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Dale_Lobb
Advisor

1590 LTE SMB blues...

  Does anyone at CheckPoint actually know what carriers are supported by the 1590 LTE SMB firewall?

  My employer as a need for a unified LTE modem/firewall/WiFi system to support mobile Covid-19 drive-through testing clinics. The first such clinic has been operating for the last two months using a hastily cobbled together solution that includes a non-checkpoint LTE modem and a wired 1550 SMB appliance operating in local management. But the solution is quite complex to troubleshoot, has some some management issues that were not able to be resolved before deployment, and has no WiFi capability. So in addition to the clinic transportation truck having to carry 300 foot of cat 6 patch cable for every device attached to the 1550 (eight to ten devices total), the setup has no remote management or troubleshooting options at all.

  Anyway, after the initial rush job to get the first mobile clinic out the door, we started looking around for a unified LTE/Firewall/WiFi solution to use for the next one and any other major mobile endeavor (such as truck mounted mobile diagnostic imaging systems). We quickly noticed the new 1590 LTE SMB appliance that had been out since the beginning of March and asked Checkpoint to supply a POC device.

  We took custody of the POC device in mid May, but had to delay working with it for a couple of weeks while we upgraded our management system to R80.40 in order to be able to place the device under central management. So, at the beginning of June, we purchased a Verizon wireless plan, ordered a SIM card and started working on the POC setup. Based on sk157412's list of supported radio frequencies, we had no reason to believe that Verizon would not be supported, especially since the 1590 LTE variant had been announced in sk157412 on the 3rd of March, so at this point, it was over three months since first availability. However, on June 8th, when we tried to register the 1590 with Verizon, it came back as unsupported. Verizon informed us that this was a CheckPoint issue, that the 1590 LTE had not completed certification.

  So, we went back to out local CheckPoint engineer, who sent an inquiry to R&D. R&D sent back a reply saying that they were working on Verizon certification but it might be a few weeks yet. They also referenced a new SK, published on June 7th, sk167276, that seems to indicate with somewhat odd wording that there are actually no certified network carriers as of the date of publication. To whit:

Carriers support:

The 1590 LTE uses a fully certified cellular modem of Sierra, covering WW by 2 modules.

As such, all granted carriers/operators are approved.

There are a few exceptions that require a special process, as seen below.

Check Point will certify the below following market demand.

US/EU:

AT&T
Rogers
Sprint
Verizon
Verizon-ALO
Bell
Vodafone
Telus
US Cellular
SouthernLINC

  BTW: The only special processes documented in the SK concern how to install the SIM card. Also, there is anecdotal evidence from US based CheckPoint engineers that T-Mobile works quite well with the 1590 LTE; but T-Mobile isn't even a listed carrier.

  Anyway, I asked the local CheckPoint engineer to inquire of R&D to find out which carriers ARE currently certified. However, even with her pushing, her manager pushing and some others, R&D has been silent on this question for almost a week.

  In the meantime, my boss is not very happy. My initial report on the project was that we have lots of experience with CheckPoint SMB devices, and while the 1590 and LTE modem are new to us, surely we would have something to show in a week or two at most. And my boss reported that good faith estimate to hospital senior leaders, who are keeping on top of anything Covid-19 related. Now he has had to retract that statement and report that our work on this front is at a standstill, with no progress currently in sight

  The window of opportunity for CheckPoint in the arena is closing fast. The 1590 LTE costs three times as much as similar offerings we have seen from other vendors. In order to justify that price tag, it has to work better/faster/smarter. And the documentation has to make sense, not look like the device was released with major functionality missing. If my boss has to pull the plug on this POC, it's one more mark against CheckPoint as a reliable partner.

  So, my question directly to CheckPoint senior leaders: Does anyone actually know what carriers are supported by the 1590 LTE? Pushing from the bottom to get answers isn't working, it's time for a push from the top.

14 Replies
HristoGrigorov

Out of curiosity , do you have TAC case opened about this?

 

0 Kudos
_Val_
Admin
Admin

@Dale_Lobb , I second this question. If you do have a ST, please send me via PM, thanks

0 Kudos
G_W_Albrecht
Legend
Legend

Possibly move this to SMB Appliances ? Makes more sense...

CCSE CCTE CCSM SMB Specialist
0 Kudos
Dale_Lobb
Advisor

Sorry, but what is an "ST"?

0 Kudos
HristoGrigorov

ST = Support Ticket

0 Kudos
Dale_Lobb
Advisor

Ah, ok.

No, I do not have a TAC case open for this.  The issue seems more basic, since the unit isn't broken, it just cannot be used on the Verizon network.

0 Kudos
HristoGrigorov

You may contact TAC about any help you need with your device - licenses, configuration issues, general questions etc. 

But I think AviG provided you already with info and contact point if you need further assistance.

0 Kudos
Wolfgang
Authority
Authority

Very interesting informations.

We are planning to replace a bunch of 1100 appliances with external LTE-router attached with these aplliance type.

Maybee we should wait some time for the next release ?

Wolfagng

AviG
Employee
Employee

Hi,
The 1570/90 WLTE appliances are using internal LTE components from a leading vendor, which support all carriers, except from the ones listed on sk167276 (https://supportcenter.checkpoint.com/supportcenter/portal?eventSubmit_doGoviewsolutiondetails=&solut...).

The carriers on that list require additional approval which we are working to obtain.
If you have an urgent need for a specific carrier, please contact me directly at avig@checkpoint.com.
Thanks,
Avi

RalphLopez
Explorer

I have used both Verizon and AT&T SIMS in 1570R and 1590 devices. I have an open ticket with TAC on SIC and policy management issues through the LTE link, but it can temporarily be resolved by changing the cell0 mtu to 1400 (ifconfig cell0 mtu 1400 up), though this does not survive reboot. I also have a VPN tunnel to the appliance that remains up, so even if the mtu fails back to 1500, I can access the device to change the mtu from cli, then push policy again. There is also a bug that if you change the mtu on cell0 through WebUI, it doesn't actually do anything, it has to be done from cli at the moment.

0 Kudos
Dale_Lobb
Advisor

  It is good to hear that CheckPoint is making progress on this front.  Back in June I was not able to get the Verizon SIM card to work at all. 

  Subsequent to my last post here, I received word from CheckPoint that certification with Verizon was in the works, but was not expected to be completed until October.  I am anxiously wait for notification of the completed certification so that we can finally start our proof of concept.

  Thanks for the news!

0 Kudos
Amir_Ayalon
Employee
Employee

Hi

Setting MTU for LTE connection will be fixed in the upcoming firmware (R80.20.15) ~ 15 Oct 2020

You might also like to know, that the 1590 is now officially certified with AT&T. (Verizon - work in progress)

SK and documentation will be updated once the firmware will be released.

 

Dale_Lobb
Advisor

  Is Verizon certification still on track for completion this month?

  Also, will sk167276 be updated to reflect certified carriers as the process is completed?

0 Kudos
Amir_Ayalon
Employee
Employee

Hopefully.

Yes.

0 Kudos

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