With the latest Celona Orchestrator version 2406.1, the UI and navigation have been significantly improved, particularly with respect to SIM provisioning and activation. The updated navigation provides a more streamlined and user-friendly experience.

A Device corresponds to a physical SIM or eSIM associated with a device in your network. To view the complete inventory of devices and their current status, go to SIMs & Devices and click the Config tab at the top of the page. Celona offers customers the flexibility to activate physical SIMs or eSIMs on their private cellular network, allowing for custom connectivity solutions based on device needs and deployment preferences.

Previously, SIM provisioning and activation required multiple manual steps, including specifying device profiles during activation, making the process time-consuming for deploying SIMs.

With the release of Orchestrator version 2406.1, we have simplified the SIM activation process, offering users a faster and more flexible approach to configuring their SIMs and devices. Now, users can specify the site where they would like to activate each device, allowing for greater control over device deployment across sites and edge clusters. The key benefit is the ability to update multiple device properties—such as name, static IP address, device profile, authorized sites, and SIM lock settings—all at once for multiple devices.

After activating subscriptions, navigate to the Orchestrator's SIMs & Devices page and click the Config tab to see the SIM card inventory. Initially, all SIM cards are in a Provisioned state. Note that we always try to provide a contiguous block of SIMs.

The process of activating physical SIMs and eSIMs differs slightly from one another. Below is a brief overview of the configuration process for each type with links to more detailed documentation:

Celona supports physical SIMs, which offer a straightforward activation process for devices that require traditional SIM cards, including bulk activation for managing multiple devices at once. For more details on physical SIM activation, including steps for activation, deactivation, and reactivation, refer to the Celona Physical SIM Activation Guide.

Celona offers flexible onboarding options for eSIM activation, supporting both single and bulk onboarding through QR codes and MDM platforms.

For a complete guide on onboarding eSIMs, including detailed steps for both QR code and MDM options, please refer to the Celona eSIM Activation.

At any given moment, a Celona SIM or device can be in the following states: Provisioned, Active, Inactive, Offline, Deactivated, or Unknown. The table below details each state.

The following table outlines the states involved in onboarding and installing an eSIM onto a device after activation.

Click on a device row in the table to view more detailed information, such as Topology, Device Details, SIM Details, Network Details, and Device Events.

Celona auto-generates MAC addresses for cellular devices using a simple formula. This can be viewed on a device details page, as shown below.

The MAC address is auto-generated using the following parameters -

For example:

if a device has IMSI = 315010999902672,

its Celona generated MAC Address = B4:15:7E:90:26:72

You can use the auto-generated MAC addresses as the host identifier for static reservations in your DHCP server.

One aspect that sets Celona apart from other private 5G offerings is the ability to configure routing based on the visibility required for a specific use-case deployment.

The External IP Domain feature extends visibility from enterprise LAN resources into directly connected customer devices. When combined with supernetting, this allows non-native cellular devices to connect to a mobile router while still allowing for full visibility from the enterprise LAN.

This feature lets users connect their smartphones, laptops, tablets, and other devices to a router with a Celona SIM.

Users can find the subnet route details for all connected devices on the Orchestrator's device details page, such as IP addresses, subnet masks, and default gateway IP addresses. This feature makes it easier for users to manage their devices and troubleshoot issues.

The device details page will show “Activated on Sites” in a table, as highlighted below. This page also shows the “Activated on Edges“ in a similar table. If it is activated on only one Edge cluster, the Edge cluster name is shown instead of the table. If it is activated on all Edge clusters (which happens when the activated device is in the default device profile), “All edge clusters” is shown instead of the table.

The Devices table header includes options to search, filter, and edit device configuration, allowing users to manage and locate devices within their network efficiently.

The search field at the table header allows you to search for devices by name, ICCID, IMSI, IP address, or device profile.

Note: The Search Field and the Filter button in the table header are disabled when the table is in editable table mode (when users click the Edit (pencil) icon).

Users can also filter the devices table by device profile, connected Edge, device status, sim type, whether sim lock is enabled or disabled, and esim status.

To customize the table view further, you can reorder and lock columns from the table's properties menu. Using the toggle lock, hide any columns that the users do not need to view.