Cellular Adapters

One of the original use cases for the Ericsson/CradlePoint Wireless adapters was to provide failover for the primary internet connection. The Cellular Adapter would monitor the primary internet connection. When it detected a failure it would pass all of the internet traffic to the adapter, using IP Passthru. When the Cellular Adapter detected the return of the primary internet connection, it would failback to the primary connection.

This service is still the primary function of the Cellular Adapters. However, today's adapters are much more powerful.

There are 2 ways to connect a Cellular Adapter for failover. The first is as described above where the Cellular Adapter controls the failover. The second is where the router (such as Cisco) controls the failover.

Another feature of the Cellular Adapters is that they allow for Out-of-Band-Management. Out-of-band management is a process for accessing and managing devices and infrastructure at remote locations. The Cellular Adapter allows you to manage the system router without a truck roll. Functions such as rebooting the router or upgrading the router may be performed remotely.

In recent years, Ericsson/CradlePoint has introduced a concept called 'Captive Modems'. Captive modems are Cellular Adapters which function as an ancillary modem which is separate from the Ericsson/CradlePoint router (controller). This allows for the captive modem to be place in a location which has good reception and the controller to be placed in a secure location where other equipment is stored.

Adapters which can perform as captive modems include:

• L950 - 4G LTE
• W1850 - 5G
• W1855 - 5G - outdoor

Additional Ericsson/CradlePoint routers may be used as captive modems. The R2105 and R2155, although not characterized as adapters, may also be used as captive modems. The advantage of the R2100 series as captive modems is that they come complete with antennas.

Ericsson/CradlePoint Routers which can perform as the controller for the Captive Modem include:

• E3000
• E300
• R1900
• R920
• IBR1700

For example, a W1855 can be mounted on a roof where signal strength is optimal, while a E3000 router can be mounted in the computer room with the other electronic equipment.

The remaining difference in the cellular adapters is the modem choices. The L950 uses a Cat 7 4G LTE modem. The W1850 and W1855 come with a 5G modem.