Sierra Wireless IP Manager User manual

2170042
Rev 1.0
IP Manager
Configuring Sierra Wireless AirLink
Modem

Rev A Dec.08 2
Configuring your Sierra Wireless
AirLink modem for IP Manager
and DNS
IfyouhaveafleetofSierraWirelessAirLinkmodemsoreven
ifyouonlyhaveone,itcanbedifficulttokeeptrackofthe
currentIPaddresses,especiallyiftheaddressesaren’tstatic
butchangeeverytimethemodemsconnecttoyourcellular
provider.Ifyouneedtoconnecttoamodem,orthedevice
behindit,itissomucheasierwhenyouhaveadomainname
(car54.mydomain.com,whereareyou?).
Reasons to contact the modem and/or the connected
device:
•Requestingalocationupdatefromadeliverytruck.
•Contactingasurveillancecameratodownloadlogsor
surveyaspecificarea.
•Anoilderekthatneedstobetriggeredtobeginpumping.
•Sendingtexttobedisplayedbyaroadsign.
•Updatingthesongstobeplayedonajukebox.
•Updatingadvertisementstobedisplayedinacab.
•Remoteaccesstoacomputer,aPLC,anRTU,orother
system.
•Monitoringandtroubleshootingthestatusofthemodem
itselfwithoutneedingtobringitinorgoouttoit.
AdynamicIPaddressissuitableformanyInternetactivities
suchaswebbrowsing,lookingupdataonanothercomputer
system,dataonlybeingsentout,ordataonlybeingreceived
afteraninitialrequest(alsocalledMobileOriginated).
However,ifyouneedtocontactyourmodemdirectly,adevice
connectedtothemodem,orahostsystemusingyourmodem
(alsocalledMobileTerminated),adynamicIPwon’tgiveyoua
reliableaddresstocontact(sinceitmayhavechangedsincethe
lasttimeitwasassigned).
DomainnamesareoftenonlyconnectedtostaticIPaddresses
becauseofthewaymostdomainname(DNS)serversareset‐
up.DynamicDNSserversrequirenotificationofIPAddress
changessotheycanupdatetheirDNSrecordsandlinka
dynamicIPaddresstothecorrectname.
•DynamicIPaddressesaregrantedonlywhenyourmodem
isconnectedandcanchangeeachtimethemodemrecon‐
nectstothenetwork.

IP Manager
3 2170042
•StaticIPaddressesaregrantedthesameaddressevery
timeyourmodemisconnectedandarenotinusewhen
yourmodemisnotconnected.
Sincemanycellularproviders,likewire‐basedISPs,donot
offerstaticIPaddressesorstaticaddressaccountscosta
premiumvs.dynamicaccounts,AirLinkdevelopedIP
ManagertoworkwithaDynamicDNSservertoreceivenotifi‐
cationfromSierraWirelessAirLinkmodemstotranslatethe
modem’sdynamicIPaddresstoafullyqualifieddomain
name.Thus,youcancontactyourALEOSpoweredAirLink
modemdirectlyfromtheInternetusingadomainname.
Fully Qualified Domain Name
AdomainnameisanameofaserverordeviceontheInternet
whichisassociatedwithanIPaddress.Similartohowthe
streetaddressofyourhouseisonewaytocontactyouand
yourphonenumberisanother,boththeIPaddressandthe
domainnamecanbeusedtocontactaserverordeviceonthe
Internet.Whilecontactingyouatyourhouseaddressorwith
yourphonenumberemploydifferentmethods,usinga
domainnameinsteadoftheIPaddressactuallyusesthesame
method,justawordbasednameiscommonlyeasierto
rememberformostpeoplethanastringofnumbers.
Understandingthepartsofadomainnamecanhelptounder‐
standhowIPManagerworksandwhatyouneedtobeableto
configurethemodem.Afullyqualifieddomainname(FQDN)
generallyhasseveralparts.
•TopLevelDomain(TLD):TheTLDistheendingsuffixfor
adomainname(.com,.net,.org,etc.)
•CountryCodeTopLevelDomain(ccTLD):Thissuffixis
oftenusedaftertheTLDformostcountriesexcepttheUS
(.ca,.uk,.au,etc.)
•Domainname:ThisisthenameregisteredwithICANN
(InternetCorporationforAssignedNamesandNumbers)
ortheregistryforathecountryoftheccTLD(i.e.ifa
domainispartofthe.caTLD,itwouldberegisteredwith
theCanadiandomainregistry).Itisnecessarytohavea
nameregisteredbeforeitcanbeused.
•Sub‐domainorservername:Adomainnamecanhave
manysub‐domainorservernamesassociatedwithit.Sub‐
domainsneedtoberegisteredwiththedomain,butdonot
needtoberegisteredwithICANNoranyotherregistry.It
istheresponsibilityofadomaintokeeptrackofitsown
subs.
car54.mydomain.com

