As a test of whether a 3G cellular modem could replace the WIFI network connection at Manitou Forest Observatory, I've setup a titan DSM in my office, with a Cradlepoint CTR350 router and a Verizon USB720 modem. The modem uses an external antenna (6" dipole) in the window of my office.
The modem's signal strength can be viewed from the Modem->Info page of the router's WWW interface. It is currently showing a 92% signal strength at -79 dBm:
Name Value Manufacturer: Novatel Wireless Inc. Model Info: MC760 VERIZON Modem Firmware Version: Q6085BDRAGONFLY_V139 [Jul 02 2009 18:00:00] Carrier Status: UP ESN/IMEI: 5B4F86F2 Mobile Directory Number: 7204707887 Connection Type: CDMA PRL Version: 53013 Signal Strength (%): 92 Signal Strength (dBm): -79 PhysicalPort USB1 Connection Status: Connected
Crontab entries check the status of the ethernet and Verizon link, and can power cycle the router if necessary:
# Only run router_check.sh if net_check.sh succeeds to avoid power cycling modem if the problem is with t he ethernet connection 5,35 * * * * net_check.sh eth0 192.168.0 192.168.0.1 && router_check.sh 8 www.eol.ucar.edu www.google.com # Every 4 hours, run router_check.sh by itself, in case the router needs # power cycling to get the ethernet working 10 */4 * * * router_check.sh 8 www.eol.ucar.edu www.google.com
Rsync transfers from the Titan to FLAB are running at about 61 KB/sec. This was a transfer with compression enabled, of binary files (shareable libraries):
sent 294 bytes received 5998216 bytes 61523.18 bytes/sec total size is 16029060 speedup is 2.67
Transfers the other way are about 85 KB/sec:
sent 5998221 bytes received 214 bytes 85084.18 bytes/sec total size is 16029060 speedup is 2.67