The Viprinet products are continuously developed and improved. Our customers with VLM subscription benefit from the long life and upgradeability of Viprinet routers.
On this page you will learn about new developments, future products and updates for existing devices.
In the second week of December, we have started to ship the all new Viprinet Multichannel VPN Hub 5020.
This new Hub 5020 is a quantum leap in the development of Viprinet Hubs. Instead of two Gigabit interfaces, there are now two 10 Gigabit ports. The bonding capacity climbs from 2 Gbit/s to 5 Gbit/s.
Thanks to newer, more efficient components, the multiplied performance is not accompanied by an increase in power consumption: With 20 watts per 1 Gbit/s of bonding, the Hub 5020 ensures an unbeatably low total cost of ownership. In practice, calculated over the typical useful life of the device, this results in savings of up to 50% compared to a Virtual Hub running on standard server hardware.
And the best for the end: While prices for other server hardware have risen massively over the past years, we are offering the new model at the unchanged price of the previous Hub 5010.
Today, we have released a new stable firmware version for all Viprinet routers and hubs. This is also already delivered as an online update.
This release builds on top of the May 2023 one and fixes a couple of bugs related to 5G support and the support for products that contain more than one SIM card holder per modem.
Also, for the products with multiple SIM card slots, the SIM detection speed has been improved greatly.
As always, the firmware can be easily installed via online update in the web interface. Alternatively, the installation can also be done offline, the corresponding image files are linked below.
Fresh images are also available for new installations of the VMWare-based Virtual Hub.
Today, we have released a new stable firmware version for all Viprinet routers and hubs. This is also already delivered as an online update.
The focus of this firmware release is on the support of the newly released "5G Global V2" module, a strongly improved SIM hot plugging, as well as significant performance improvements for numerous models.
In router models with multiple SIM slots per modem (Toughlink series) and for the MultiSIM and 5Gv2 DualSIM modules, the router can now automatically switch between SIM cards if the current card does not provide Internet connectivity (due to lack of network coverage or because the SIM card hits a provider traffic limit).
This version again brings significant performance improvements for a number of products. For example, the datasheet for the Multichannel VPN Router 310, which was originally sold with a bonding capacity of 100 Mbps, has been updated to 150 Mbps in 2022. Now, with this version, it can reach 200 Mbit/s in most scenarios.
For VPN hubs with many tunnels, QoS classes or channels, there are also significant performance improvements.
As always, the firmware can be easily installed via online update in the web interface. Alternatively, the installation can also be done offline, the corresponding image files are linked below.
Fresh images are also available for new installations of the VMWare-based Virtual Hub.
We have just released our second generation 5G module.
It supports most LTE and 5G frequency bands around the world, which why it is named "5G Global". Specifically, it supports 28 different bands for 5G, and 30 bands for 4G LTE.
This makes the module ultra-flexible and very future-proof.
Compared to the first generation 5G module the new one also uses less power.
And the best of all: While all the other vendors are increasing their prices, we managed to actually bring down the cost of this product -
There is only one drawback: Due to the shortages in the electronic components markets, this module only supports two SIMs, where the first-generation module had three SIM card slots. From the feedback received by our partners we are sure that this won't be an issue for 99% of our customers.
This module uses 4x4 MiMo, and therefore requires four antenna elements. The old 5G module used to ship with two 2x2 MiMo antennas, which weren't performing that well on high 5G frequencies (3.6 GHz). As those are the only frequencies where 5G is actually must faster than 4G, it's important to pick up that signal, should it be available.
Therefore with the new module we are shipping a new 4x4 MiMo desktop antenna, which is well-tuned for the 3.6 GHz bands. Please note that while this antenna is a huge improvement, even with that one 3.6 GHz hardly passes any walls. Therefore you still might need to use an external antenna located outside of the building to pick up "real" 5G.
The module will start shipping in the first week of February. A new firmware version needs to be installed onto the router for the module to work.
Available immediately and from stock is a range of highly interesting new model variants that combine more flexible usage options with a more favourable price.
The 520 product series has been the ideal solution for mobile use scenarios with medium bandwidth requirements for many years. With the 520, 521 and 522 variants, the product covers the markets of Europe & North America, Asia & Pacific and Scandinavia respectively. Now there is a new model: the Multichannel VPN Router 523. Unlike the other models, this variant does not contain LTE-Advanced modems, but modems of LTE category 4.
The integrated 4G Global LTE modems support a total of 19 different LTE bands. This means that all the important LTE frequency bands used worldwide are covered, making the device the ideal solution for international and cross-border use.
While LTE Cat. 4 offers lower peak speeds than the newer LTE-Advanced standard as used in the sister models 520/521/522, in reality these peak speeds are hardly relevant - with LTE Cat. 4, 150 Mbit/s downstream and 50 Mbit/s upstream are still available per modem, allowing the router's maximum bonding capacity to be fully utilised when using multiple SIMs.
And the best for the end: Compared to the well-known sister models 520/521/522, the new model provides cost savings of 700 Euros!
The same applies to the Toughlink 2503, which is now also available with four integrated LTE category 4 modems. Compared to the 52x series, the Toughlink range is even more robustly built and equipped for the most extreme applications and locations. The new 2503 model can now also be used globally. Here, too, the saving compared to the previous models 2501/2502 is 700 euros.