Rev A Dec.08 4
•.comistheTLD
•mydomainisthedomain(usuallynotedas
mydomain.comsincethedomainisspecifictotheTLD)
•car54isthesubdomainorservernameassociatedwiththe
device,computer,ormodemregisteredwith
mydomain.com
car54.mydomain.com.ca
Thiswouldbethesameasabove,butwiththeadditionofthe
countrycode.Inthisexample,thecountrycode(.ca)isfor
Canada.
AURL(UniversalResourceLocator)isdifferentfroma
domainnameinthatitalsoindicatesinformationontheproto‐
colusedbyawebbrowsertocontactthataddress,suchas
http://www.sierrawireless.com.www.sierrawireless.comisa
fullyqualifieddomainname,butthehttp://,theprotocoliden‐
tifier,iswhatmakesthewholethingaURL.
Dynamic Names
WhenanIPaddressisnotexpectedtochange,theDNSserver
canindicatetoallqueriesthattheaddresscanbecachedand
notlookedupforalongperiodoftime.DynamicDNS
servers,conversely,haveashortcachingperiodforthe
domaininformationtopreventotherInternetsitesorqueries
fromusingtheoldinformation.SincetheIPaddressofa
modemwithadynamicaccountcanchangefrequently,ifthe
oldinformationwasused(suchaswithaDNSserverwhich
indicatestheaddresscanbecachedforalongperiodoftime)
whentheIPaddresschanged,thedomainwouldnolonger
pointtothenewandcorrectIPaddressofthemodem.
IfyourmodemisconfiguredforDynamicIP,whenitfirst
connectstotheInternet,itsendsaIPchangenotificationtoIP
Manager.IPMangerwillacknowledgethechangeandupdate
theDynamicDNSserver.ThenewIPaddresswillthenbethe
addressforyourmodem’sconfiguredname.
Onceyourmodem’sIPaddresshasbeenupdatedinIP
Manager,itcanbecontactedvianame.IftheIPaddressis
needed,youcanusethedomainnametodeterminetheIP
address.
Note: The fully qualified domain name of your modem will be a
subdomain of the domain used by the IP Manager server.

IP Manager
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Configuring Your Modem
Software Required
•AceManager‐GraphicalinterfaceforenteringmostAT
Commands.YoucandownloadAceManagerfromthe
SierraWirelessAirLinkSolutionswebsite:http://
www.sierrawireless.com.
Software Recommended(Optional)
•AceView‐Statusandconnectionmonitorforyour
modem.YoucandownloadAceViewfromthewebsite.
•AceNet‐Multiplemodemconfigurationandmonitoring
utilityforallAirLinkmodems.WithAceNet,youcansave
aworkingconfigurationinAceManagerandthenloadit
intoseveralmodemsconcurrentlysavingtimeand
ensuringallthemodemsareconfiguredthesame.AceNet
isavailableforseperatepurchasefromyourSierra
Wirelessrepresentative.
Connecting to your modem with
AceManager
1. StartAceManager:Start > All Programs > AirLink Communica-
tions > AceManager
ClicktheConnectbutton.
•Serial:SelectPPP,COM1andenter12345forthe
passwordandthenclickOK.
•Ethernet:SelectTCP,entertheIPaddressofthemodem
(localdefaultIPaddressis192.168.13.31).
Figure 1: AceManager: Connect - Serial

Rev A Dec.08 6
Figure 2: AceManager: Connect - Ethernet
2. Entertheconfigurationoptions.
OntheleftsideofAceManageristheGroupsmenu.Selectthe
appropriategroupasdirectedbelow.Enteryourchangesin
theNewValu ecolumn.Typeinthedesiredchangeorusing
thedropdownmenus.Thecurrentconfigurationwillbe
shownintheVal ue column.
Figure 3: AceManager: Changing Configuration Options
3. Writethechangestothemodem.
ClicktheWritebuttononthetoolbarofAceManagerandwait
forthemessage“WriteSuccessful”toappearinthestatusbar.
Figure 4: AceManager : Write

IP Manager
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Configuring Dynamic IP
Domain Name
ToconfigureyourAirLinkmodemtobeaddressedbyname,
themodemneedstohave4elementsconfigured.Youcan
configureaseconddynamicserverasabackup,secondary,or
alternateserver.InAceManager,selectDynamicIP.
Figure 5: AceManager : Dynamic IP (Adresse IP dynamique)
Note: eairlink.com server is still
available, but Sierra Wireless
recommends that customers use
edns2server.
*MODEMNAME:Thenameyouwantforthemodem.
*DOMAIN:Thedomainnametobeusedbythemodem.
*IPMANAGER1and*IPMANAGER2:TheIPaddressor
domainnameofthedynamicDNSserverwhichisrunningIP
Manager.
Note: To use the name here instead of the IP, you need to have DNS
set up in your modem (page 9).
*IPMGRUPDATE1and*IPMGRUPDATE2:Howoften,in
minutes,youwanttheaddresssenttoIPManager.Ifthisisset
tozero,themodemwillonlysendanupdateiftheIPaddress
changes(example,ifyourmodemisresetorisassigneda
differentIPaddress).
*IPMGRKEY1and*IPMGRKEY2:Userdefinedpasswordkey
whichisusedinsteadoftheSierraWirelesssecretkeywhen
usinganIPManagerserverotherthantheoneprovidedby
SierraWireless.
car54-2007
eairlink.com
edns2.eairlink.com
eairlink.com

