Adding the Protectli MDG-100 4G LTE WAN

[epretorious]

I've been using NG Firewall on my Protectli FW1 for a while. But this weekend, I added the Protectli MDG100 4G LTE modem as a failover WAN.

The MDG100 4G LTE modem is, essentially, composed of four parts:

1. The 4G LTE WAN interface,
2. A lightweight HTTP server that serves up the configuration interface,
3. A simple DHCP server, and
4. The mini-PCIe LAN interface, usb0.

The modem comes pre-configured with the RFC 1918 Class B Private address 172.16.0.1 assigned to the internal interface.
The modem's built-in DHCP server will issue an address from that address range to the the mini-PCIe interface, usb0.

This arrangement allows the mini-PCIe interface, usb0, to communicate with the lightweight HTTP server so that the device can be configured.

In order to get started with it: I used the terminal that is accessible from the console to...

1. enable the mini-PCIe interface, usb0...
   

   ifconfig usb0 up

2. request an IPv4 address for the mini-PCIe interface, usb0...
   

   dhclient usb0

And then I used the untangle client (i.e., the lightweight browser accessible from the console) to reconfigure the modem's LAN address.

But untangle won't recognize the mini-PCIe interface, usb0! i.e., usb0 does not appear in the list of interfaces in the Config::Network::Interfaces pane.

How can I configure the mini-PCIe interface, usb0, as a WAN in NG Firewall?

TIA,
Eric Pretorious
Portland, Oregon

[jcoffin]

Untangle will only recognize the interfaces at boot up from the Debian system. With that said, mobile interfaces are not fully up until the mobile connection is made. I don't think it is possible on NGFW without major coding. We had to put callbacks in the coding which enables mobile interface on Untangle SD-WAN.

[epretorious]

Untangle will only recognize the interfaces at boot up from the Debian system. With that said, mobile interfaces are not fully up until the mobile connection is made. I don't think it is possible on NGFW...

Doh! I suppose that the alternative would be to use an external 4G LTE modem like the Protectli IDG400 that connects via an Ethernet link instead of connecting via the mini-PCIe slot?

TIA,
Eric Pretorious
Portland, Oregon

[sky-knight]

Doh! I suppose that the alternative would be to use an external 4G LTE modem like the Protectli IDG400 that connects via an Ethernet link instead of connecting via the mini-PCIe slot?

TIA,
Eric Pretorious
Portland, Oregon

That is exactly what you need to do. That solution costs a bit more, but it has the tremendous benefit of being completely vendor agnostic and can be utilized with any router... anywhere... at any time.

[Loudog2]

I tried the protectli LTE modem. I was just having issues on Verizon’s end. But I had the pre-release version before protectli had all the licensing finalized with Verizon. I ended up just putting a second fiber line from Metronet in my house to go along with Xfinity. It is only $50 a month with my college discount for a 500/500 line with free install.

[ncksh]

Doh! I suppose that the alternative would be to use an external 4G LTE modem like the Protectli IDG400 that connects via an Ethernet link instead of connecting via the mini-PCIe slot?

TIA,
Eric Pretorious
Portland, Oregon

I do this quite a lot for my rural clients, DSL on one interface as PPOE then an External 4G device (Mikrotik SXT LTE is my prefered), that is presented as another WAN port. WAN Ballancer set to 100% on the PPOE and 0% on the 4G, this way the 4G only gets used if the PPOE link is down.

[bluechris]

I do this quite a lot for my rural clients, DSL on one interface as PPOE then an External 4G device (Mikrotik SXT LTE is my prefered), that is presented as another WAN port. WAN Ballancer set to 100% on the PPOE and 0% on the 4G, this way the 4G only gets used if the PPOE link is down.

Yes the same i do here in my work installation

[epretorious]

Doh! I suppose that the alternative would be to use an external 4G LTE modem like the Protectli IDG400 that connects via an Ethernet link instead of connecting via the mini-PCIe slot?

That is exactly what you need to do. That solution costs a bit more, but it has the tremendous benefit of being completely vendor agnostic and can be utilized with any router... anywhere... at any time.

I've contacted Protectli. And they've agreed to take the unit back.

I'll replace it with the Protectli IDG400 - an external 4G LTE modem. I'll connect that to my Protectli FW1 using one of the unoccupied Ethernet ports. And I'll configure the pair of WAN ports using VRRP and WAN Balancing, as ncksh has suggested:

I do this quite a lot for my rural clients, DSL on one interface as PPOE then an External 4G device (Mikrotik SXT LTE is my prefered), that is presented as another WAN port. WAN Ballancer set to 100% on the PPOE and 0% on the 4G, this way the 4G only gets used if the PPOE link is down.

Thanks for all of the help!

Eric Pretorious
Portland, Oregon