Table of content

Introduction

NB|EASY is a software tool developed to use Vodafone NB devices via PC.The NB device, connected via USB to PC, can be triggered to attach to the Vodafone NB-IoT network.

After successful connection establishment, the device is able to transmit and receive data via the NB-IoT network.

Version History

The following table shows the changes done with every NB|EASY documentation version:

Software Installation

Basic software requirements

• Java 8 runtime environment.
• NB-Vodafone driver (available in NB|EASY installation package, or as a stand alone version ). 

Windows

• Use windows executable from the Software & Drivers for Vodafone LPWA Products to install NB | EASY software.
• The installer will take care of installing the Java environment and the required drivers.
• Start the program via desktop shortcut or start menu entry.

Linux

• The required UART driver has been distributed as part of Linux kernel since v4.4.132.
• Check whether the required kernel module is loaded: lsmod | grep option.
• Check whether you have read/write access to USB-UART bridge: ls -la /dev/ttyUSB*.

Linux setup & troubleshooting

Currently, the ModemManager package (confirmed for version 1.10.0-1~ubuntu18.04.2) detects the R410 as a general QMI-WWAN modem and tries to configure it. Beside failing this task it blocks any "user" AT commands, e.g. using minicom.

The following shell commands stop and disable the ModemManager service:

Device Selection

After starting the application, the Device Selection tab is shown first. Here, the connected NB device can be selected.

1. The Refresh button starts a new search for all USB-connected NB devices. An ongoing search is indicated by a progress bar below the button.
2. After the search is finished, all available devices are displayed. By clicking on the device, it will be is selected for usage. After that, the Quick Start tab is shown.

Figure 1: Device Selection tab

Quick Start

The Quick Start tab presents a simplified way to control the connected NB-IoT device.
Here, the device can be triggered to attach to the NB-IoT network and transmit sample data to the cloud.

Figure 2: Quick Start tab

Device State

Figure 3 : Device State description

The top area of the application shows the selected device and its current state. It contains the following information:

1. Device specific parameters:
   1. Name of selected NB-IoT device
   2. Modem type number
   3. Modem version, application version
   4. IMEI: International mobile equipment identity.
2. Modem Status: shows the current status of the device.
3. Attach to network button: triggers an attach or detach depending on modem status.

Modem Status

The modem status indicates the following values:

Table 1: Modem Status description

Detached

In the detached state, the device is not able to transmit data to the NB-IoT network. First, an attach procedure needs to be triggered, including the following steps:

1. Select the NB-IoT network in the drop down menu.
2. Click on the Attach to network button to start the attachment procedure to the selected NB-IoT network

Note: Be aware that the embedded SIM card requires either "Vodafone-global-roaming", a Vodafone Profile or a Vodafone partner profile, to be selected, otherwise the attach procedure will fail.

Figure 5 : Detached state description

Attached

In the attached state, the device is now able to transmit data to the NB-IoT network by the following control elements:

1. Text field: to enter text to be transmitted when button (2 in figure 6) is pressed.
2. Transmit to Cloud button: to start transmission to the cloud of the entered text (1 in figure 6) as well as the current cell information.
3. Update button: to start a cell information update.
4. Cell information list: which shows all received cell information of the last successful cell information update (see Displayed parameters in figure 8 below).
5. Open IoT Manager button: to open IoT Manager website to view all successfully transmitted values as described in figure 7.

Figure 6 : Attached state description

Figure 7: IoT Manager web site

Table 2: Displayed network parameters

Control Center

The control center is a advanced and detailed view of the communication between NB|EASY and the connected device.
Here, the user can monitor the message flow between NB-IoT device and NB|Easy and send individual messages to the device.

Important control elements are:

1. Switch between "AT" and "Easy" mode (The USB connect LPWA does only support the "AT" mode)
2. Message log: tracks the message history between NB|Easy and the connected device
3. Clear message log (2 in figure 9)
4. Save the current message log in a text file.
5. Select supported AT command which could be send to NB-IoT device.
6. Copy selected AT command to message text field (8 in figure 9 ).
7. Message text field: The message to be sent to the device can be edited further.
8. Send current AT command (8 in figure 9) to device.

Figure 9: Control center tab

Automatic TX mode 

In the automatic TX mode tab, NB|Easy can be configured to continuously send data packets to the cloud via the NB-IoT device. The data transmission interval can be configured.

The transmission status is displayed in Tab 1 and the sent data can be verified on the cloud. (see figure 7 above )

Figure 10: Automatic TX mode

Geolocation

This tab allows the user to display the current location parameters of the NB device ( Latitude,Longitude,Accuracy). It uses the characteristics of nearby Wi-Fi hotspots to discover where the host computer is located.

The cell parameters displayed are detailed in the Table 2 above .

Figure 11: Geolocation tab

Annexe 

Table 3: Parameters Description