Rev A Dec.08 8
Restrictions for Modem Name
FortheModemName,youshouldusesomethingwhichis
uniquebutalsoeasytoremember.Yourcompanynameorthe
intendedfunctionofthemodemarerecommended.Ifyou
havemorethanonemodemandwanttonamethemthesame,
youcanappendanumberforeach.SinceitisanInternet
domainname,therearesomerestrictionsforthename.
•Mustbeginwithaletterornumber
•Canincludeahyphen(‐)
•Cannotcontainspaces
•Mustbenolongerthan20characterstotal
Data Usage for IP Manager Server
Updates
TheIPManagerupdateisasmallpacketsenttotheserver
witharesponsesentbacktothemodem.Ifyouhave
*IPMGRUPDATE1or*IPMGRUPDATE2settoanynumber
butzero,themodemwillsendtheupdatenotonlywhenit
receivesanewIPaddressbutatthetimeintervalaswell.The
datatrafficcouldbebilledbyyourcarrier.
Eachupdateisatotalof68bytesfromthemodemwitha50
bytetotalresponsefromtheserverforaroundtripupdateof
118bytes.
Eairlink.com
Asaservice,SierraWirelessAirLinkSolutionsmaintainsaIP
ManagerserverswhichcanbeusedforanyAirLinkmodem.
•*DOMAIN:eairlink.com
•*IPMANAGER1:edns2.eairlink.com
•*IPMANAGER2:eairlink.com
interval
(minutes) total bytes per day (24
hours)
interval
(minutes) total bytes per day (24
hours)
10 16992 bytes 60 2832 bytes
30 5664 bytes 500 339.84 bytes

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Note: The IP Manager service from Sierra Wireless is currently not a
guaranteed service though every effort is made to keep it operational
24/7.
WhenusingtheIPManagerserversofSierraWireless,since
therearemanymodemsusingtheservice,itisevenmore
imperativetohaveauniquenameforyourmodem.
DNS: Using Names Instead of
IP addresses
ThemodemhastheabilitytoqueryDNSserversinorderto
translatedomainnamesintoIPaddresses.Thisallowsyouto
usedomainnamesinplaceofIPaddressesformostofthe
configurationoptionsrequiringIPaddresses.Thisis
importantifyourmodemwillneedtocontactanothermodem
orotherdevicethathasadomainnamebutanunknownor
dynamicIPaddress(suchasanotherremotemodemusingIP
Manager).
Configuring DNS
Generally,whenyourmodemreceivesitsIPaddressfrom
yourcellularprovider,aspartoftheconnectionprocess,itwill
alsoreceiveyourcellularprovider’sDNSserverstousefor
resolving(ortranslating)namestoIPaddresseswhichitwill
automaticallyconfigureinthemodemsettings.Unlessyour
modemwillbeusedonanetworkwithothermodemsor
deviceswhichhavenamesinternaltothelocalnetworkor
frequentlychangingIPaddresses,theDNSserversprovided
byyourcellularprovidershouldbeallyouneed.
Ifthemodemwillbecommunicatingwithadevicethathasa
domainnamebutchangesitsIPaddressfrequently(suchas
anotherAirLinkmodemusingIPManager)orisonanetwork
wheredevicesareaccessedbynamesratherthanIPaddresses,
youwillwanttoputinanalternateDNS(*DNSUSER)where
thatdomainisupdated,suchastheIPManagerserverthe
remotemodemisusingorthelistingofIPaddressestonames
iskept.

Rev A Dec.08 10
Figure 6: AceManager: DNS
*DNS1and*DNS2‐TheprimaryandsecondaryDNSservers
setbyyourcellularproviderwhenyourmodemgetsitsIP
address.
*DNSUSER‐Setthis,ifdesired,toanadditionalDNSserver
toqueryfirstbeforetheprimaryorsecondary(justasahosts
fileisqueriedfirstonacomputer).If*DNSUSERissetto
0.0.0.0,itwillbeignored.
*DNSUPDATE‐ThiscommandsetshowoftenyouwantDNS
Updatestoberequested.Otherwisethemodemwillonlysend
updateswhenitisreset,poweredup,ortheIPaddressis
grantedbynetworkchanges.
Note: If you will be using your modem to communicate with another
AirLink modem and both are using IP Manager to translate dynamic
IP addresses to domain names, it is recommended that you set
*DNSUSER to the IP address for IP Manager. IP Manager’s updates
occur more frequently than your cellular provider’s DNS servers
decreasing the time between IP address change and address
resolution. Likewise, if your modem routinely needs to contact
another modem or device with a Dynamic DNS domain and that
modem or device frequently changes its IP address, you may need to
set *DNSUPDATE for frequent updates.
PPP-Peer
TheRavenandPinPointusetheunqualifieddomainnameof
“ppp‐peer”whenitisinPPPorSLIPaddressmodetoresolve
theaddressofthedeviceorcomputerconnectedviaPPPor
SLIPaddress.IfthemodemisnotinPPPorSLIPaddress
mode,“ppp‐peer”willresolveto0.0.0.0.