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      Kona Gateway Network Monitoring FAQ

      This article applies to  Kona Gateways with cellular backhaul.

      If you are unsure if your gateway features cellular backhaul, please consult the user guide for your gateway and cross-reference it with the T-code (i.e. T000XXYY) BEFORE proceeding with this FAQ.

      Introduction

      Kona Gateways that have cellular backhaul uses Network Monitor to determine internet connectivity. Network Monitor tests and reacts to the health of internet connectivity through both the ethernet and cellular interface. It is able to seamlessly swap between interfaces when either of them goes down. When both interfaces are down, Network Monitor will reboot the gateway in an attempt to restore connectivity.

      Note:

      If Kona Gateway is rebooting every few minutes, then ensure the following:
      1. There are no firewall rules applied on the network to which gateway is connected to.
      2. The gateway can ping to the defined ping check address successfully.

      #1 How does Network Monitoring work in Kona Gateways?

      Default configuration:

      1. Preferred Interface: eth0 (ethernet)

      2. Fallback Interface: wwan0 (cellular backhaul)

      3. Default ping test address: 8.8.8.8

      Users can change preference of interface and default ping test address using KonaFT, TEKTELIC CORE NS, TEKTELIC OA&M server, or through CLI.

       

      Upon booting, the Kona gateway will attempt to ping the default ping test address (8.8.8.8) to determine internet connectivity.  Ping tests happen on both the preferred and fallback interface.  Ping tests for the fallback interface will only occur when the preferred interface is offline AND the gateway is connected through the fallback interface.

      1. By default, when both ethernet and cellular interfaces are connected, ethernet is the preferred interface.

      2. Network Monitoring will run a ping test using the Preferred interface every 10 seconds and check the number of successful pings.

      When an ethernet cable is removed or the ethernet interface loses internet connection, the gateway will attempt to switch to the fallback cellular interface. This happens after  the ping test for the primary interface has 6th out of 10 failed pings.

      1. Network Monitoring will run a ping test using the fallback interface every 30 seconds and check the number of successful pings.

      2. If the ethernet interface regains Internet connectivity, the gateway will attempt a ping test on the interface. After the 16th out of 20 successful pings, the gateway will switch routing back to the ethernet interface.

      Network monitor will go through the following steps to ensure the gateway remains connected at all times:

      1. Gateway will attempt to ping defined ping address every 10 seconds using the preferred interface.
      2. If the ping test has 16/20 successful pings, the gateway will continue to use preferred interface.
      3. However, if the ping test has 6/10 failed pings, gateway will switch routing to the fallback interface.
      4. Gateway will attempt to ping defined ping address every 30 seconds using the fallback interface.
      5. If the ping test has 4/5 successful pings, the gateway will continue to use the fallback interface.
      6. However, if the ping test has 2/3 failed pings, gateway initiate a countdown timer (10 minutes) to reboot the gateway.
      7. If the gateway reconnects to the internet at any time within the countdown, the timer will reset and the gateway will not reboot.
      8. If the gateway reboots, the process resets beginning at step 1.

      #2 What happens if no ethernet or cellular connection is available?  

      1. When no Ethernet or no Cellular connection is available to the gateway, the ping test will fail, and Network Monitor will initiate a reboot. After the 600th second (10 minutes), the gateway will reboot.

      2. If both interfaces do not regain internet connectivity, the gateway will continue to reboot until either interface regains connectivity.

      #3 How can preference of default interfaces be changed in Kona Gateways?

      1. Users can change default preference of interfaces using KonaFT, TEKTELIC CORE NS, TEKTELIC OA&M server, or by manually editing the file.
      KonaFT:
      1. In the top row of tabs, select Board Details, then in the row of tabs below, select Misc. Then select Network Monitor Configuration to modify the settings.
      2. Modify the settings as required.
        • preferred_interface="wwan0"
        • fallback_interface="eth0"
        • Ensure that these two lines DO NOT have the "#" in front of the line.
        • For example, to set the cellular interface as the primary interface, the configuration should appear as follows:
      3. Finalize by clicking Save. If need be, click Reload to verify the changes made.
       
       
      TEKTELIC CORE NS:
      1. Go to WAN tab for a gateway.
      2. Click on Update WAN Info.
      3. In Connectivity Types, select Preferred and Fallback interfaces of your choice.
      4. Finalize by clicking SET PREFERRED AND FALLBACK
      5. Restart the gateway by selecting the Commands tab, selecting Reboot from the dropdown menu, and clicking Execute.
       
       
       
       
       
      TEKTELIC OA&M:
      1. Go to WAN tab for a gateway.
      2. Click on Update WAN Info.
      3. In Connectivity Types, select Preferred and Fallback interfaces of your choice.
      4. Finalize by clicking SET PREFERRED AND FALLBACK
      5. Restart the gateway by selecting the Commands tab, selecting Reboot from the dropdown menu, and clicking Execute.
       
      MANUAL FILE EDIT (advanced users only):
      1. The file is located in: /opt/network-monitor-db/network-monitor.conf
      2. You may edit the file directly on the gateway through vi
      3. You can also download the file, edit it separately, and reupload it.
      4. Uncomment and modify the following lines as required:
        1. preferred_interface="[eth0/wwan0]"
        2. fallback_interface="[wwan0/eth0]"
      5. Reboot the gateway for the changes to take effect through the following command: tektelic_reset

      #4 How can the default ping address be changed in Kona Gateways?

      1. Users can change default preference of interfaces using KonaFT, TEKTELIC CORE NS, TEKTELIC OA&M server, or by manually editing the file.
      KonaFT:
      1. In the top row of tabs, select Board Details, then in the row of tabs below, select Misc. Then select Network Monitor Configuration to modify the settings.
      2. Modify the settings as required.
      3. Finalize by clicking Save. If need be, click Reload to verify the changes made. 
      TEKTELIC CORE NS:
      1. Go to WAN tab for a gateway.
      2. Click on Update WAN Info.
      3. Enter the ping address of your choice Set Preferred Ping Address field.
      4. Restart the gateway by selecting the Commands tab, selecting Reboot from the dropdown menu, and clicking Execute.
      TEKTELIC OA&M:
      1. Go to WAN tab for a gateway.
      2. Click on Update WAN Info.
      3. Enter the ping address of your choice Set Preferred Ping Address field.
      4. Restart the gateway by selecting the Commands tab, selecting Reboot from the dropdown menu, and clicking Execute.
      MANUAL FILE EDIT (advanced users only):
      1. The file is located in: /opt/network-monitor-db/network-monitor.conf
      2. You may edit the file directly on the gateway through vi
      3. You can also download the file, edit it separately, and reupload it.
      4. Modify the following lines as required:
        1. ping_ns_address="[insert ping address here]"
      5. Reboot the gateway for the changes to take effect through the following command: tektelic_reset