Auto-Recovery for Stuck 4G Dongles and USB Bus
XProxy can repair a stuck 4G dongle or a slow USB bus by itself. Turn on auto-recovery, then let it renew the IP, reset the dongle or the USB controller, and keep a log.
You need: the XProxy panel on your box. The pricing page lists health check and auto-recovery from the Basic plan.
In short
A dongle with no IP gets a new DHCP request first. A USB reset comes last.
Backoff and hourly caps stop it from resetting the same dongle again and again.
Open View Log to see what it did and why.
How do I turn on auto-recovery?
Step 1 of 3
In the left menu, open General Settings → System Setting 1. Click the Advanced tab 2.
Scroll down. DHCP client force requesting and Hardware Recovery Options are at the bottom.
What does XProxy fix by itself?
| Problem | What XProxy does | Setting |
|---|---|---|
| A dongle has no IP, or stops answering | Asks for a new IP (DHCP renew). If it stays dead, resets that dongle's USB device. | Dongle DHCP Fix |
| A USB controller falls back to a slow speed, or a whole bus goes quiet | Resets that USB controller. The dongles on it reconnect. | PCI USB Recovery |
| Dongles on a big server do not get an IP from DHCP | Forces a DHCP request on each dongle. | Force requesting DHCP |
| One dongle is stuck right now | You reset its USB bus by hand. | Reset USB Bus |
| Log files fill the disk | Starts a new log each day and deletes old ones. | Controller log retention |
How does Dongle DHCP Fix decide to act?
XProxy checks every dongle about every 30 seconds. It goes up one step at a time:
- No IPv4 address: it renews DHCP.
- Still dead after your wait: it resets the dongle's USB device. The wait is No response (the dongle does not answer, 90 seconds), Web page down (its web page does not open, 10 minutes) or No IP (no IPv4, 3 minutes).
It never acts on a dongle while XProxy is rotating, rebooting or resetting that dongle, or for 15 minutes after a firmware upgrade started. It also waits when the panel itself does not answer, and when never change IP automatically is on (a renew is still allowed).
Built-in limits, unless support changed them: at most 4 USB resets per hour for one dongle, at most 10 per hour for the whole box, and at least 60 seconds between two resets.
What does PCI USB Recovery do?
Dongles sit behind USB hubs on the USB controllers of the box. Sometimes a hub falls back from 480 Mbit/s to 12 Mbit/s and every dongle behind it gets slow. With PCI USB Recovery on, XProxy:
- resets that controller so the dongles come back at full speed;
- does the same when most dongles on one bus have no traffic and no answer from their gateway for 90 seconds;
- turns off the USB 3 side of a port whose link keeps dropping (10 times in 5 minutes), so the hub keeps running on USB 2.0 until the next reboot.
A controller reset makes all dongles on it reconnect, and their IPs change. XProxy does it at most 3 times per hour, and never while a firmware upgrade or flash runs.
FAQ
Where is the system watchdog switch?
The current panel has no visible watchdog switch. Stuck dongles are handled by Dongle DHCP Fix and PCI USB Recovery. To restart the whole app by hand, see Update XProxy and restart.
Does anything run when both switches are off?
After you click Save here, the recovery service stays on, even with both switches off. It keeps dongles from taking over the default route of your box (the road to your LAN and the internet).
What is the difference between Reboot and Reset USB Bus?
Reboot restarts the modem. Reset USB Bus resets its USB connection, like a replug. Try Reboot first. Both are in the same menu and need the Basic plan or higher.
When should I turn on Force requesting DHCP?
Only when dongles do not get an IP, for example on a big server. The panel recommends asking support first, so use remote support.
How much disk do the logs use?
The app log keeps 3 days and 100 MB by default. You can raise it up to 30 days and 2000 MB, or lower it, in Controller log retention.
What next?
Check your setup, change a dongle, or restart the box.