Connection Type & Connection Mode
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If you have controllers set to Auto mode with a connection type of Modem, please review the Maintenance Actions section, below.
Connection Modes​
The VOLO Master controller can be configured to use three different modes of connection to the VOLO cloud:
- Auto
- Modem
- Ethernet
Auto Connection Mode​
The default configuration on all new controllers will be for the Connection Mode to be set to Auto. In this mode, the controller will attempt to use Ethernet to connect to the VOLO cloud first. If it is successful, then it will continue to use Ethernet for as long as there is a healthy network/internet connection available to it through the Ethernet port.
If the controller uses the Ethernet connection initially but then the internet access goes down or the Ethernet connection is interrupted in some other way then the controller will automatically switch over to use the VOLO modem. The controller will continue to use the modem until it loses its connection at which point it will attempt to use the Ethernet connection again.
In Auto mode, the controller will always try to use the Ethernet port first for about 45-60 seconds. If it cannot establish a connection to the VOLO cloud using the Ethernet connection in this time then it will switch on the modem and attempt to connect using a cellular connection instead.
Modem Connection Mode​
When the connection mode is set to 'Modem' the controller will never attempt to connect using the Ethernet port but will immediately switch on the modem and will only ever try to connect to the VOLO cloud using a cellular connection.
Ethernet Connection Mode​
When the connection mode is set to 'Ethernet' the controller will only attempt to connect to the VOLO cloud using the Ethernet port and a local network connection. It will never switch on the modem and will never attempt to use a cellular network connection.
Connection Types​
The connection type reflects the type of connection that the controller is currently using (or last used) to connect to the VOLO cloud. This has two possible values for a Master controller:
- Modem
- Ethernet
Even in Auto mode, the Connection Type will only display Modem or Ethernet because it is describing the currently active connection type.
Maintenance Actions​
With regard to Connection Types and Connection Modes there is one combination which warrants some investigation. If you have devices which are using the Auto Connection Mode, but they have an active Connection Type of 'Modem', this suggests that there could be an issue with the local network connection that has caused the controller to fail over onto the cellular modem connection.
However, it is also possible that the installed device does not have access to a local network (Ethernet) connection but has been left on Auto mode anyway.
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When installing controllers, if you know they will only use one type of connection, you could choose to set the Connection Mode appropriately to only use this type of connection. This has a few benefits:
- Connections will be established more quickly - the controller will never waste time attempting to use a connection type that is unavailable
- You will then know that any controllers set to Auto Connection Mode should have a Connection Type of Ethernet and if they do not, they need investigating