event
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2] IPCP: rec'd Terminate Ack #4 (Closing)
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2] IPCP: state change Closing --> Closed
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2] IPCP: LayerFinish
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2] Bundle: No NCPs left. Closing links...
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2] Bundle: closing link "opt2_link0"...
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2_link0] Link: CLOSE event
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2_link0] LCP: Close event
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2_link0] LCP: state change Opened --> Closing
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2_link0] Link: Leave bundle "opt2"
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2] Bundle: Status update: up 0 links, total bandwidth 9600 bps
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2] IPCP: Close event
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2] IPCP: Down event
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2] IPCP: state change Closed --> Initial
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2_link0] LCP: SendTerminateReq #3
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2_link0] LCP: LayerDown
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2_link0] LCP: rec'd Terminate Ack #3 (Closing)
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2_link0] LCP: state change Closing --> Closed
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2_link0] LCP: LayerFinish
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2_link0] Link: DOWN event
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2_link0] LCP: Down event
Mar 5 23:08:36	ppp: [opt2_link0] LCP: state change Closed --> Initial

jly2680

/etc/rc.reload_interfaces in my script causes my 3g ppp connection to restart every 10-20 secs..

stephenw10

Can you show us your script?
It should only be run once at boot, I can't see how it could possibly effect the ppp cycling time. :-\

Steve

jly2680

#!/bin/sh
/usr/local/sbin/usb_modeswitch usb_modeswitch -v 1a8d -p 2000 -M "5553424312345678000000000000061e000000000000000000000000000000" -2 "5553424312345679000000000000061b000000020000000000000000000000" -n 1 -W
sleep 5
/etc/rc.reload_interfaces

removing reload interfaces makes my 3g ppp connection stable..is there a place where my script will run first then ppp dials in?or to restart ppp connection after my script run?
i can easily do this with openwrt/ddwrt but i want to try pfsense..

stephenw10

The code in /usr/local/etc.rc.d should only be run once as far as I know.
You could try calling the script using shellcmd or earlyshellcmd instead:
http://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Executing_commands_at_boot_time

Steve

jly2680

thanks,,same thing it doesnt auto connect on boot even if i edit my xml with earlyshellcmd or shellcmd..
on openwrt,,i usually put my script in /etc/rc.local and run a cron job with a watchdog scripts,,it automatically restart my 3g interface when ppp hangs up.hope i can do same thing on pfsense.am total noob with pfsense thats why im still catching up with it..

th3r3isnospoon

Hello,

I'd really like to get this feature working on my pfSense box.

I read through this thread 3 times but, I don't see how to go about actually installing the port or using one of your scripts.

If you have a minute or two, can you just throw together a how-to so I can take the necessary steps to get this to work? I'd really appreciate it!

Thank you!

-th3r3isnospoon

stephenw10

Ok, this may have to be multipart as I'm pushed for time! ::)

First check the usb-modeswitch forum/website to see if your modem is supported at all:
http://www.draisberghof.de/usb_modeswitch/
Note down any relevant switching code that other users may have posted if it's not included as standard in device_reference.txt:
http://www.draisberghof.de/usb_modeswitch/device_reference.txt

Install the FreeBSD package in pfSense. This will vary depending on your pfSense version.
For 2.0.X NanoBSD:


/etc/rc.conf_mount_rw
pkg_add -r ftp://ftp.freebsd.org/pub/FreeBSD/ports/i386/packages-8-stable/Latest/usb_modeswitch.tbz
/etc/rc.conf_mount_ro

For 2.0.X full install:


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

Now depending on what the required code for your modem is you can either just enter it at the command line directly, e.g.:


/usr/local/sbin/usb_modeswitch usb_modeswitch -v 1a8d -p 2000 -M "5553424312345678000000000000061e000000000000000000000000000000" -2 "5553424312345679000000000000061b000000020000000000000000000000" -n 1 -W

or call a file containing the appropriate section from device_reference.txt (or some custom code), e.g.:

/usr/local/sbin/usb_modeswitch -c yourmodem.txt

You can run it with -h to list the command line options:

/usr/local/sbin/usb_modeswitch -h

If you get it right usb_modeswitch will report success and you will see some lines in the pfSense log showing devices removed and attached.

If you have found the code to correctly switch your modem you can put a script file in /usr/local/etc/rc.d.
Call it whateveryouwant.sh:


#!/bin/sh
/usr/local/sbin/usb_modeswitch -c yourmodem.txt
sleep 5
/etc/rc.reload_interfaces

I am still of the opinion that /etc/rc.reload_interfaces is probably not the correct way to get the modem running, it seems too crude, but it worked for jamesc.

Steve