dbbarron

Now that's it's the off season, I'm digging into this again.

Goal is a local track network hosted by my router with a NAS and which can use the track Wifi as available for internet but fail over to a LTE connection. That way my laptop has simultaneous access to a large drive plus internet plus anything else on the network (e.g., a car data system with Wifi which can join the network like an AIM EVO5).

It seems like any of the new Cradlepoint mobile routers will essentially do this provided I add a small NAS to them (Synology has an embedded one that looks good and tough which would then use a ruggedized USB 3.0 drive or SSD.

I could build the whole thing into a box (pelican or even ammo box) with a 12V battery.

Matt Romanowski

I love it. I'm thinking about putting something like this together this winter. I'm still hopeful the Link will come out and do everything in one small device https://fasetto.link/ I had one ordered last year, but they delayed until this December. I've been watching, but I think it might be vaporware.

dbbarron

I need to look over both the Cradlepoint and Peplink websites. Any of the Cradelpoint routers seem to have 'Wifi as WAN" with a prioritized failover list. This is what would allow the persona track network to default to track Wifi for WAN and then failover to a hotspot in case there is no track Wifi. In my instance, my phone would be the hotspot. Alternatively, if you wanted, the cradlepoint (and other brand) devices can include a LTE modem, but you would need to get a separate data plan for that device which I want to avoid. My phone hotspot is fine in a pinch.

The one issue I need to research is the Wifi standard. Many of these devices appear to still use 802.11n. I want an 802.11a unit to maximize access speed to the NAS from the laptop.

I may email some of the router company customer service when I get a chance.

Only the most expensive mobile routers seem to support 802.11AC and all the other needed features. These are $900 routers. Steep considering the 802.11 mobile routers from these companies can be had in the $200 range. Again, they are overkill on any fronts.

Lastly, one could use a standard NAS, but these have fans and are not super tough. Industrial rugges NAS are again expensive. There is a decent synology unit that could be paired with a rugged portable USB drive, but again expensive.

Ideally, I'd use a ruggedized mobile device for the router and NAS; but I think I can get close with much less expensive components.

Here is an example:

Mobile Router:
Cradlepoint IBR-900 $900

https://cradlepoint.com/products/cor-ibr900-series

NAS
Synology EDS14 $450
https://www.synology.com/en-uk/products/EDS14://

Ruggedized USB 3.0 drive:
Lacie 4TM $200
https://www.lacie.com/professional/rugged/

dbbarron

The less costly, but less rugged and larger approach is:

Pepwave Surf Solo ($200) mobile Router:
https://www.peplink.com/products/pepwave-surf-soho/

Synology DS116 or newer 118 NAS + a drive of choice $150-$200.
https://www.synology.com/en-us/products/DS116

Alternatively, a router and external rugged USB drive can be used, say a Linksys WR1200AC $150. Many other good choices in routers with USB drive support.

ShakeNBake

I looked into LTE modems for a friend who is trying to do something similar. There are a few options, but it comes down to how quickly they are adding new LTE bands. Not all modems support all cell bands for each carrier.

I think the best option is to get a cheap/simple router that has an LTE modem built in, and leave wifi and hardline switching to dedicated equipment that is more than happy to run on your "local trailer network". If you run native gigabit both wired and to modern 5ghz wifi, speed/throughput on your lan to run appleTV/screen share and a NAS are not going to be a problem.

The LTE modems are going to be throw away every year if you want the latest in speed as you move around the country. There are already new bands launching this year than peplink does not support for instance.

Check out this unit - it seemed like the best option to me, paired with a good AC Accesspoint/gigabit switch.

Another option is an ATT LTE hotspot, but most are wireless AC - and I am dubious as to their actual throughput and range.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/at-t-un...?skuId=5073100

NAS-wise, your macbook with a 2TB SSD Thunderbolt/USBC external drive will blow away any NAS system you buy, not even a contest. I have a modern NAS with 6 modern platters at home, and it maybe pulls 200MB (byte)/sec. A thunderbolt attached SSD can do 3-4x that, and you can run over it with your race car.

If you use your macbook (or PC) as the file server, you have so many more options to stay current with new services or add funky new things. My 1yr old NAS is already obsolete in that regard.

Just my .02

dbbarron

Agreed on all counts. The one issue faced that I think is only solved by a 'mobile router' is having a single trailer network that one can connect to NAS and Internet through. Otherwise, if my laptop Wifi is connected to the track network, it can't be connected to the NAS and vice versa. The mobile routers support 'WAN over Wifi' with prioritized fallback. That way, free higher speed track Wifi networks take higher priority for the trailer network WAN than a personal hotspot which provides the failover WAN for the trailer network (agreed, best to use a late model 'disposable one'; in my case, my phone).

As to a local drive on my laptop, I'm constantly shuttling it from my car roof to my comfy chair and don't want a USB stick hanging out or little external drive dangling. A NAS (even a one bay unit) just provides near infinite storage relative to a laptop native storage.

dbbarron

Well, it's off season again which means I'm tuning up the laptop and other IT elements of the track setup.

I'm now playing with a GLInet AR-750s router attached to a Rasberry PI 4 B with external SSD setup as a Samba file server.
The whole rig is housed in a plastic ammo-style case with a 12v battery.

The Slate creates a Wifi network which can be joined by my laptop and the car (AIM EVO 5 logger) can also join.
At that point the laptop can download from the EVO5. In addition, the laptop has access to the SSD in the NAS.
Lastly, the Slate is setup for Wifi over WAN so it can provide internet connectivity through my phone hotspot or track Wifi if available,

Since the Slate supports Wifi over WAN, I can leave my laptop on a single Wifi network and connect to both the EVO ,NAS and the internet.

Still playing, but I think this is a good combo. The PI4b and Slatee are both very inexpensive.

I'm getting 30-40MB/s NAS speeds over Wifi.