Package: nbiot
NB-IoT Scanner ToolThis is a NB-IoT scanner tool made for finding problems and evaluating
network coverage in smart meter rollouts.Built by Palmlund Wahlgren Innovative Technology AB in Sweden. We offer it
as a part of our free tooling for customers of our AMR solution,
Utilitarian.https://www.utilitarian.ioBut it can of course be used by anyone wanting to analyse coverage and
finding problems in IoT solutions based on NB-IoT.You will need a Ublox SARA N211 NB-IoT module connected via a serial
interface, like USB.Use CasesNetwork StatisticsUse thenbiot statscommand to get a table of the current network statistics.
Run a couple of commands after the initial connect. The device can start en ECL 2 and
move up after a while.It is usually only necessary to look at the ECL (Extended Coverage Level) metric.
ECL 0 is good, ECL 1 is worse and ECL 2 the worst. In the higher ECL the repetitions
of the messages (radio level) are increased and it will take longer to send data and
it will use more battery.It is also easy to see if there is a problem with your device or with the network by
using this tool to try and connect to the network in close proximity to the
malfunctioning device. We try to and use a similar antenna type as the device we are
investigating so that we get reasonable result. Checking for connection problems on a
device with a built in PCB antenna  using a large external antenna is not comparable.But it can be good to check both because if you can get a connection using a larger
antenna your MNO might be able to do some optimizations.IoT Solution Networking and Firewall checksIt is useful to use thenbiot pingcommand to make sure your devices and SIM are set
up correctly at the MNO with for example a VPN to your datacenter.We are currently working on making the UDP send functionality available over the CLI.
This can be used on conjunction with our simple UDP loggerprotologto set up a listening server on the
receiving end and make sure all firewall rules are applied correctly.InstallationRequires python>=3.6pipinstallnbiotUsageUse the--helpto get the CLI documentation>>nbiot--help
Usage:nbiot[OPTIONS]COMMAND[ARGS]...ThisisaNB-IoTScannersoftwarebuiltbyPalmlundWahlgrenInnovativeTechnologyABinSwedenforuseinfindingproblemsandevaluatingnetworkcoverageinsmartmeterrollouts.YouwillneedaUbloxNB-IoTmodule(SARAN211forexample)connectedviaaserialinterface,likeUSB.

Options:-p,--portTEXTRegistertheserialporttouse--roaming/--home-networkIndicateiftheMNOisusinghomenetworkorroamingstatus--mnoTEXTIDofMNO(MobileNetworkOperator)ex.TeliaSweden=24001-l,--loglevel[DEBUG|INFO|WARNING]Chooseloglevel--psmIfPowerSaveModeshouldbeused.--apnTEXTchooseapn--helpShowthismessageandexit.

Commands:connectConnecttothenetworkandgetgeneralinfoonmoduleandnetworkpingPinganIPaddressrebootRebootthemodulestatsPrintstatisticsfromthemodule.Using the--helpon a command gives more information about a command. Ex:>>nbiotping--help
Usage:nbiotping[OPTIONS]IPPinganIPaddress

Options:-r,--runsINTEGERHowmanytimesshouldweping--helpShowthismessageandexit.HardwareYou will need a Ublox SARA N211 NB-IoT module connected via a serial interface, like USB.
Either you make your own board or you buy a development board for quick setup.
We use this one with a passthrough program loaded on the Arduino:https://shop.sodaq.com/sodaq-sara-aff-n211.htmlWe have chosen to only support the SARA N211 because it gives the most statistics about
the network of the Ublox modules we have tried out.NotesHome network vs roamingYour SIM might be for home network or roaming. Make sure you know which you need to
use. If it doesn't work and you can't connect try switching. Default is roaming.0.0.1 (2020-07-07)Initial version after updating the docs to be useful.