Victron Energy recommend the Proroute H685 router for remote site monitoring. This article explains how Millbeck specifies the Proroute router, and provisions the IoT SIM behind it so you can reach the site as well as monitor it.

A Victron Energy system reaches the VRM Portal over a cellular router whenever the site has no fixed line, which covers most off-grid, remote and battery storage installations. Millbeck supplies Proroute H685 4G & H685 5G routers and IoT SIMs together for these sites, because the link has to stay up for months with nobody there to reboot it, and because the way the SIM is provisioned decides whether you can remotely access the equipment for troubleshooting.

This article is written for installers and system integrators specifying the connectivity on a Victron installation. It covers what Victron recommends, why the H685 suits, how to provision the SIM for remote access, how to size the data allowance, and when a 5G router is worth the upgrade.

Why a Victron Site Needs a Cellular Router

A Victron GX device needs internet connectivity to send data to the VRM Portal. On remote and off-grid sites where fixed broadband is unavailable, that connectivity is typically provided by a 4G or 5G cellular router.

The GX device, most often a Cerbo GX, collects data from the inverter, charger, battery system and other connected equipment, then uploads it to Victron's VRM platform. Victron's Cerbo GX manual describes a MultiPlus-II or Quattro connecting over VE.Bus, and SmartSolar and BlueSolar MPPT charge controllers and battery monitors connecting over VE.Direct. Installers and asset owners can then view performance data, receive alarms, access the Remote Console and troubleshoot the system remotely.

A GX Touch display shows the same readings on site. The internet connection is what gives you those readings when you are not there.

Any reliable internet connection can be used, including fixed broadband over Ethernet or Wi-Fi. However, many Victron installations are located where fixed connectivity is unavailable or impractical, such as battery storage systems, off-grid sites, agricultural installations, welfare units and utility infrastructure.

In these situations, a cellular router such as the Proroute H685 provides the link between the Victron system and the internet. The GX device connects to the router over Ethernet, while the router uses an IoT SIM to connect to the mobile network and reach the VRM platform.

The router's role goes beyond providing internet access. On unattended sites it delivers the reliability, automatic recovery and remote access features needed to manage equipment that may be hundreds of miles away. SIM provisioning is equally important. A standard data SIM allows the GX device to upload data to VRM, while public fixed IPs, private APNs and VPNs enable secure remote access for commissioning, diagnostics and maintenance.

This is why Victron points installers to professional cellular routers for remote installations, and names the Proroute H685 among its examples. The objective is not simply to get data into VRM, but to maintain a reliable and manageable communications link throughout the life of the system.

What Victron Recommends for Cellular Connectivity

Victron recommends professional cellular routers rather than consumer equipment, and its GX internet connectivity manual names 'H685 4G LTE from Proroute' as one of its examples.

The recommendation of a Proroute H685 cellular router matters because M2M routers are designed for connectivity on IoT projects such as connecting Victron energy systems.

Victron sells the GX LTE 4G, a modem that plugs into the GX device. However, it does a different job. Victron's manual states that with the GX LTE 4G, 'Sharing the internet with laptops, phones, or other devices is not possible'. Where the site has anything else to connect, for example, a camera, a second controller, a commissioning laptop, a Proroute router is the right choice.

Why the Proroute H685 Suits an Unattended Victron Site

The Proroute H685 suits sites with Victron controllers because it can run directly from the battery bank, tolerate the temperatures found in unheated enclosures, and automatically restart itself through ping reboot when connectivity drops.

It Runs From the DC You Already Have

Proroute specifies a 7 V to 30 V DC input range for the H685 4G models. On a 12 V or 24 V Victron system, the router runs from the existing DC distribution, with no mains supply and no dependency on the inverter for the monitoring link.

It Recovers Without a Site Visit

The Proroute H685 features 'built-in keep alive persistence technology and configurable ping reboot features'. Ping reboot is a simple feature that can save many site visits: the router pings a target address at a set interval and, if replies stop for long enough, automatically restarts itself. Many connectivity issues on remote sites can be resolved automatically in this way.

It Is Designed for Enclosure Installation

The Proroute H685 4G has an operating temperature range of -30 °C to 70 °C. That range covers unheated plant rooms, containers and roadside cabinets in winter, as well as the elevated temperatures often found inside sealed enclosures during summer.

All figures in the table are published by Proroute. Peak rates are theoretical maximums for the modem, and Proroute notes that 'the bandwidth is peak value. Real value depends on carrier network support'. The rate a Victron site actually sees depends on the network and the signal at the cabinet.

The Antenna Makes a Big Difference

A Victron battery enclosure is usually a metal box, and a router sitting inside it with the stick/stub or magnetic mount antennas on the inside of the box is the most common cause of poor connectivity. An external antenna mounted outside the enclosure does more for stability than any setting in the router.

The SIM Does Two Jobs on a Victron Site

The SIM in a Proroute H685 does two jobs on a Victron site: it keeps the link up when one network is weak, and it decides whether you can reach the site from your desk.

