LTE Technical Note

This architecture is meant for situations where a customer wants to have a physical network segmentation and does not provide an internet connection.

In this option, any of the current validated traditional network designs can be used. Add LTE to provide internet connectivity to the site. For more information regarding traditional network design options, please refer to the IT (Information Technology) Guide.

This architecture is meant to be used with metrics disabled. It is ideal for industrial sites where there are IT budget restrictions (offsetting long cable run costs). This option will facilitate firmware updates while maintaining operational features. Even though it is technically possible to be used with metrics enabled, this is not recommended. It is a low-data and low-cost solution, with the added benefit of firmware updates.

In this option, there is a single LTE router and subscription per each Wireless Gateway - called LTE per Gateway Architecture. This is used for situations where it is not possible to connect the Wireless Gateways physically either due to site-related issues or budget restrictions. The Wireless Gateways are completely independent from each other in segregated networks and connect directly to the Interact Cloud.

This architecture is typically used for situations where physically connecting every single Wireless Gateway is not possible either due to site-related issues or budget restrictions, and when the customer opts for the added value of metrics enabled. Creating clusters will optimize the number of required LTE routers and subscription fee per site as well.

In this option, there is one LTE router with four network ports and a single subscription per cluster of up to four gateways, called LTE with Gateway Clusters Architecture. Like in the LTE per Gateway Architecture, this option allows to select a favorable data subscription fee from one to a maximum of four Wireless Gateways.

The Wireless Gateways are connected to the (maximum of) four ethernet ports of the LTE Router via copper links.

The LTE Router is placed next to the Wireless gateway in a LTE per Gateway Architecture. For LTE with Gateway Clusters architecture, however, there is a limitation of 100 m (328 ft) on traditional copper media. The LTE router only has RJ45 ethernet ports, therefore fiber connections are not possible.

Prior to accepting the use of LTE, a site survey is required. The customer site must have mobile network coverage inside the building to achieve the minimum speed. This can be done using a mobile device and a speed test application using the same Service Provider as the LTE subscription that is going to be used to connect the system. Please be aware that the location of the router may have an affect on the LTE coverage. An alternative location may be required, and it is also possible to add an exterior LTE antenna to the LTE router for extra gain.

Here are some examples. This one, just below, has a magnetic foot. Very useful in industrial environments where metal construction is used to stick the antenna to the construction without having to drill holes.

The Wireless Gateway communicates to the cloud via the IT network of the IPv4 used by the customer.

The communication between the Wireless Gateway and the cloud requires HTTPS, which uses the standard TCP-port 443. This port is commonly used for accessing the internet via a web browser.

Summary of requirements to connect the system:

If firewalls are used to protect the network of the end customer, it is necessary to make sure that the following hosts can be connected to:

Cloud Infrastructure uses dynamic IP addressing for scalability and availability reasons; therefore Firewalls must accept FQDN whitelisting.

If the gateway refuses to get connected (all 3 led’s solid blue), make sure that your network is not filtering access to the network via (for example) MAC address filtering or firewall filtering. Many other things can be the cause, like IP conflicts, multiple DHCP servers active etc. Consult your IT partner if the router is managed by someone else, to fix this.

See also the online network requirements on the portal under IT configuration → IT network requirements → Network requirements. It is required to login to the portal to check these requirements.

LTE per Gateway Architecture:

LTE with Gateway Clusters Architecture:

Integration over BACnet is supported only by the Traditional Wired LTE Architecture. LTE per Gateway or LTE with Gateway Clusters Architectures do not support BACnet integration. Integration over Interact Cloud API (Application Programming Interface) remains possible for all LTE architectures.

Signify owns and maintains the hardware and licenses, like in traditional network deployments.

No LTE Subscriptions are delivered by the Signify. Currently, Signify is not delivering any LTE subscriptions to any market. LTE subscription should be arranged by the customer.

Customer Delivered Hardware:

The customer owns and is responsible for maintaining the hardware, it is advised to use the validated devices. It is possible to use other LTE routers if they meet the IT and LTE requirements, please check the SNS Portal for the full IT Guide.