Everything you need to get your NOTBOX up and running in minutes.
Your NOTBOX package includes everything you need to get started:
NOTBOX runs entirely through a web browser. There's nothing to install on your computer - just connect and open your browser.
Get familiar with your NOTBOX's ports, LEDs, and buttons.
192.168.100.1. Use when you don't know the MGMT IP or want isolated management.Devices connected to NOTBOX's built-in WiFi are treated exactly like devices plugged into the DOWNLINK port. Their traffic passes through NOTBOX the same way (captured, impaired, or monitored) and reaches the internet via UPLINK. Use WiFi or DOWNLINK interchangeably for your test devices.
There are two ways to access your NOTBOX's web interface. Choose the one that works best for your situation.
Connect NOTBOX to your existing network. It gets an IP address automatically via DHCP. The assigned IP is shown in the top bar of the interface.
Direct connection between your computer and NOTBOX. Always available at 192.168.100.1.
NOTBOX is designed to run on your local network. We don't recommend exposing it to the public internet (e.g. by port-forwarding from your router). Keep it behind your firewall where it belongs.
Follow these steps to get up and running quickly.
Plug the power adapter into NOTBOX and connect it to a power outlet. The green power LED will turn on.
Connect the MGMT port to your network with an ethernet cable. This gives NOTBOX internet access for its built-in tools and allows you to access the interface from your network.
Open your browser to the IP address shown in your router's DHCP client list. Don't know it? Connect to the LOCAL port and go to http://192.168.100.1. The MGMT IP is shown in the top bar.
Connect the UPLINK port to your router or network switch. This is a separate connection that provides passthrough internet access to your test devices.
Connect the devices you want to test to the DOWNLINK port or the optional WiFi access point, then configure and run your tests from the web interface.
On your test device, open any website. It should load normally. In the NOTBOX interface, go to the Impairment page and click ENABLE to arm it. Then click the Poor LTE preset to fill in the values and click Apply Settings to push it live. Now return to your test device and reload the website, and you'll feel the difference. Click DISABLE when you're done to restore the connection. From here, explore the Capture, Monitoring, and Tools pages for the rest of NOTBOX's toolkit.
Once you're up and running, head to Settings → Firmware Update and click Check for Updates. Keeping the firmware current ensures you have the latest features and fixes.
By default the NOTBOX web interface is open to anyone on your network. To require a password, go to Settings → Password Protection and set one. Useful if you're in a shared office or lab.
The front panel LEDs indicate the current state of your NOTBOX.
| LED | Colors | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| MGMT | Green when connected, off when no link | |
| LOCAL | Green when connected, off when no link | |
| DOWNLINK | Green when connected, off when no link | |
| UPLINK | Green when connected, off when no link | |
| WIFI | Green when WiFi enabled, off when disabled | |
| STATUS | Off = booting, Green = normal, Yellow = MGMT connectivity issues, Blue = Port Mirror active | |
| POWER | Green when powered on, off when no power |
Yellow: The MGMT port can't reach the internet. Check that the MGMT cable is connected, then look upstream for a DHCP, gateway, DNS, or firewall issue.
Blue: Port Mirror mode is active. The LOCAL port is outputting mirrored network traffic for capture in Wireshark. Press the STOPCAP button at the top of the device to stop mirroring and restore normal LOCAL port access.
Make sure you're connected to the LOCAL port (not MGMT or DOWNLINK). Your computer should automatically get an IP address in the 192.168.100.x range. If it doesn't, try unplugging and reconnecting the cable, or manually set your computer's IP to 192.168.100.10 with subnet mask 255.255.255.0. Also check the STATUS LED: if it's blue, Port Mirror mode is active and the LOCAL port is in mirror-only mode.
Yes. The MGMT port uses DHCP by default, but you can give it a static IP (with netmask, gateway, and DNS) in the web interface's network settings. (The LOCAL port is also always reachable at a fixed 192.168.100.1, no configuration needed.)
