The IBR1700 Router is one of several new CradlePoint Routers introduced with CradlePoint's new business model, i.e., Solution Packages. The IBR1700 router is part of the Mobile Segment Solution Packages. The router is sold as a package which includes the router and NetCloud Essentials. The Mobile Segment Essentials consists of NetCloud Manager Prime, 24x7 Support (CradleCare), and NetCloud Perimeter. NetCloud Manager manages the routers remotely from a 'single pane of glass'. NetCloud Perimeter provides a simple, software-defined cloud-based alternative to VPN.
Routers in the Mobile Segment are designed for things that move; busses, ambulances, police cars, trains etc. These routers are ruggedized and designed for large temperature and power fluctuations. They are typically powered via a GPIO power cable. Antennas and power supplies are not included with the router and must be purchased separately. The 1700 has ignition sensing. When the engine is turned on, the router will be powered up. The router is configurable to stay powered for a configured amount of time after the engine is turned off. This allows for the 1700 to be operational immediately if within the configured time without boot-up and connection delays.
The modem in the IBR1700 is the 600M modem. The 600M modem is the fastest LTE modem available in the market today, i.e., 600Mbps download and 75Mbps upload. This download speed is based on triple aggregation. Triple aggregation breaks the transmission into 3 streams which are transmitted simultaneously over 3 separate bands. These bands are then combined back into a single stream. Triple aggregation is not available everywhere.
As in all of the most recent routers, the 1700 has SIM based carrier selection. This allows for the appropriate firmware to be downloaded automatically when the Carrier associated with the SIM is determined.
A second modem may be added to the 1700 with the insertion of an MC400 modem. The MC400 modems are part of CradlePoints existing modem line. The MC400 is inserted behind a removable cover on the front of the unit. The SIM slots for the 600M are also located behind this removable cover. There are 2 warnings regarding this cover. First, the cover must be in place for the modem to function. Previously, the SIM cover functioned as a power switch. If the cover was missing, the router would not turn on. But in the IBR1700, the router will stay powered on, but the modem will not work. Second, the SIM slots for the 600M are also behind this removable cover. The problem is that it is unbelievably easy to miss the 'slot' and insert the SIM under the circuit board which makes it impossible to retrieve the SIM. This is true especially for SIM slot 1. The space beneath the slot for SIM 1 is small. It's large enough to insert the SIM, but not large enough to insert any kind of tool to retrieve it. Please be careful inserting the SIM into slot 1.
CradlePoint introduced a new modem in the MC400 form factor. It is the MC400-600M-C-AT. This modem is FirstNet ready and FirstNet certified. It can be added as the 2nd modem in the 1700. Purchasing the modem does not automatically entitle you to be a FirstNet user. You must apply for FirstNet usage. ATT is currently building out the FirstNet network which uses Band 14. Verizon offers a competing service which uses Band 13 which is currently available and in use. Again, you must apply and be approved for this service. Many of the details on the ATT and the Verizon offering are somewhat of a mystery with little information being disseminated.
Effective June 1, 2019, all CradlePoint product are sold as a 'Solution Package'. This means that you get the hardware, 24x7 support, NetCloud Manager, and NetCloud Perimeter for one price. The package cannot be broken up. The price is close to the old price of just the hardware without any services. Of course, the 1700 is a new model and was only sold as a solution package. The previous statement is true for all of the pre-existing routers. The bottom line is that you do not have to use all of the services that are provided. But they are available to you. Having CradlePoint engineers available to assist you when implementing a solution can be very valuable.
All routers in the Mobile Solutions Packages come with a GPIO power cable. There is no power supply and no antennas. Antennas must be purchased separately. A power supply, when required, may also be purchased separately.
Both the 600M modem and the MC400 modem have the capability for 2 SIMs. The description of Dual SIMs is in almost every router Overview section on TCI's website. But it is so important that it appears again. Dual SIMs do not allow you to connect simultaneously. It is not the same as 2 modems. Here is what dual SIMs allow you to do. You can have SIMs of different carriers or the same carrier. In both cases, if the primary connection fails, the unit can be configured to failover to the secondary connection. You can also use Dual SIMs to prevent data overage charges. This requires 2 SIMs with different data plans associated with each SIM, preferably for the same carrier. The primary interface can be configured to monitor data usage. Once the configured maximum data usage is reached, the primary interface will be deactivated and the configured secondary interface will take over. Failover to a different carrier is not immediate. It can take in the range of 7 minutes or more. In order to failover to a different carrier, the unit must load modem firmware for the second carrier into the modem. For LPE modems, this requires manual intervention and consequently, is not practical. Once the firmware is installed, the modem then has to connect. This means that failover can take some time.
