Performance Question About KNOT Embedded LTE4 (EC25-EU)

[aliaskorea]

Hello,

I recently purchased the KNOT Embedded LTE4 (EC25-EU version).

I understand that the EG25-G version may be released soon, but since I needed to complete the setup, I decided not to wait and proceeded with the EC25-EU.

The EC25-EU does not support Band 5. In Seoul, South Korea, my ISP (SKT) supports Bands 1, 3, 5, and 7. I was initially concerned about compatibility, but fortunately, the device mostly connects on Band 3 and works properly. The SINR is around 11.

Since this is my first experience using an LTE modem, I don’t have a good reference for what should be considered normal speed. Currently, I am getting approximately 30 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload.

Compared to my smartphone, the speed seems lower, but general internet usage and YouTube streaming work fine.

I wondered whether the lack of Band 5 support could be the reason, but as I understand it, this is a CAT4 device without Carrier Aggregation (CA), so it cannot combine multiple bands anyway. Since it mainly connects to Band 3, I assume Band 5 support would not make a significant difference.

I would appreciate your opinion on whether the current speed is reasonable for this device and signal condition. Also, are there any settings that could help improve stability or performance?

Additionally, I have seen some information about LTE passthrough mode. I would be grateful if you could explain how it works and whether it would be beneficial in my case.

Thank you.

[itimo01]

Without checking more i would already recommend moving your antennas/knot embedded away from the rack.

Metals arent usually nice to wireless signals.

9db SINR/SNR isn’t amazing or anything but its alright.
Does it drop during your speedtest?

Also, you can use cell mapper to check the capabilities of your local cell including channel width.

As for LTE Passthrough:
It will passthrough the IP address of the LTE side so that your KNOT becomes a "modem” rather than a router.

[aliaskorea]

The router's location is currently fixed, making it difficult to remove. However, I'll try repositioning it.

During testing, the speeds didn't drop significantly.
They were between 25 and 30 Mbps down and 10 and 15 Mbps up.

Do you have any information on LTE passthrough?
This seems to be the method I'm looking for.

Thank you for your kind response.

[itimo01]

@aliaskorea

During testing, the speeds didn't drop significantly.
They were between 25 and 30 Mbps down and 10 and 15 Mbps up.

Oh sorry. I didnt mean the speeds dropping but the SINR dropping when the interface gets loaded

[aliaskorea]

Yes, the SINR fluctuates. It's currently mounted on a DIN rail, so I think I'll have to use it for the time being. Could you tell me more about pass-through?

[itimo01]

How much does the SINR fluctuate?

When using LTE passthrough the knot “bridges” LTE to it's Ethernet.

Meaning the device behind the knot will get the LTE IP.

For example:

knot (LTE passthrough) → OPNSense → Computer

In this setup the OPNSense will have the IP-Address of the LTE.

NAT and everything else will be done by OPNSense

Compared to:

Knot → OPNSense → Computer

Here the knot will have the LTE IP and might have to use NAT on its own CPU for other devices to reach the internet.

Iirc mikrotik does this by bridging Ethernet and lte

[aliaskorea]

Pass-through was successful. Previously, ROS was in Bridge mode.

When using it in router mode, the LTE was in front of the main router, so it didn't show up in Winbox.

However, when I set it to Pass-through, it did. Since there was only one LAN,

I configured a VLAN and used it to pass-through.

It worked fine. SINR is about 5-15

Thank you so musch!

[lucas4563]

Good about this , ITs an amazing

[aliaskorea]

Thank you. MikroTik is very good!