FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions


 1. The definition of DEV KIT

The Definition of the Vodafone NB-IoT Development Kit: The Vodafone NB-IoT Development Kit consists of a NB-IoT modem board (EX-COM 210) operating in Band 8 & 20, a connector board offering UART, RS232 & USB connectors, a software tool (NB|EASY Software) and a IoT-Cloud (IoT-Manger). The Vodafone NB-IoT Development Kit was designed to simplify the NB-IoT development. The user can get first experience with the NB-IoT standard by simply transmitting a "Hello World" string in the IoT cloud within minutes. Beside the transmitted string, the development kit also transmits UE statistics into the cloud using the NB-IoT Network of Vodafone. This data can be viewed there (alike the sensor data that is transmitted via the modem) and give you a good insight into the connectivity performance of the NB-IoT device. Development KIT. This end-to-end transmission can be a starting point for further development.

 2. How can order a Vodafone NB-IoT Development Kit

You can order the Development Kit from the Vodafone Website.

 3. Abbreviations

Here is a list of shortcuts:

UART -Universal Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (Wikipedia)

DEV KIT - Development Kit

NB -IoT - Narrowband Internet of Things Standard (Wikipedia)

AT-Commands  - Modem operation comands (Wikipedia)

UDP - User Datagramm Protocol (Wikipedia)

UE - User Equipment / Development Kit

 4. How can I connect to another cloud?

There are two ways to communicate to a different backend than to vodafone.

via UDP

NB-IoT devices support primarily only the UDP-protocol. You can not use TCP or higher protocols based on TCP. The backend/cloud, you want to communicate to, must support an UDP-endpoint. You can either change the backend IP via the NB | EASY tool or when you are using the NB | Easy interface.

via Protocol Proxy

There are existing software components, which connect NB-IoT devices to a backend via a proxy, which provides other protocols like HTTP or MQTT. If you are interested in this solution, contact the team of exelonix GmbH.

exelonix GmbH
Leipziger Straße 118
D-01127 Dresden
Germany

Phone: +49 (0) 351 – 219 71 444
E-Mail info@exelonix.com
Website: www.exelonix.com

 5. I have problems with the Development KIT!

Vodafone Service Hotline +49 172 122620

Monday – Friday  08:00 to 17:00




 6. How do I update the firmware?

t.b.d.

 7. IoT Manager Troubleshooting

You forgot your password

  • click on the link "Forgot password"
  • Please enter your registered e-mail address
  • we will send you a link to a page where you can enter a new password

You have entered an invalid username or password!

  • Please check your provided details. Make sure you sign in with your registered email address
  • If necessary, reset your password with the "Forgot passwort" link

Could not send email to reset your password. Check the email address you typed in and your mailbox.

  • Please check your e-mail inbox if you have receive an e-mail from no-replay@exelonix.com
  • Make sure you have entered your correct e-mail address, if so then contact us under info@exelonix.com

The website https://vodafone.exelonix.com/iot-manager is not loading

 8. IoT Cloud Architecture
  1. NB-IoT Devlopment Kit (UE) is communicating (sending and receiving) via an open UDP port with the UDP-HTTPS-Proxy.
  2. Proxy translates UDP to HTTPS messages and vice versa.
  3. The proxy forwards requests to the web service API and responses from the web service to the device and is written in Java.
  4. Web service provides interfaces (REST API) to receive and deliver IoT data via HTTPS. The web service is a Java EE application and runs on a application server.
  5. Data is stored in a relational database (cloud).
  6. The IoT-Manager is a website running on a Apache 2 web server and communicates with the web service API for displaying IoT-data, managing accounts, organizations and devices.