KR1/KR2 good choice for small retail business?

jmpage2 · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 25 Feb 2008 Posts: 18

Hi guys, I'm wondering if I can get some guidance. I happened upon the topic of the R1/R2 after starting to do some research into cell routers. I'm an experienced network engineer but have never had to contemplate cell routers before.

My wife is in the process of starting up a small dental office and has been blocked at every turn when it comes to getting Internet access. She can't get any access at this time (maybe forever) from the major DSL/Cable providers in the area, even though her office is in a large retail strip mall in a suburban area.

How well would something like the K1/K2 work for such an application? There would be about 6 PCs in the premise but they would only be checking light email and web application access.

Ideally the box would be robust enough (and hardened enough) to provide the following services;

DHCP server for the network
Dynamic DNS for remote access
VPN host (so I can VPN to the network to support it)
IPSEC firewall
etc.

Is the R1/R2 a good solution? I had been looking at more "robust" solutions such as the much more expensive Proxicast router which from what I can tell is a full blown router/firewall/VPN solution.

Is there a different box/product I should be looking at?

Thanks again!

Mackieman · EVDO Junkie Joined: 31 Oct 2005 Posts: 491

The KR2 will work for all of your needs except VPN. KR2 does not offer VPN concentrator services like a Cisco PIX or Sonicwall unit does. KR2 simply allows VPN traffic to pass through (much better than KR1 did). If having a VPN is a requirement for your network, you could get a small VPN concentrator and set it up in the DMZ of a KR2. This will create a double NAT but you can write some firewall rules in KR2 to mitigate that issue, especially when you consider that you will not be running a lot of advanced applications over the network.

jmpage2 · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 25 Feb 2008 Posts: 18

Mackieman · EVDO Junkie Joined: 31 Oct 2005 Posts: 491

I'm not aware of any EVDO-capable routers out there today that include a VPN concentrator service. Mike and the 3GStore guys may know better as they touch more of the market than I do.

firedude · EVDO Junkie Joined: 26 Mar 2007 Posts: 435

In addition I would also look at bandwidth usage. Do you have any idea what the office would use? For one Verizon after the 1st of March will charge $1 per MB over their 5 Gig per month limit and they oppose routers (against the TOS I beleive). Now Sprint on the other hand has no bandwidth cap and it's OK per their TOS to run a router. Just food for thought if you go this route.

jmpage2 · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 25 Feb 2008 Posts: 18

Mackieman · EVDO Junkie Joined: 31 Oct 2005 Posts: 491

jmpage2 · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 25 Feb 2008 Posts: 18

jmpage2 · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 25 Feb 2008 Posts: 18

One more thing. Is there something about the Cradlepoint router that's superior to the KR2?

I see several posts in the history of this forum that indicate moderators, etc, seem to feel that the Cradlepoint box is far superior to the KR2 for some reason.

Alex · Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 5:52 pm Post subject:

Alex · Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2008 5:12 pm Post subject:

THE KYOCERA KR2 IS NOW AVAILABLE AND SHIPS 03/17/08!
Kyocera KR2 Router Review is online at http://www.EVDOinfo.com/KR2

kentrox_info · EVDO Vendor Joined: 25 Apr 2008 Posts: 1

Kentrox out of Hillsboro, OR has a 3G router, W1100, that has IPSEC IKE VPN built-in. The unit does not have built-in WIFI though. It's a PCMCIA router with a single Ethernet port. It only works with three (3) Sierra Wireless cards, but supports all the three major carriers, Aircard 595 (Sprint & Verizon), Aircard 875 & 881 (AT&T).

-kentrox_info
P.S. I work for the company

JoeCHecht · EVDO Junkie Joined: 05 Jan 2008 Posts: 409

jmpage2 · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 25 Feb 2008 Posts: 18

I just wanted to provide an update to this thread with an update. While Comcast is in the "planning" phases of providing service to my wife's building, apparently there are legal negotiations that must happen between Comcast and the building management company. In my experience that means that it could be months if not a year or more before service is actually available.

As a result I have ordered the MBR1000 and Sprint 597U card from 3GStore. They will be delivered tomorrow. This question might be better asked in the Cradlepoint forum and the mods can move it there if desired.

While I am excited that there IS an option that will not break the bank and will allow for some decent network connection speeds, I am now worried about the Sprint 5GB per month cap coming in July. I have a few questions if people don't mind;

1. Is there a bandwidth counter in the MBR1000 that can be used to track the monthly bandwidth usage? Any way to send an email or SNMP trap if a certain bandwidth counter is exceeded? It's a small office with only three employees and five PCs but they will be doing medical claims and I will be backing up digital images, etc, to an offsite service such as Mozy.

2. Can I run my RV042 VPN concentrator behind the MBR1000 and still use its VPN services? I would want to be able to get into the network via Dynamic DNS and activate a VPN tunnel that would allow me to access and manage the remote network.

3. I have read a lot of things about dropped connections, etc, when using 3G wireless routers. Is there any way to set up an automated reboot of the router at a certain time of day, etc? The office staff are completely non technical and would have no clue about how to reboot the router, etc, if they had trouble.

Thanks again for all the help. 3G store staff were helpful today in getting us activated. I was only disappointed when I discovered via Gizmodo that Sprint was going to begin capping bandwidth on their EVDO service and, as a result, piss of their customers.

Alex · Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2008 7:00 am Post subject: