Technical Tip: How to verify Carrier Aggregation status on FortiExtender

[magarwal]

Description	This article describes how to check the Carrier Aggregation (CA) state on FortiExtender and verify what bands are being aggregated.
Scope	FortiExtender-211E v7.2.2.
Solution	Carrier aggregation is a technique where the wireless provider allows a user to utilize multiple LTE/5G frequency bands simultaneously. This allows the user to combine them and increase the total bandwidth available to the client device. Important: CA functionality must first be enabled on the wireless carrier side (i.e., Verizon, AT&T, etc.) before the functionality can be utilized by the FortiExtender. Additionally, CA is only activated by the FortiExtender when there is a high volume of upload/download traffic being passed through the LTE connection (when the link is idle/low-activity, CA functionality is temporarily deactivated). Finally, ensure that the FortiExtender has been updated to the latest modem firmware/PRI files when troubleshooting CA functionality (see: Troubleshooting Tip: FortiExtender firmware, modem firmware version and modem revision version) To verify the state of carrier aggregation on the FortiExtender, use the following methods: Run the command get modem status on the FortiExtender CLI and check the ca state field: FortiExtender # get modem status Modem status: modem : Modem1 usb path : 2-1.2 (sdk 0) vender : Sierra Wireless, Incorporated product : Sierra Wireless, Incorporated model : EM7565 SIM slot : SIM1 [...] rssi (dBm) : -75 signal_strength : 50 ca state : SSC1/INACTIVE/B66,SSC2/INACTIVE/B66 [...] Check the current cellular data usage on the FortiExtender with the command get modem data-usage: FortiExtender # get modem data-usage   ********************Modem1********************   Slot Carrier IMSI Usage(MB) %Usage DataPlan(MB) Overage NextBillDate   1* AT&T [REDACTED] 5MB 0% 5000MB disable 1970-02-01   2 N/A N/A 0MB 0% 0MB disable 0000-00-00   Note : * active SIM Run the following AT command on the FortiExtender CLI to query the modem regarding cellular band connectivity: execute modemfw AtTest modem1 at!gstatus? Example Output of AT!GSTATUS? Default (normal) download rate (note how CA is inactive in the following sample): !GSTATUS: Current Time: 205154 Temperature: 41 Reset Counter: 1 Mode: ONLINE System mode: LTE PS state: Attached LTE band: B3LTE bw: 20 MHz LTE Rx chan: 1850 LTE Tx chan: 19850 LTE SCC1 state:NOT ASSIGNED LTE SCC2 state:NOT ASSIGNED LTE SCC3 state:NOT ASSIGNED LTE SCC4 state:NOT ASSIGNED EMM state: Registered Normal Service RRC state: RRC Idle IMS reg state: No Srv While downloading a large file over the LTE link (CA is activated): !GSTATUS: Current Time: 906 Temperature: 36 Reset Counter: 3 Mode: ONLINE System mode: LTE PS state: Attached LTE band: B2 LTE bw: 10 MHz LTE Rx chan: 1000 LTE Tx chan: 19000 LTE SCC1 state:ACTIVE LTE SCC1 band: B5 LTE SCC1 bw : 10 MHz LTE SCC1 chan: 2450 LTE SCC2 state:ACTIVE LTE SCC2 band: B30 LTE SCC2 bw : 10 MHz LTE SCC2 chan: 9820 LTE SCC3 state:NOT ASSIGNED LTE SCC4 state:NOT ASSIGNED EMM state: Registered Normal Service RRC state: RRC Connected IMS reg state: No Srv Note: as of FortiExtenderOS v7.0.3, v7.2.0, and later, it is also possible to view the Carrier Aggregation status in the web GUI's Dashboard section: Related articles: Technical Tip: FortiExtender showing latitude and longitude values as 0.000000 Troubleshooting Tip: FortiExtender firmware, modem firmware version and modem revision version