[j-nsp] 3G/4G on SRX

Discussion:

Jeff Rooney

2013-05-01 14:53:02 UTC

Does anyone have any experience using a prepaid or month to month 3G/4G
connection on a branch SRX? I am looking to replace a dial backup with a
cellular connection, but the documentation is pretty weak and only
references a Sierra Wireless AirCard.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

Jeff

Aaron Dewell

2013-05-02 04:51:56 UTC

Permalink

I have a cx111 which I use when the primary connection goes down. I'm
using usb tethering from my phone which works only if you're willing to
constantly mess with it. I wouldn't recommend that setup.

However, I have a customer using the non rebadged cx111 (aka cradlepoint
cba750) with the paired verizon modem attached. There is an always on ipsec
tunnel running over it from the srx. It goes down about an hour a day
average in each site. As long as that doesn't coincide with a t1 outage...
it's all good. Still investigating the reasons for those drops.

So ymmv but it works decently well.

Note that neither of those experiences are with prepaid or m2m. I imagine
it would be the same until you ran out of credit.

Aaron

Post by Jeff Rooney
Does anyone have any experience using a prepaid or month to month 3G/4G
connection on a branch SRX? I am looking to replace a dial backup with a
cellular connection, but the documentation is pretty weak and only
references a Sierra Wireless AirCard.
Any suggestions? Thanks.
Jeff
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Ben Dale

2013-05-02 05:08:56 UTC

Permalink

Hi Jeff,

To use the USB port on the branch SRX 100,110 or 210 as 3G/4G backup you need a sierra wireless modem.

There are very few listed on Juniper's supported list, but at least here in Australia I've found that most available Sierra 3G modems tend to work including:

USB306
SW312U
AC326U
AC310U
SW319U

4G is a different story thanks to new chipsets/drivers and only the Sierra 320U seems to work.

Depending on your carrier and the frequency that they operate at, you should be able to pick up unlocked SW cards on ebay or aliexpress pretty easily, then just drop your SIM in.

The alternative is grabbing a Juniper CX111 wireless bridge (which is a Cradlepoint CBA750 OEM) - they support a much bigger range of cards and will work with pretty much any router.

http://www.cradlepoint.com/compatibility

Choose CBA750 in the Select Your Product menu on the right and you'll get the complete list:

Ben