DMNR & NEMO General Setup

DMNR, stands for Dynamic Mobile Network Routing and is part of the Verizon Private Network.  It is also referred to as NEMO, Network Mobility, but NEMO is actually an Internet Standard (RFC 5177) which uses DMNR. 

With DMNR, you have to contact Verizon to get a special SIM.  Verizon should also send a document of the required settings. 

Note that there are other ways of setting up DMNR/NEMO, but this is just one example.  Also, this article references the setup on an IX20.  Other Digi devices support DMNR as well. 

Prerequisites

DMNR requires an accurate time.  Either NTP or Modem may be used.

NOTE: Firmware 23.6.x.x and later will allow users to configure modem as the time source.

Under System > Time > Time Sources assign either NTP or Modem. 

For Modem, you will need to set the Modem setting to Modem with the down arrow and that Enable the time source is enabled. 

For NTP, ensure that the NTP server is enabled.  This may be found under Services > NTP. 

Click Apply

Configuration

Here is a link to the Configuration Setup for a NEMO tunnel from the IX20 User Guide (note that other DAL devices will be similar): https://docs.digi.com//resources/documentation/digidocs/90002381/default.htm#os/nemo-c.htm?

Settings may be found under VPN > NEMO.

Here are typical settings for an IX20:

These settings, in case it is difficult to read, are as follows:

Home IP address: 1.2.3.4

Zone: internal

Home agent server IP address: 4.3.2.1

Key: VzWNeMo

Home agent SPI: 256

Home agent registration lifetime, in seconds: 65534

Care of address

Type: Interface

Interface: Modem

GRE tunnel local endpoint:

Type: Interface

Interface: Modem

Local networks

Interface: ETH2 (or LAN for other DAL devices)

Definitions

• Home IP address is the local GRE tunnel.  This is typically 1.2.3.4 and should be provided by Verizon.  It is the address you assign to the NEMO virtual network interface.  A virtual interface is created so that the NEMO/DMNR data has a path out to the Verizon private network, and then all LAN interfaces on the Digi that are setup as being "DMNR" will route through that interface. 
• Zone is the firewall zone assigned to this interface.  It should be set to ‘Internal’.
• Home agent server IP is the server on Verizon that you are building the tunnel to.  This should be an actual Verizon IP address, also provided by Verizon.
• Key is used to authenticate to the home agent.  This is usually VzWNeMo unless otherwise specified by Verizon.
• Home agent SPI (Security Parameter Index) is an identifier, used for authentication extension when registering, sent to the Home Agent.  Typically set for 256.
• Home agent registration lifetime, in seconds is a value requested by the Home Agent.  This is the number of seconds until the authorization key expires.  Provided by Verizon. 
• Care of Address, Type is used to configure the local WAN interface of the Internet facing network.  This can be:
  • Default route - the network interface that is used will be the same as the default route.
  • Interface – you need to specify the local network interface. Normally this is modem
  • IP address – you will need to specify the IP address.
• GRE tunnel local endpoint is the local endpoint of the GRE endpoint negotiated by NEMO.  This can be:
  • Default route - the network interface that is used will be the same as the default route.
  • Interface - you need to specify the local network interface.  Normally this is modem
• Local Networks for that uses the NEMO network interface.  Click + to add a local network.
  • Interface – select the local interface to use as a virtual NEMO network interface.  Generally, this will be ETH2 (for some DAL devices) or LAN (for other DAL devices).
  • If needed, repeat for additional interfaces. 

Troubleshooting

If issues are seen, here are some items & commands to consider:

• Verify the Time is correct. 
  • Go to Administration > Terminal
  • Login
  • Select ‘a’ for Admin CLI
  • For those with NTP as the clock source, enter the following commands:
    • Enter the following Admin CLI commands:
      • show system <- among other items, it will show the current time
      • system time sync <- This syncs the device’s local time with the configured NTP server(s)
      • system time test  <- Test the configured NTP server(s)
      • system time set DATETIME <- e.g. system time set “2023-02-28 07:21:00” <- The date & time must have the quote marks.
      • ping time.devicecloud.com <- Pinging the NTP server
    • For time issues using the modem as the internal time source, besides the above:
      • From Admin CLI - modem at “+cclk?”
      • From Shell - modem cli --timeout=10 --time <- (those are two dashes before timeout and before time) this will show the raw NTP time from the modem
• Can you ping the home agent?
  • Go to Administration > Terminal
  • Login
  • Select ‘a’ for Admin CLI
  • Enter the following commands:
    • ping 4.3.2.1 (or whatever your home agent IP address, as specified by Verizon)
• You are advertising the correct local network

Common Issues

• NTP service is not enabled.
• Home IP Address and/or Home Agent Server IP Address incorrect, or swapped, or the same.
• DMNR Zone not set for ‘Internal’.
• GRE Tunnel local interface not set for ‘modem’

Items for Digi Tech Support, if further issues

If issues are seen, please supply the following to Digi Tech Support:

• Verizon document(s) showing their required settings.  This document you should have received when you received the Verizon SIM.
• The Support Report after the device has been powered up for at least ten minutes.  If needed, to generate and gather the Support Report, here is a link for the IX20 (other devices will be similar): https://www.digi.com/resources/documentation/digidocs/90002381/Default.htm#os/support-download-report.htm?