Remote Access Gateway Solution

[Lukey]

Curious if anyone has a DIY solution for mobile/4G remote access to connect to a device with the Service Tool?

Previously I used the CS500 for connection remotely to a device with the Service Tool, this worked as intended and the price was reasonable.

Now that the CS500 is discontinued the recommended alternative is the Proemion product, however pricing I have received for the hardware and the subsequent subscription/token for the data/connection is outright ridiculous and not a viable solution in my opinion, especially in a fleet situation, there is no reduction in costs for the Proemion subscription/token the more you have, unlike the Danfoss Connect where you could have multiple devices, Proemion want to charge you for each 'connect portal' the full amount each regardless how many devices are being used, all i want is access to the service tool, i don't require their portal and logging features.

My DIY solution is the use of a 4G Ewon Cosy (This is a remote gateway that creates a VPN), with the enabling of the USB over IP feature of the Ewon I can then plug the CG-150 to the USB port of the Ewon and connect the CG-150 to the Danfoss CAN device, the link can be seen made on the Service Tool, I have tested this working.
(Perks of the Ewon is the price and basic/free subscription that has enough features for my use case, so the only ongoing cost is a 4G Mobile Data plan)

Initial testing of the solution I found that the Service Tool link was 'slow' with the status alternating from Connected to Disconnected, the CAN status LED on the CG-150 was flickering slow and the Log period status 'Feedback' was registering very high 800-1000 range.

Some obvious latency happening here, I can ready values and make changes to parameters in the Service Tool program, however I don't think I would be able to push a new program to a controller with this amount of latency/lag, I haven't tested that part yet.

I figure to combat this I could adjust some of teh settings in the Service Tool > Communication (tab) > Manage Protocols, in particular KPW2000_STMin and AddTimeOut

Thoughts?

[sverreo]

We use a VPN tunnel with ethernet/WiFi connection to DM1000 or CS10. This works really well for downloads and logging, but obviously there is more latency than a direct connection.
Tosibox.com have 4G modules that are easy to use.

I've been looking for a solution were we can use USB/CG150 in cases without Interlink avalilability, so please update this post if you get there

[BRIan]

I've used a mini PC without a screen. CG150 connected. AnyDesk to connect and operate (uses a password). You can add a VPN if you think necessary. Use local Wi-Fi or a 4G stick. You can get the PC to start up if supply is applied but you could get the operator to power up the Mini PC as I see this as a good safety precaution, especially if you are manipulating parameters.

[Lukey]

I did end up getting this to work, it required testing with a lot of different hardware but I landed on a robust working configuration

My initial solution using a 4G Ewon Cosy with the USB to IP feature and a CG-150 worked however with a few caveats.
- The USB connection was slow, only good for monitoring, not downloading programs.
- The CG-150 was not automatically detect on the USB port, it needed to be plug into the Ewon every time after the VPN connection was made to be detected.
- The service tool did allowed me to view pages and parameters but there was not able to download new program, however the latency was so large that i was not able to download a program to a controller, the connection would fault on time out latency.

The working solution was a Teltonika RTU241 and Kvaser Ethercan Light HS (EAN: 73-30130-00713-0)
I could have used the 4G Ewon Cosy instead of the Teltonika TRU241 however I went with the latter as it has eSIM capabilities, it has Built in WiFi and was cheaper.
Using the Kvaser Ethercan was ultimately the most important hardware selection, this keep the latency to a low level and therefor the service tool did not detect any issues and did not fault.
I was able to download to a DM1200 a full program (80mbs) without issue.
Having the WiFi is also important as this allows the Plus+1 device to be connected to remotely or connecting to the Wifi of the RTU241, therefor that makes the module suitable for all fixed or mobile applications, all you need is a computer and you can connect to the system locally or remotely, no need to plug in once looking at the machine locally.