SIM & Cellular Plan — Quick Reference

Quick SIM & cellular information for planning and deployment.

1) Will it work at my site?

  • Check carrier coverage at the installation location (indoor vs outdoor matters).
  • Confirm the PDU modem supports the carrier’s LTE bands for that region.
  • Antenna placement affects reliability — avoid deep metal cabinets or blocked locations.

2) Expected costs & data usage

  • Typical telemetry and status traffic is very small (tens of MB/month).
  • Firmware updates or large log uploads are the main spikes — schedule these over wired LAN when possible.
  • Start with a small IoT/M2M plan for a 30‑day pilot and size after measuring real usage.

3) Recommended access & management (Cloud — default)

  • Recommended: manage via Synaccess Cloud — simplest and most secure for evaluation and production. Pair the device to your cloud account to view and manage the PDU.
  • Cloud avoids the need to request special carrier services during evaluation and reduces time‑to‑test.
  • Pairing & setup: https://synaccess.readme.io/reference/connect-a-synlink-pdu

4) On‑prem management option (if you self‑host)

  • We offer an on‑prem management portal if you prefer to host management internally.

  • Typical customer approach to connect cellular PDUs to an on‑prem portal:

    1. Request a private APN from the carrier for the SIMs.
    2. Establish an IPsec (VPN) tunnel between the carrier private network and the customer network.
    3. PDUs on the carrier private network can then reach the on‑prem portal over that secure tunnel.
  • This approach provides private addressing and secure connectivity but requires carrier coordination and network team involvement.

5) Security & Accessibility

  • Cloud-first: Cloud management avoids exposing the device directly and is the recommended, lower‑risk option.
  • If you need inbound access (public IP or private APN), ask your carrier about IP whitelisting to restrict which source IPs may reach the PDU.
  • Always change default admin credentials, enable HTTPS for local UI, and use strong passwords.
  • If you self‑host the portal, secure the portal network with VPN/IPsec, firewall rules, and access control lists.
  • Consider disabling SIM roaming if not required to avoid unexpected charges and exposure.

6) Data reliability & failover

  • The PDU supports configurable LTE policies to control when and how cellular is used:

    • LTE‑Fallback — prefer LAN; switch to LTE only when LAN fails
    • LTE‑Primary — prefer LTE; use LAN only when LTE is unavailable.
  • These policies let you balance cost vs. availability. For most deployments use LTE‑Fallback so cellular is a backup channel.

  • Antenna placement and carrier selection affect real-world reliability — validate with a pilot at the actual site.

7) eSIMs

  • Pros: remote provisioning, no physical SIM logistics, good for sealed/remote devices and large fleets.
  • Cons: carrier support varies; provisioning/platform fees may apply. Good for fleet deployments; physical SIMs work well for pilots.
  • We can recommend eSIM provider — contact Sales or Support for details and provisioning help.

Quick checklist

  • Verify carrier coverage at the site.
  • Run a 30‑day pilot SIM and monitor usage.
  • Use Synaccess Cloud for the pilot (fastest route).
  • If self‑hosting, plan for private APN + IPsec with the carrier and network team.
  • Contact Sales/Support for our recommended eSIM provider and on‑prem portal details.