The 1700 has 3 WiFi radios. The intent is for 2 of the radios to service in-vehicle clients. The 3rd radio is for vehicle offload. Any information which is collected by the vehicle can be offloaded to a server when it enters the garage. The 1700 has exceptional WiFi. It can handle up to 192 WiFi devices.
Best AP - This configuration uses 4 antennas and is designed for High Bandwidth Access Points.
Best AP + WAN - This configuration uses 6 antennas and is designed for High Bandwidth Access Points and WiFi as WAN.
Good AP - This configuration uses 2 antennas and is designed for Medium Bandwidth Access Points and the least number of antennas.
Good AP + WAN - This configuration uses 6 antennas and is designed for Medium Bandwidth Access Points and much better WiFi as WAN.
Pictures of the antenna configurations are available in the 'Quick Wifi Setup' in the 'Setup Wizards' tab of the SYSTEM menu.
It took me days to understand the 3 WiFi radios and the 6 Antennas. I was constantly looking at which radio is connected to which set of antennas and I was baffled. I finally realized that the radios are not physical radios and there is no mapping of antennas to radios. This may not be exactly right, but it makes logical sense in how to understand the antennas versus antenna ports.
Radio 1 is always a 2.4Ghz 2x2 radio. This means it operates at 2.4Ghz frequency and uses 2 antennas.
Radio 2 is always a 5Ghz 2x2 radio. This means it operates at 5Ghz frequency and uses 2 antennas.
Radio 3 is always a 5Ghz 4x4 radio. This means it operates at 5Ghz frequency and uses 4 antennas.
As you can see, there are 3 radios with 8 possible antenna configurations, but only 6 connections. So I have come up with my own conceptual configuration of how the 3 radios work. The radios on the 1700 (in my opinion) are a combination of the WiFi modem/chip/radio on the 2200 (2.4Ghz 2x2 and 5Ghz 4x4) and the Wifi modem/chip/radio on the 900 (2.4Ghz 2x2 and 5Ghz 2x2). I am just referring to them as chips, for lack of a better term. The 2200 chip is the 4 ports on the left. The 900 chip is the 2 ports on the right. So, there is no static mapping of the antenna ports to which radio it is attached to. It seems to be to be an internal software routing to the correct chip based on which configuration you have chosen.
The following explanation relies on the numbering of the antenna ports from left to right. The extreme left port is designated port 1. The extreme right port is designated port 6.
Antenna Port 1 is either connected to the 2.4Ghz 2x2 radio (Radio 1) or the 5Ghz 4x4 radio (Radio 3).
Antenna Port 2 is always connected to the 5Ghz radio (Radio 3) when it is in use.
Antenna Port 3 functions in tandem with Antenna Port 2.
Antenna Port 4 functions in tandem with Antenna Port 1.
Antenna Port 5 is either connected to the 2.4 2x2 radio (Radio 1) or the 5Ghz 2x2 radio (Radio 2).
Antenna Port 6 functions in tandem with Antenna Port 5.
The 1700 router is about the size of an AER1600. It is 8.8 × 7.5 × 1.7 in. The casing is ruggedized steel. It comes with an embedded 600M modem capable of speeds of 600Mbps down/75 Mbps up. It has 5 LAN/WAN switchable 10/100/1000 Ethernet Ports.
It also has an RS32 connector which when used with the OBD-II Adapter Kit (170758-000) enables customers to read vehicle On Board Diagnostics. There is also a 2x10 GPIO port. When wired, it can provide alternate DC power input, two analog inputs, ignition sensing, four configurable input/output and one low current 5V output (50mA max).
The 600M modem has a theoretical download/upload speed of 600Mbps/75Mbps. In the United States, service is available for Verizon, ATT and T-Mobile, and Sprint. The 600M behaves like the LP4 modem in that the firmware for ATT is used for both ATT and T-Mobile. So, there are 4 sets of firmware, Verizon, ATT, and Sprint. There is a Generic version which should NOT be used for T-Mobile. It is for EMEA use only. At the time of this writing, an incorrect APN is defaulted to by the firmware for T-Mobile. The carrier sensing chooses 'broadband' as the APN for T-Mobile. It must be overridden to 'fast.t-mobile.com' for correct T-Mobile performance.
Extensibility with GPIOs for custom solutions and more!
The COR IBR1700 Mobility Solutions Package consists of an IBR1700 router with a 600M Embedded Modem (600 Mbps Down/150 Mbps Up), Cradle Care 24x7 Support and NetCloud Essentials Prime. An upgrade to NetCloud Essentials Enterprise is available.