Installation Instructions: Linux Setup Guide for the Merlin XU870 HSDPA Modem

Introduction

The following describes how to set up the Novatel Wireless Merlin XU870 modem and connect to the Internet on the Linux distribution platform. This description assumes that you have already successfully installed the XU870 Linux drivers.

Requirements

Before you can connect to an HSDPA service provider with the Novatel Wireless Merlin XU870 modem, you will need the following:

• A Novatel Wireless Merlin XU870 ExpressCard™ modem
• Linux Kernel 2.6 or later (Recommended)
• A SIM card associated with an active account
• pppd service installed (pre-installed with a Linux Kernel 2.6 or later)

Known Limitations

• You cannot monitor card status such as signal strength, bytes exchanged, or connectivity status. The only network indication available is the wireless card LED that indicates if the card is in a coverage area.
• No graphical user interface is currently available. All operations are performed using a command line interface.

Setting Up Your Equipment

1. Open an xterm window (window A) and log in as root:

   su root
   tail –f /var/log/messages

2. Insert the XU870 ExpressCard™ modem into your notebook computer.

   Look for the port association and note the lower order port numbers when device is inserted. The information will be used later in this procedure. The following shows sample output:

   Aug 3 15:27:33 linux kernel: usb 5-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
   Aug 3 15:27:33 linux kernel: airprime 5-1:1.0: airprime converter detected
   Aug 3 15:27:33 linux kernel: usb 5-1: airprime converter now attached to ttyUSB0
   Aug 3 15:27:33 linux kernel: airprime 5-1:1.1: airprime converter detected
   Aug 3 15:27:33 linux kernel: usb 5-1: airprime converter now attached to ttyUSB1

3. Open another xterm window (window B) and log in as root:

   su root
   cat /dev/ttyUSB0

   There should be additional output displayed in xterm window A that was opened in step 1.

4. Open another xterm window (window C) and log in as root:

   su root

5. Unzip the included HSDPA script package:

   unzip hsdpa_scripts.zip
   cd hsdpa_scripts
   cd hsdpa_apn_config

6. Verify the APN information:

   vi hsdpa_apn_set

   Note: Do not remove the “^M” at the end of the line or open this file in Windows.

7. After verification, exit the file.
8. Enter the following:

   cat hsdpa_apn_set > /dev/ttyUSB0

9. Check the output of the xterm window B opened in step 3 to verify that the APN information is correctly set in the card. The response must match the arguments in the hsdpa_apn_set file and an “OK” response should be in the last line of the window.
10. Copy the hsdpa_options and hsdpa_chatoptions files to the /etc/ppp directory.
11. Enter the following to verify that the user and password settings are correct:

    vi /etc/ppp/hsdpa_options

12. After verification, exit the file.

Connecting To the Network

In this section, you will launch a ppp connection to the network.

1. In your main shell, enter:

   pppd file /etc/ppp/hsdpa_options

   The connection status from the kernel log appears in xterm window A that was opened in step 1 of Setting Up Your Equipment..

2. To verify that the modem is connected, locate the following line after dialing up (it should be one of the last lines in the log):

   Aug 3 15:53:02 linux pppd[7990]: Script /etc/ppp/ip-up finished (pid 8077), status = 0x0

3. To confirm that the pppd daemon is associated with the correct ttyUSB port, enter:

   ps –e | grep pppd
   

   You should see:

   xxxx ttyUSBx 00:00:00 pppd

   ttyUSBx should be the same as that output in step 2 of Setting Up Your Equipment.

   You are now connected to the network.

Disconnecting From the Network

1. To hang up the connection, enter:

   killall pppd

2. Verify the ppp connectivity status using the following command:

   ps –e | grep pppd

3. Disconnect the session before removing the card from the PC Card slot. Otherwise a system reset may be required to use the card again.

Troubleshooting

If the connection is lost because you are in a poor coverage area, a manual reconnect is required by repeating the steps in Connecting to the Network.

If you experience DNS-related problems, verify the entries in the /etc/resolv.conf file.