The modular router models have also been taken care of: the new "4G Global LTE" module with LTE Cat. 4 also offers up to 150 Mbit/s downstream and 50 Mbit/s upstream, and can be used worldwide. The saving compared to the LTE-Advanced modules is 120 euros.
Unfortunately, we had to accept some setbacks in the development of our 5G modules at the beginning of the year: 5G mobile chipsets require significantly more energy than was the case with 4G LTE technology, and this is especially the case if, as is the case in many countries, the 5G networks are operated as "Non Standalone" (NSA). In this case, the LTE radio part is permanently active, and 5G is only switched on at higher data transmission rates. This means that two radio parts are active at the same time and draw power. As it turned out, in the worst case this could cause our existing modular routers not to be able to provide enough power, and as a result the module would shut down.
In the meantime, our development team, together with the chipset manufacturer, has been able to reduce and optimize the power requirements of the 5G modems, which means that this problem no longer occurs. We were finally able to start series production.
We have now started shipping all pre-ordered 5G modules. Due to the chip industry crisis, lead times for further orders may be long. If you are planning to upgrade your Viprinet routers with 5G modules in the next months, please pre-order in time.
As of 15.11.2021, a new firmware version is available for download and automatic update by the router. Compared to the version from May 2021, various bugs have been eliminated. In addition, the maximum bundling speed could be further increased for many models. For example, the Multichannel VPN Router 310 was originally specified and sold with a bundling capacity of 100 Mbps. In the meantime, the official specification has been increased to 150 Mbit/s. With the latest firmware, we have now even been able to achieve peak speeds of up to 175 Mbit/s in real-life operation.
You see: Your VLM subscription pays off, and ensures long-term and economically as well as ecologically sustainable value retention of your original hardware investment. With average usage periods of more than five years, Viprinet as a router manufacturer is also a global leader in terms of sustainability and total cost of ownership.
In parallel we have also released Viprinet monitoring apps for Android and iOS for the first time. They are now available in the Google Playstore as well as in the Apple Appstore. With these, Viprinet routers can also be easily monitored via mobile phone, and e.g. the router antennas can be optimally aligned by observing the signal strengths.
At the end of 2020, we announced that we would declare the "End of Service" for some very old Viprinet models in November of this year. This is because it is no longer possible to procure spare parts for these products in case of a necessary repair, but also because the hardware performance, which is very limited from today's point of view, is simply no longer sufficient to provide new features under development. Modernising VPN encryption to TLS 1.3 is also not possible with the old CPUs.
While the trade-in programme has been very well received and a large number of legacy devices have now been replaced by customers with the current generation of devices, not all of our customers will be able to complete this transition by the end of 2021.
We have therefore decided to adapt our EoS plans to the needs of our customers.
As planned, there will no longer be firmware with new features for a number of old devices from December 1st 2021. However, we will continue to offer new firmware with security updates for these devices for another year, i.e. until December 1st 2022, as required.
We would like to point out that for most obsolete units, repairs will no longer be possible after 1.12.2021 due to a lack of spare parts. Depending on the VLM service level, defective old devices will therefore be replaced free of charge (VLM Gold), for a fee (VLM Silver) or with a discount on the list price of the successor device (VLM Bronze).
The trade-in programme will also be extended accordingly until December 1st 2022. However, due to increased part cost, the price for trade-ins in the VLM Silver level will be increased from €400 Euro to €550 (plus shipping) from December 1st 2021 on.
We would like to ask our customers not to wait until the "last minute" to upgrade their Viprinet infrastructure to the current model generations, as extended delivery times for the new devices are to be expected in 2022 due to the distortions in the logistics chains of the electronics industry. Our team will be happy to assist you in planning the changeover.
We are happy to announce that we have tested and certified Starlink for use with Viprinet routers. After the devastating
floodings in Germany in July we had already helped out the
region with Viprinet routers. Those were already bonding
Starlink, but we weren't really happy with Starlink's stability.
But now we have been able to test a Starlink kit locally in detail.
Our main conclusion is: Starlink is not for everyone. Much more than with classical Sat solutions, due to the low orbit of Starlink satellites, you need a very clear view all around your Sat dish. The more obstructions you have, the more often you will see drop-outs. Luckily using our Bonding technology, those can be mostly compensated for by also bonding in 4G/5G links.
Additional draw-backs are that Starlink does not allow roaming (yet), meaning it can only be used in fixed location applications, whereas the biggest benefit in real life would be at temporary installations for construction or desaster recovery. And Starlink's extreme energy usage and short maximum cable length also are something to look out for. Honestly speaking, it's not exactly a "green" technology.
But with all this being said: Starlink works fine with Viprinet devices.
In the past, we used to publish a dedicated AWS Virtual Hub image on the AWS Marketplace. However, due to certification requirements from Amazon, it always took longer for a new Viprinet firmware version to get published.
To speed up firmware updates and to make things more flexible, we are now longer publishing those images. Instead we have created a way to use any “Amazon Linux 2 AMI” which after creating the Instance can be converted into a Viprinet Virtual Hub. Afterwards, this Virtual Hub will then receive Firmware updates in the same interval as any physical Viprinet Hub would.