Multi-Network Roaming Keeps the Link Up

The Proroute H685 has one SIM slot, so resilience against a single network has to come from the SIM rather than from a second SIM or modem. Millbeck supplies UK roaming SIMs that can attach to more than one UK network. On a remote site that is often the difference between a usable link and a marginal one, because the operator with the best coverage at a hilltop battery installation is rarely the operator you would have picked from an office.

Be clear about what a roaming SIM does, though. It re-selects a network when the one it is on stops serving the site, and re-selection takes time. It is not the instant cutover of a dual SIM, dual modem router, and it does not override good antenna selection.

Remote Access Needs a Fixed IP or a VPN

A standard IoT SIM gives the router a private address behind carrier-grade NAT. Carrier-grade NAT is the operator sharing one public address between many SIMs, so nothing outside the operator's network can reach the router directly. Outbound traffic still works, which is what VRM logging needs: Victron's manual requires the GX device to reach ccgxlogging.victronenergy.com on ports 80 and 443, and that connection is made from the site outwards.

What a standard SIM will not give you is a way back into the router. You cannot open the router's web interface, or reach a Modbus TCP connection into the Cerbo GX to read a MultiPlus-II, a SmartSolar MPPT or a BMS on the same LAN. On an unattended Victron site that is the difference between fixing something from your desk and putting a van on the road. Millbeck provisions the SIM for that access in one of two ways.

Millbeck's IoT SIMs support private and public fixed IPs, private APNs that route traffic through an isolated network path, and IPsec and SSL VPN tunnels for encrypted traffic. On most Victron installations we specify the private APN with a VPN, because it gives the same access as a public IP without exposing the devices to a public routable IP. A public fixed IP earns its place where a third party's platform has to poll the site directly and cannot terminate a tunnel at its end.

The router does its part too. The H685 supports IPsec, OpenVPN as client and server, L2TP and PPTP, so it can terminate a tunnel itself where the design calls for that rather than a private APN. Worth pairing either approach with the SIM-level controls: an IMEI lock binds the SIM to that router, and traffic filtering restricts it to approved endpoints, so a SIM pulled out of a cabinet is no use to anyone.

Sizing the Data Allowance for VRM

A Victron VRM link uses a modest amount of data, but the figure depends on the size of the system and on how much you use the remote console.

Victron's Cerbo GX manual gives approximately 25 MB per month of logged data at a one-minute log interval. Victron is careful to say the total is system dependent, noting that 'The amount of data used is also very dependent on the system', and advises watching the 'internet RX and TX counters' on the router to work out what a particular installation actually needs.

Logging is only part of the traffic. Remote Console sessions, two-way control such as changing a MultiPlus-II setting from VRM, and remote firmware updates all add to the total, and an installer who spends an afternoon in the console on a commissioning day will use more in that afternoon than the site logs in a month. Victron advises setting a data cap to avoid excess charges and lengthening the log interval where the connection is expensive. Millbeck offers data capping on most IoT SIM networks.

How We Set Up an H685 Before It Ships

Millbeck configures the router before dispatch so the installer plugs it in, connects the Ethernet cable to the GX device and sees the site appear in VRM.

1. Current Firmware We load current firmware onto the router before it leaves us, so the first job on site is not a firmware update over a cellular link.
2. SIM and APN The APN is set for the SIM we supply, private or public depending on how you need to reach the site, and the router is checked onto the network before dispatch.
3. LAN Addressing Where specified, a fixed LAN subnet with the Cerbo GX on a reserved address, so the installer knows where to find it on every site.
4. Ping Reboot A ping target and interval set so the router restarts itself if the link stops, rather than waiting for a phone call.
5. Remote Access The tunnel or fixed IP agreed before the SIM is provisioned, management kept off the public interface, and access tested from our end before the router ships.
6. Antenna An antenna specified for the enclosure and the site, not left to the magnetic mounts in the box.

When to Go for a 5G Router

A 5G router should be specified on a Victron site when the same connection carries more than VRM logging.

VRM traffic on its own does not need 5G. A 4G Cat 4 link carries it comfortably, which is why the H685 4G is the model most Victron sites get. The case for the H685 5G is different: a battery storage site with cameras on the same link, a commercial renewable energy installation with local SCADA, or a site where several systems share one router and the 10/100 Ethernet ports on the 4G models would become the limit.

Be realistic about coverage before you specify it. On many of the rural and off-grid sites where Victron systems live, 5G availability is the constraint rather than the router, and a 5G router attached to a 4G network is a 4G router that cost more. Check coverage at the postcode first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

• Victron Energy, 'Internet connectivity', GX device manual. victronenergy.com
• Victron Energy, 'Connecting Victron products', Cerbo GX manual. victronenergy.com
• Victron Energy, 'VRM Portal', Cerbo GX manual. victronenergy.com
• Victron Energy, 'Building an unattended battery based energy system', 1 December 2016. victronenergy.com
• Proroute, 'Proroute H685 4G LTE Router'. proroute.co.uk
• Proroute, 'Proroute H685 WRT LTE 4G Cat 6 Router'. proroute.co.uk
• Proroute, 'Proroute H685 WRT 5G Router'. proroute.co.uk