Cellular Quectel modems 01

Summary

This article will contain example on how to configure Quectel cellular modem in using PPP interface in RouterOS v6.xx

Article covers following models:

• UC15-MiniPCIe
• UC20-MiniPCIe
• EC20-MiniPCIe
• Possibly others also.

• In RouterOS v6.xx all of these modems will use PPP interface for communication, which means that maximum achievable connection speed for all of them is limited to around 35Mbps (limit of serial interface).
• In RouterOS v7.xx for modems that support MBIM drivers like EC20 model, LTE interface support will be possible and it will allow to achieve full LTE connection potential.

EC20 compatibility details

To get EC20 working in RouterOS device you will have to make sure that it is configured to use UC20 hardware id's vendor-id 0x05c6 device-id 0x9003.

This can be achieved by sending modem AT command: at+qcfg="usbid",1478,36867

In RouterOS this can be done by using serial-terminal and logging into modem by channel which supports use of AT commands. To see if channel in which you logged in support at command simply type in "AT" and press enter. If reply is "OK!" then you can send AT command over that channel. IF there is no response or some non-related info being printed then you need to try another channel.

Check if you see usb port added by modem, and channel amount that it has:

/port print

Then use that usb port with one of it's channels via serial-terminal command.

/system serial-terminal port=(usbX) channel=(X)

Wiki article on serial-terminal feature

After mentioned command that changes hw it's has been issued, you need to exit serial terminal and reboot the router. After the startup modem will be found with required HW id's.

/system reboot

Note: mentioned AT command is supported starting from: EC20EQAR*02A02*E2G modem firmware version

• All the related documents are possible to obtain on Quectel website: http://www.quectel.com/
• Latest firmwares and technical questions replies are available on: support@quectel.com

Configuration example / Comments

In this example we will assume that you already have basic router configuration in place (if not consult these articles: accessing router and initial configuration using webfig)

This example will be covered in CLI (command line interface) configuration method. Some additional screenshots will be included so quick view for Winbox would also be there for reference.

1. Prepare modem for use in your Router

• These steps should be performed while router is powered off! Or else there is a chance of damaging the modem or router.

• Insert sim in sim-card slot that is on your router.

• Add required antennas to modem (if required) and insert it in mini-pcie slot.

• Power on the router.

• Ideally we always recommend to keep router fully updated: HOWTO upgrade RouterOS

2. Check if router sees the added device

Now let's check if router sees the device that you just added and can work with it.

• Check if ROS sees the modem with command: "/interface print"

[admin@MikroTik] > interface print 
Flags: D - dynamic, X - disabled, R - running, S - slave 
 #     NAME                                TYPE       ACTUAL-MTU L2MTU
 0  R  ether1                              ether            1500  1600
 1  X  wlan1                               wlan             1500  1600
 2  R  ppp-out1                            ppp-out          1500

We can see that interface #2 is ppp-out1, it will be the modem that you just added (presuming that it is not ppp interface from some other modem/configuration that you added previously).

Additional info to check (if required/needed).

• Ports, command: "/port print"

[admin@MikroTik] > port print 
Flags: I - inactive 
 #   DEVICE NAME                    CHANNELS USED-BY                  BAUD-RATE
 0   1:2    usb1                           5 PPP <ppp-out1>           9600     

• If ROS sees modem as USB device, command: "/system resource usb print"

[admin@MikroTik] > /system resource usb print 
 # DEVICE VENDOR                  NAME               SPEED  
 0 2:1    Linux 3.3.5 ohci_hcd    Tile-Gx OHCI       12 Mbps    
 1 1:1    Linux 3.3.5 ehci_hcd    Tile-Gx EHCI       480 Mbps    
 2 1:4    Quectel, Incorporated   UMTS/HSPA Module   480 Mbps   

• IF you want to use modem in one of RB9xx series devices with MiniPCIe slot and system does not see modem. It's worth checking

if this device modem has shared USB port. Some of RB9xx series share one usb data like between USB port and MiniPCIe slot. And to make mPCIe modem that requires USB connection to work you will need to switch to required value.

More info in Switching USB type switching

3. Configure the modem

Modem configuration part.

• Check ppp-client menu for required interfaces, command: "/interface ppp-client print"

[admin@MikroTik] > /interface ppp-client print
Flags: X - disabled, R - running 
 0  R name="ppp-out1" max-mtu=1500 max-mru=1500 mrru=disabled port=usb1 
      data-channel=3 info-channel=2 apn="internet.example.com" pin="" user="" 
      password="" profile=default phone="" dial-command="ATDT" modem-init="" 
      null-modem=no dial-on-demand=no add-default-route=yes 
      default-route-distance=0 use-peer-dns=yes keepalive-timeout=30 
      allow=pap,chap,mschap1,mschap2 

• Configure ppp interface, command example:

    /interface ppp-client set 0 dial-on-demand=no use-peer-dns=yes add-default-route=yes \
      data-channel=3 info-channel=2 apn=internet.example.com 

Note: Modem sample which was tested worked with combination of channel 3 for data and channel 2 for info. Channels which are used may vary per modem model and firmware.

break down of this command:

     dial-on-demand=no <---  This option specifies if modem should be active only when someone is 
                             trying to use it or all the time.
     use-peer-dns=yes <--- use DNS servers that are provided by your cellular service provider.
     add-default-route=yes <--- Should default route be added (YES, if this is going to be the only
                                WAN interface on your router).
     data-channel=2 <--- Data channel over which you will access your wan connection.
     info-channel=3 <--- Info channel used for gathering debug info on modem and connection quality.
     apn=internet.example.com <--- Access point name provided to you by your operator,
     ...
     pin <---Pin code if required by sim which you are going to be using.

This part will depend on what you need to configure, first five options will be a requirement. Starting with APN other options like pin, etc configuration becomes dependent on what your cellular ISP requires. to get all available options in console while inputing press tab.

• After executing previous command to check if modem has connected you can run the same: "/interface ppp-client print" command and check if ppp interface have running flag "R". Or run monitor command: "/interface ppp-client monitor 0"

[admin@MikroTik] > /interface ppp-client monitor 0
          status: connected
          uptime: 34m12s
        encoding: 
   connect-speed: 115200
             mtu: 1500
             mru: 1500
   local-address: x.x.x.x
  remote-address: 0.0.0.0

And gotten IP address from ISP.

[admin@MikroTik] > /ip address print 
Flags: X - disabled, I - invalid, D - dynamic 
 #   ADDRESS            NETWORK         INTERFACE                              
 0 ...                              
 1 D x.x.x.x/32     x.x.x.x     ppp-out1  <----

4. Additional configuration

One last configuration piece to allow access from LAN to WAN, command: "/ip firewall nat add chain=srcnat out-interface=ppp-out1 action=masquerade"

Now to confirm that every thing has been configured correctly I suggest to run ping to some web resource from both your router and PC that is connected to lan. As if there is some problems this step might indicate where you should look for the.

5. Whole modem related configuration in short

[admin@MikroTik] > export
...
/interface ppp-client
add apn=internet.example.com data-channel=3 dial-on-demand=no disabled=no \
    info-channel=3 name=ppp-out1 port=usb1
/ip firewall nat
add action=masquerade chain=srcnat out-interface=ppp-out1
...
[admin@MikroTik] >