3g wireless broadband - for remote servers

nashenden · 15th December 2008

We have a need (or a client who does!) to put some machines in retail situations there they need access to the internet / our file server but where the cost / hassle of installing / wiring internet is prohibitive (in terms of remote locations, paperwork, paranoid sys admins etc).

USB 3G card seems ideal, and at under a tenner a month with 'a deal' a no brainer. Googling throws up all sorts on conflicting advice regarding coverage and data quality- in particular '3' has an upload speed of only about 100kbit?... and only voda has decent coverage?

Anyone got any experience, and (pushing my luck here) anyone used them in a 'remote unmanned server' setup, rather than a 'bod with laptop who can press reset/ reconnect' scenario?

Thanks in advance as ever for any info (or offers for help, or PMs if you can provide service for us!)

freethought · 15th December 2008

Are you wanting this for VNC/RDP/SSH access inbound? You always get private IPs on 3G networks to the best of my knowledge (you certainly do on t-mobile) so you'll have to use gotomypc or something similar to connect out first.
Latency is a bit iffy as well, you usually get a few hundred ms but I've seen it go well up over a second. Not tried VNC/RDP but interactive SSH sessions are doable, if somewhat painful at times.

nashenden · 15th December 2008

its really only ftp file transfer using a bespoke app on the remote servers - so latency not really an issue. reliability (or at least recoverability) is more important. gotomypc is a nice thought though - useful for remote diagnostics if nothing else.

freethought · 15th December 2008

You shouldn't have any problems with outbound connectivity unless you're using some funky ports. I've not looked into it in any detail but I'm sure t-mobile are blocking ports so I suspect others are too.

aXeR · 15th December 2008

I've got a t-mobile datacard and FTP is a no-go by default. As of a few months ago I can't do RDP over the datacard either where as I could before

othellotech · 15th December 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by freethought

You shouldn't have any problems with outbound connectivity unless you're using some funky ports. I've not looked into it in any detail but I'm sure t-mobile are blocking ports so I suspect others are too.

We had to pay extra to get the Voda "enterprise" package to get unrestricted 'net access (ISTR +50/month) otherwise you're stuck with 80, 25,110, etc - they're retracted that now - gave us £300 credit and removed the 50/month charge - i do still find that a lot of destinations are blocked by their proxies/filter - major PITA when using it to debug an issue external to the network, and Voda have decided for today they dont like demon anymore or whatever ...

The software all the usb stix and express port cards use tends to be a bit flaky, so for un-manned installations not recommended, i have to reboot my linux laptop at least 1 in 3 times I want to connect

You'd be better with a standard modem and a dialup connection if its a fixed installation ...

freethought · 16th December 2008

Or a wireless bridge to the nearest "friendly" building

TDMWeb · 16th December 2008

I'd agree with others that 3G performance is very variable indeed and not something I'd want to rely on. I use T-mobile and it's OK for answering email, tickets and such but I'd not want to do sustained work on it. Dialup would be much more reliable and in many cases faster.

MH-Nick · 16th December 2008

In terms of 3G providers, is Vodafone the recommend one?

markcastle · 16th December 2008

I've been "using" T-Mobile a lot over the last month and even when in central London recently it is utter pants most of the time. So much so that i'm probably going to have a ritual burning of the datacard before long. 9 times out of 10 it will drop into GPRS which I think means God-awful Pathetic Radio Service, or Gonorrhea-ridden Philopornist Radio Service because T-Mobile certainly don't want to touch the packets that my laptop is sending.
Orange 3G appears only slightly better.

PeteK · 16th December 2008

3G coverage is patchy at best, especially inside buildings. In our experience Voda is the best of the bunch, but you really need to survey the location to ensure you can get at least a couple of bars of 3g otherwise you are going to drop to gprs when the weather is bad. Personally I would avoid both Orange and T(oy) Mobile like the plague for data services and use voda / 02. We have then in a couple of places in wireless routers and it is quite easy to get a static IP on a sim card too, although you pay a bit more for it. A quick Google turns up a couple of regular machine ops who do then with static IPs from £20+vat with very limited data. To be honest I would be putting xDSL in as even if you are limited by 8km of phone line, you are going to get 256k sync if not more and on a low usage package you can have the line rental and the dsl for 25 per month. Obviously if you need these in volume then you can get them cheaper over a provider who will do wlr/cps too.

fov · 16th December 2008

Ive got Voda and TMob and have used 3.
3 was a total waste of time. Lasted 2 weekes before I returned it.
TMob is ok. Fine for browsing etc. Can use apps via a CAG. Drops to GPRS a lot but Im in North Yorkshire.
Voda was great. Better than TMob for speed, 3G coverage and reliability. Its now tied to the company who gave it to me now so its not really used much now.

aguk · 16th December 2008

I've never had a problem with t-mobile coverage. Got a USB modem with a 2 metre USB lead so tend to stick it on the window with some blu-tak.

I have set-up the 3G modem in the middle of a field before using a draytek router and VOIP to allow a mobile office to e set up for a building site. Worked a treat and comfortably handled 4 people in the office. It managed a stable HSDPA connection at 3.6 so perhaps I was lucky.

TDMWeb · 16th December 2008

Has anyone used the Voda "top up and go" 3G stick, which is "pay as you go"?

Does the data allowance (1GB when you buy the stick for £39) expire? After how long? Can't see any info on their site about this.

I'm interested in getting one as a backup, but don't want something that's going to run out after 30 days like 3's offering does.

MK Hosting · 16th December 2008

I use a vodafone 3G with no problems, I have used RDP on it before without any problems. Although it can be a bit slow depending on the signal you have.

Generally it works very well, I get good signal and speeds in most places. Only down side is the way its NATed which means you can net get anything in.