New AirLink® Operating System (OS) Advances Multi-Network 5G Routers Connectivity

Sierra Wireless’ XR90 and XR80 routers, the first two solutions in our new XR Series of routers, represent a breakthrough in multi-network 5G Router solutions. These XR Series routers deliver customers the high-speed, low latency, secure connectivity they need for video streaming, video offload, and other data-intensive and time-sensitive 5G applications.

This leap forward in connectivity is not just a result of the routers’ quad-core data packet acceleration, passively cooled rugged industrial design, unique cartridge design, and other hardware innovations. It also results from AirLink OS, an advanced multi-network router operating system that has been built from the ground up to meet the 5G connectivity and routing needs of Sierra Wireless customers. Today, Sierra Wireless has launched the latest version of AirLink OS which incorporates even more features and services, including support for captive portals and edge processing. Keep reading to learn more!

How Does AirLink OS Improve Multi-Network 5G Router Connectivity?

In developing AirLink OS Sierra Wireless listened to first responders, transit agencies, utilities, and manufacturers on what they wanted in a multi-network 5G router operating system. Sierra Wireless then built an operating system designed to meet these requests — and then some.

For example, in addition, to support for 5G, Wi-Fi 6, and 5 Gbps Ethernet, AirLink OS offers customers other advanced features and services, including:

• Over-the-air Out-of-Band Management: AirLink OS supports the XR Series’ new AirLink Management Service (ALMS) Out-of-band Management (OOBM) feature, which allows customers to manage these routers via our global IoT network using a Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) modem integrated into the device. This LPWA-based “link of last resort” enables customers to avoid expensive technician visits by using our cloud-based management platform, AirLink Management Service (ALMS), to remotely provision, configure, manage, recover, reboot, and update the router, even if it is not able to use its primary public or private cellular 5G or LTE Wide Area Network (WAN) network connections.

• Multiple APNs: Customers can direct traffic to multiple Access Point Names (APNs) using a single SIM card (where supported by their wireless network operator). This allows customers to improve network security by using one APN for passenger, student, visitor, customer, or other “public” data and another APN for their employee, business application, and other “private” data.

• IPV4 and IPV6 Support: With support for both IPv4 and IPv6, the most recent version of the Internet protocol, customers can more easily and less expensively set up static IP addresses for their routers.

• A More Flexible and Powerful Routing Framework: Customers can use AirLink OS to easily define custom data routing rules, allowing them to better integrate data from these routers into their existing networks, and enhance security by restricting or otherwise directing traffic from and to the routers. For example, customers can create routing rules to link together different Local Area Network (LAN) segments as needed or restrict to a connected device’s traffic to a particular LAN or WAN interface.

• Router Application Programming Interfaces (APIs): AirLink OS, like ALMS, now includes a standards-based API. The API enables customers to easily integrate their backend systems with their XR Series routers to provide additional control and insights into their deployments.

• An Intuitive, Responsive Interface: AirLink OS offers customers a single intuitive interface with live system data for configuring and managing their routers, whether they are connecting directly to the router or through ALMS. AirLink OS also implements changes to router parameters and other updates in near real-time, making it easier for administrators to configure and manage their routers while reducing router administration time and costs.

Cognitive Wireless Delivers Better Performance, Always-On Connectivity

In addition to the above features and services, AirLink OS builds on Sierra Wireless’ patented cognitive wireless technology. This software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) technology provides customers with fine-grained control of when and how their data traverses the network.

For example, AirLink OS cognitive wireless technology enables customers to set up detailed rules for their multi-network 5G routers that direct traffic to use cellular, Wi-Fi 6, or Ethernet networks, or split traffic between these networks, depending on the type of data they are transmitting, changes in the network, where the routers are, and other conditions.

With cognitive wireless, XR Series routers can use the highest performance, most reliable, lowest cost, or otherwise best available network given their current conditions – and if these conditions change, or a network outage occurs, switch to another network in less than a second for ‘always on’ connectivity.

New Value-Added Features and Services

While these capabilities are already delivering immediate benefits to customers deploying XR Series multi-network 5G routers, today Sierra Wireless has additional value-added features and services via the latest version of AirLink OS and ALMS including:

• Expanded Edge Processing Capabilities: The latest version of AirLink OS enables Open Container Initiative (OCI) compatible Docker containers to run on both XR and the new RX routers. Support of a container registry allows customers to remotely deploy and manage containerized applications. With these expanded edge processing capabilities, customers can easily create and update containerized applications for multiple use cases and custom integrations.

• Captive Portal Support: Building on AirLink OS’s more flexible and powerful routing framework, this new captive portal support enables customers to customize network access and content filtering rules at a granular level, and also easily record and audit who is accessing what content through their routers.

Robust End-to-End Security

In addition to these new features and services, AirLink OS delivers industry-leading end-to-end security capabilities that Sierra Wireless’s customers have come to expect. This multi-layered device-to-cloud security includes unique cryptographic keys that connect the router to ALMS, a hardware-accelerated VPN for secure transport, secure boot, secure firmware updates, and the use of the Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA-3) protocol.

A Multi-Network 5G Router OS Designed for the Connected Economy

As organizations extend 5G beyond smartphones to their vehicles, factories, health care facilities, students’ homes, and offices, users need rugged, high bandwidth, secure multi-network 5G router solutions that combine high-performance, industrial-grade hardware with advanced software.

By powering the fast, flexible XR Series routers with our intelligent, responsive new AirLink OS, Sierra Wireless delivers these organizations the multi-network 5G router solution they need to extend video streaming, video offload, and other next-generation mission- and business-critical applications to these and other locations, transforming the way they operate.

AirLink® RX55: 4G LTE-A Industrial IoT Router with Edge Compute

Sierra Wireless’ latest router, the AirLink^® RX55, is optimized for Industrial IoT with ultra-low power consumption and a rugged design for extreme conditions. With advanced networking and industry-standard container support capabilities, the RX55 delivers intelligence securely at the edge via 4G LTE-A for mission-critical applications on both public and private networks. All advanced features of AirLink OS are now also available on the RX55.