Getting Started
- Safa Hkiri (Unlicensed)
- Nikolay Henneberg
- Matthias Stege
Introduction
NB|EASY is a software tool developed to control the USB Connect LPWA device via PC. After successful connection establishment, the device is able to perform end-to-end-connectivity tests. 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:
Version | Date | Changes |
|---|---|---|
1.5 | Jun 22, 2021 |
|
1.4 | Oct 15, 2019 |
|
1.3 | Aug 16, 2018 |
|
1.2 | Jul 6, 2018 |
|
1.1 | May 1, 2018 |
|
1.0 | Apr 11, 2018 |
|
Software Installation
Basic software requirements
Java 8 runtime environment with JavaFX
USB Connect LPWA driver (also included in NB|EASY installation package).
Windows
Use windows executable from the Software & Drivers 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
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 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.
Quick Start
The Quick Start tab controls the connected USB Connect LPWA device.
“Attach to network” attaches the USB Connect LPWA to the cellular network. A drop-down menu to select the NB-IoT network to attach to. Here the local network can be chosen. Alternatively, the automatic option can be selected.
“Update” lists the UE-statistics (RSRP, SNR, …) measured at the USB Connect LPWA device
“Open IoT Manger” opens the IoT test-cloud
Here, the device can be triggered to attach to the NB-IoT network and transmit sample data to the cloud.
Device Status
The top area of the application shows the selected device and its current state. It contains the following information:
Device-specific parameters:
Name of selected NB-IoT device
Modem type number
Modem version, application version
IMEI: International mobile equipment identity.
Modem Status: shows the current status of the device.
Attach to network button: triggers an attach or detach depending on modem status.
Modem Status
The modem status indicates the following values:
Modem Status | Description |
|---|---|
Detached | The modem is powered on but not attached to the network. |
Attaching | The modem is currently trying to attach to the network. |
Attached | The modem is attached to the network |
Detaching | The modem is currently detaching from the network. |
Transmitting | The modem is transmitting data. |
Receiving | The modem is receiving data. |
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:
Select the NB-IoT network in the drop-down menu.
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.
Attached
In the attached state, the device is now able to transmit data to the NB-IoT network by the following control elements:
Text field button: to enter text to be transmitted when button (2) is pressed.
Transmit to Cloud button: to start transmission to the cloud of the entered text (1) as well as the current cell information.
Update button (3): to start a cell information update.
Cell information list (4): which shows all received cell information of the last successful cell information update (see Displayed parameters in Table below).
Open IoT Manager button (5): to open IoT Manager website to view all successfully transmitted values as described in figure 6.
Control Center
The control centre is a more advanced and detailed view of the communication between the NB|EASY tool with the connected IOT device.
Here, the user can send individual messages to the device. The incoming messages are monitored as well.
Switch between "AT" and "Easy" mode (The USB connect LPWA does only support the "AT" mode)
Message log: tracks all messages.
Button to clear the message log (2)
Button to save the current message log in a text file.
List of all possible AT commands
Select a single AT command to be sent to the device. The message string will be copied to the message text field (8).
Button to start sending the AT command (8) to the device.
Message text field. The message to be sent to the device can be edited further.
Automatic TX mode
This section allows setting automatic data transmission events. The event interval period is configurable.
The transmission status is displayed as detailed in Tab 1 and the sent data can be verified on the cloud.
Figure 8: 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 hot spots to discover where the host computer is located.
The cell parameters displayed are detailed in Tab 1 above.
Abbreviations
Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|
NB-IoT | Mobile Communication standard "Narrowband Internet-of-Things" |
NB | Short Version of "NB-IoT" |
RAT | Radio Access Technology |
Annex
Parameter | Description | Definition | Example Value | Acceptable Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
RSSI | Received Signal Strength Indicator | RSSI is a measurement of the power present in a received radio signal | -67 dBm | -113 dBm..-51dBm |
PCI | Physical Cell Identidy | PCI is an identification of a cell at physical layer. It has similar role as Primary Scrambling Code of UMTS cell.This physical cell ID is determined by Primary Sync Signal and Secondary Sync Signal. | 212 | |
EARFCN | E-UTRA Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number | EARFCN is a unique number given to each radio channel within the frequency bands used by the network . It can be used to calculate the carrier frequency | 6374 | 0..65535 |
RSRQ | Reference Signal Received Quality | RSRQ is a C/I type of measurement and it indicates the quality of the received reference signal. The RSRQ measurement provides additional information when RSRP is not sufficient to make a reliable handover or cell reselection decision. | -3 dBm | -3..-19.5dBm |
RSRP | Reference Signal Received Power | RSRP is the average power of Resource Elements that carry cell specific Reference Signals over the entire bandwidth. It is the average received power of a single RS resource element. | -76.4 dBm | -140 dBm..-44 dBm |
TAC | Type Allocation Code | TAC is the initial eight-digit portion of the 15-digit IMEI and 16-digit IMEISV codes used to uniquely identify wireless devices. | AB7D | |
MCC | Mobile Country Code | MCC consists of three decimal digit and it is used to identify the country. The first digit identifies the geographic region . | 262 | consists on 3 decimal digits |
MNC | Mobile Network Code | MNC identifies the home PLMN of the mobile subscriber. The length of the MNC (two or three digits) depends on the value of the MCC. | 02 | consists on 2 or 3 decimal digits |
Assigned T3412 | Assigned Timer 3412 | The periodic tracking area update timer to periodically notify the availability of the UE to the network. The procedure is controlled in the UE by (timer T3412). The value of timer T3412 is sent by the network to the UE in the ATTACH ACCEPT message and can be sent in the TRACKING AREA UPDATE ACCEPT message. The UE shall apply this value in all tracking areas of the list of tracking areas assigned to the UE, until a new value is received. | 4h | 0..35712000 sec |
Assigned T3324 | Assigned Timer 3324 | The T3324 active timer determines the duration during which the device remains | 6s | 0..11160 sec |