Using Your Telstra Wireless Modem

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Revision as of 08:47, 4 November 2009

Introduction

The following article is a howto on getting your wireless modem to access the Internet through Telstra's NextG broadband network in Australia using Linux. Telstra's wireless modems are manufactured by Sierra Wireless (were at the time of this writing), while Sierra Wireless writes Linux kernel modules for them. So therefore you can use them with Linux, but you need to install some application software first and then do some configuration. Once that's done you should have access to the Internet through your wireless modem from Telstra, using Linux. Because Telstra do NOT provide any support for Linux you will not be able to download any Linux version of Telstra Turbo Connection Manager. To get the Internet going under Linux, please follow one of the following guides to the letter. There are two ways you can connect to the NextG network through Linux, the first way is using a program called kppp through the graphical user interface. The second way is using a program called wvdial at the command-line.

Requirements

• Your wireless device is being detected by the system.
• The correct Linux kernel module is being loaded for your device.
• You have kppp or wvdial installed. (come with OpenSuSE but are not installed by default)
• You have disabled your PIN number on your wireless device.

See the Questions & Troubleshooting section for more information about these conditions.

Tested SUSE versions

This procedure was tested on 11.0

This procedure was tested on 11.1

Tested Modems

• Sierra 880U USB Wireless Network Adapter

Other modem devices from Telstra should work provided that there is a Linux kernel module (or suitable Linux operating system support) available for the device. If this support is not available for the device you will NOT be able to use it with Linux and therefore this guide will NOT work.

Step 1

Gain root access and type:

Step 2

Configure an account for the ppp connection:

• Click the Configure button and then goto Accounts > New, then click the Manual Setup button.
• In the Connection Name field enter a connection name (the name does not matter)
• Then click Add and enter *99# then click OK
• In the Authentication drop down menu select the option Script-based and then click OK

Step 3

Configure your modem device:

• In the Configure dialog box click the Modems tab and click New
• In the Modem Name field of the Device tab enter a name (it does not matter what name it is)
• In the Modem Device field of the Device tab select the correct path to your wireless device in the drop down menu (the path must be correct).
• Click the Modems tab and then click on the Modem Commands button

• In the Initailization String 1 field enter at+cgdcont=1,"IP","telstra.internet" , (don't include the comma on the end) the rest of the default options should be fine.

Your Telstra wireless device should now be able to access the Internet using kppp with the ppp daemon.

Firstly using the command-line is not that difficult like you may think, you just need to know what commands to type. What configuration file or files to edit and what to put into them, and that's it! I only needed to edit one configuration file to get the connection going. First thing is to install wvdial (if you haven't already) and then use your favorite text editor to edit the file called /etc/wvdial.conf Below I have listed the information you need to enter into the configuration file for wvdial, along with a step by step guide.

Step 1

Create a configuration file for wvdial:

Login as root, then goto the command-line and type:

then type:

It doesn't matter what text editor you use

Step 2

Configure /etc/wvdial.conf with the following information:

• Enter the modem's device path in the Modem = line (eg. /dev/ttyUSB0)
• Enter at+cgdcont=12,"IP","telstra.internet" in the Init1 = line
• Enter *99# in the Phone = line
• Enter the word internet in the Username = and Password = lines

If you use a username and password goto the Questions & Troubleshooting section

Once you have done all that save the file and then type wvdial and that's it!

Below I have copied and pasted a copy of my /etc/wvdial.conf file (that works) to make step 2 a bit more clear.

[Dialer Defaults]
Modem = /dev/ttyUSB0
Baud = 57600
Init1 = at+cgdcont=12,"IP","telstra.internet"
Init2 = ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2
Init3 =
Area Code =
Phone = *99#
Username = internet
Password = internet
Ask Password = 0
Dial Command = ATDT
Stupid Mode = 1
Compuserve = 0
Force Address =
Idle Seconds = 300
DialMessage1 =
DialMessage2 =
ISDN = 0
Auto DNS = 1

If you would like to know what all of these options actually mean and do see http://linux.die.net/man/5/wvdial.conf

When you have successfully connected using wvdial, you should see the following at the command-line:

--> WvDial: Internet dialer version 1.60
--> Cannot get information for serial port.
--> Initializing modem.
--> Sending: at+cgdcont=12,"IP","telstra.internet"
OK
--> Sending: ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2
OK
--> Modem initialized.
--> Idle Seconds = 300, disabling automatic reconnect.
--> Sending: ATDT*99#
--> Waiting for carrier.
CONNECT 7200000
--> Carrier detected.  Starting PPP immediately.
--> Starting pppd at Mon Aug 10 16:04:32 2009
--> Pid of pppd: 8184
--> Using interface ppp0
--> pppd: �[7f]
--> pppd: �[7f]
--> pppd: �[7f]
--> pppd: �[7f]
--> pppd: �[7f]
--> local  IP address 10.194.42.51
--> pppd: �[7f]
--> remote IP address 10.64.64.64
--> pppd: �[7f]
--> primary   DNS address 139.130.4.4
--> pppd: �[7f]
--> secondary DNS address 203.50.2.71
--> pppd: �[7f]
--> Script /etc/ppp/ip-up run successful
--> Default route Ok.
--> Nameserver (DNS) Ok.
--> Connected... Press Ctrl-C to disconnect
--> pppd: �[7f]
 

If you do not see the following, you did not successfully connect. Please check your configuration in /etc/wvdial.conf

If you would like the connection to automatically be established at system startup, please follow the steps below:

Step 1

Gain root access, then goto the command-line and type:

it does not matter which text editor you use

Step 2

Add the line:

wvdial &

The connection should now be automatically established at system startup.