Open the web interface and go to Settings → Firmware Update. The currently installed version is displayed at the top of the panel. From there you can also click Check for Updates to see if a newer version is available.
Check that the UPLINK port is connected to your router or a switch with internet access. NOTBOX bridges traffic transparently. Your DOWNLINK and WiFi test devices behave as if they were plugged straight into your upstream network, getting their IP address, DNS server, and gateway from it. NOTBOX doesn't hand out IP addresses or act as a gateway itself, so no-internet issues almost always trace back to the UPLINK connection or your upstream network.
You still need the UPLINK port connected to your router for internet access. But for test devices, yes, they can connect via NOTBOX's built-in WiFi instead of the DOWNLINK port. WiFi ships disabled by default; to enable it, click the WiFi indicator in the header bar of the web interface and configure the SSID, band, and password.
No. Impairments won't affect your access because they only apply to the UPLINK, DOWNLINK ports, and WiFi. The main exception is Port Mirror mode, which temporarily makes the LOCAL port mirror-only until you stop mirroring.
No. NOTBOX only impairs devices connected to its DOWNLINK port or WiFi, and only when impairment is enabled. With it off, traffic passes through untouched, and the rest of your network is never affected.
A bandwidth cap is a ceiling, not a guarantee, and once you add latency or packet loss, TCP throttles itself: it backs off on every lost packet and can only keep so much data in flight before waiting for acknowledgements, so higher round-trip time alone lowers throughput. The more delay and loss you apply, the further real TCP throughput sits below the cap - exactly what happens on a congested or long-distance link.
NOTBOX is a transparent inline bridge, so it sees the whole network segment it’s plugged into, not only your test device. Even with nothing on DOWNLINK or WiFi, the UPLINK side is always receiving background broadcast and multicast traffic (ARP, mDNS, SSDP, multicast, spanning-tree, etc.) that crosses the bridge. That ambient “chatter” is what shows up in the bandwidth monitor and captures. Completely normal.
Press and hold the Reset button (small recessed button near the power jack) for 10+ seconds. The device will restart and return to factory defaults. Note: This will clear saved settings, WiFi passwords, and locally stored capture files on the device.
Upload impairments affect traffic going from your test device to the internet (like sending files, video calls from your side, form submissions). Download impairments affect traffic coming to your test device from the internet (like streaming video, downloading files, loading web pages).
Yes! You can connect a network switch to the DOWNLINK port to test multiple wired devices, and any number of devices can connect via WiFi. All devices connected through DOWNLINK or WiFi will experience the same impairments. The impairment settings apply to all traffic passing through.
NOTBOX is designed to be private. By default, it runs locally on your network and only reaches the outside world for two background tasks:
8.8.8.8 and resolves google.com every few seconds so the device knows whether the internet is reachable0.openwrt.pool.ntp.org through 3.openwrt.pool.ntp.org)Everything else only happens when you ask for it, like checking for firmware (hellernetworks.com) or running one of the built-in tools:
speed.cloudflare.com). No account or signup needed.ipify.org, a free public IP lookup service.rdap.org, a registry data service for WHOIS-style info.standards-oui.ieee.org) once, then uses the local cached copy.No telemetry, no analytics, no tracking. Your captures, impairment settings, and traffic data never leave the device unless you explicitly download them.
NOTBOX ships with plain HTTP because it's a local-network device. It works the moment you plug it in, with no certificate setup and none of the full-page warnings a self-signed certificate would throw. "Not Secure" just means the connection isn't encrypted, and since it never leaves your local network, there's nothing in between to intercept. It's the same out-of-box approach most routers and NAS devices use.
Same reason as the "Not Secure" label: your capture file is served over a plain HTTP connection, so the browser notes it wasn't downloaded over an encrypted link. Because the file comes straight from your NOTBOX across your own local network (not the internet), there's nothing between the two to tamper with it. It's safe to keep the file (click "Keep" if your browser asks).
Can't find what you're looking for? We're here to help.
When you reach out, have your device's Serial handy. It's on the sticker on the bottom of the unit, and in the web interface under Settings → Firmware Update.