You will need to restart Linux for the changes to take effect

You can also create shell scripts to avoid having to type in more than one command (if you're lazy like me). I have included a copy of mine below, when you have created a shell script just copy the file to the /bin directory so your normal user account can run it (don't forget to give the shell script execution permission).

• KPPP shell script

#!/bin/sh
su -c /opt/kde3/bin/kppp 

This script will run the su command first to gain administrator rights, once you have entered your administrator password correctly it will run kppp itself.

• wvdial shell script

#!/bin/sh
echo This is my CONNECTME script for connecting to the Internet through the NextG network
su -c wvdial 

As the echo line in the above script says this script connects me to the Internet using wvdial instead of kppp. Once again this script runs the su command to gain administrator rights, once you enter your correct administrator password it then runs wvdial itself.

Q: Would these guides be applicable to other Linux distrubutions?

A: Yes, you can use kppp (or wvdial) to connect with the NextG Network on other Linux distributions, but the first step (gaining administrator access) may vary depending on the Linux distribution you are using. In Ubuntu you would type sudo kppp or sudo wvdial to start kppp or wvdial.

Q: How do I know if Linux is detecting my modem device?

A: Type:

The output should be simlar to the following:

Bus 003 Device 003: ID 1199:6855 Sierra Wireless, Inc.

Q: How do I find out whether or not the correct kernel module is being loaded for my Sierra device?

The output for the modinfo command should look like the following:

filename:       /lib/modules/2.6.25.5-1.1-pae/kernel/drivers/usb/serial/sierra.ko
license:        GPL
version:        v.1.2.8
description:    USB Driver for Sierra Wireless USB modems
author:         Kevin Lloyd <linux@sierrawireless.com>
srcversion:     C392F44A18B844108D6C76C
alias:          usb:v1199p0FFFd*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v0F3Dp0112d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p0112d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p6469d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p6468d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p6856d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p6855d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p6853d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p6852d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p6851d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p6850d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p6833d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p6832d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p6820d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v03F0p1E1Dd*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p6815d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p6813d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p6812d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p6803d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p6804d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p6802d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p0023d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p0120d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p0021d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p0019d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p0220d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p0020d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v0F30p1B1Dd*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p0218d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p0018d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
alias:          usb:v1199p0017d*dc*dsc*dp*ic*isc*ip*
depends:        usbserial,usbcore
vermagic:       2.6.25.5-1.1-pae SMP mod_unload 586
parm:           truinstall:TRU-Install support (bool)
parm:           nmea:NMEA streaming (bool)

Q: Why does noting show up when I run the command modinfo sierra?

A: Make sure you have the wireless device plugged in before you run the command. If noting still shows up you may have a hardware problem.

Q: What is a Linux kernel module?

A: A Linux kernel module is pretty much a device driver that allows the Linux kernel (the operating system) to use the hardware device.

Q: I use a username and password and am trying to connect using wvdial, have followed all of the steps, but it will not connect.

A: You need to put your username in the line Username = and your password in the line Password = So if your username was for example myusername you would change the line to Username = myusername

Q: When I use wvdial to connect it keeps dropping out, how do I stop that?

A: Change the line in /etc/wvdial.conf that says Idle Seconds = 300 (or what ever number it is after Idle Seconds =) to Idle Seconds = 0 The 0 disables the automatic timeout feature so it won't automatically drop out on you.

Q: I have enabled wvdial on system startup but it is not connected when Linux starts.

A: Press ALT + CTRL + F1 to see any error messages from wvdial:

• Check if your computer been assigned an IP address
• Make sure you see the line:

Nameserver (DNS) Ok

If the above line is different, you will have to unplug your modem, plug it back in and run the wvdial command again.

Q: I what to use a username and password when connecting with kppp, so what's next?

A: Please goto the Configuration dialog box and then click Accounts. Then click Edit and then change the Authentication setting to PAP/CHAP, click OK to all that. Then simply enter your username and password and click Connect.

Q: How do I disable the PIN number on my wireless device?

A: Do this in Windows by going to the options screen in Telstra Turbo Connection Manager and look under SIM Settings > SIM Security

Q: My device will not connect (or takes a long time to)

A: Unplug your device, plug it back in and try connecting again. I have found sometimes it can be a bit temperamental at times (you may need to do this a few times before it works).

Q: How do I find out what the path to my wireless device is?

A: It's more than likely /dev/ttyUSB0, but if not type ls /dev/ttyUSB*. This will list all device files that start with ttyUSB, because your wireless device will most likely be represented by one of the listings.

See Also

• http://sierrawireless.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/500/session/L3NpZC83UzQzVndHag==/sno/0
• http://www.sierrawireless.com/product/AC880U_881U.aspx
• http://www.bigpond.com/internet/plans/wireless/system-requirements/
• http://tldp.org/HOWTO/PPP-HOWTO/x314.html
• http://linux.die.net/man/5/wvdial.conf
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Wireless

Last updated: 25/10/09