HTTP Server Connection
This chapter provides detailed instructions on how to install
and configure the HTTP Server connection for SMS messaging using the
Ozeki NG - SMS Gateway software.
As you can read on the
Service Provider Connections
page, you need to install and configure one or more service provider
connections for SMS messaging using Ozeki NG - SMS Gateway. One of the
service provider connections supported by the software is the HTTP
Server connection.
The HTTP Server protocol makes it possible for service providers
to pass incoming messages to your service using an HTTP request for each incoming
SMS message and they optionally accept a reply message in the HTTP response.
This technology is often used by premium-rated SMS services.
This connection option can also be used as a "Virtual phone"
for software development purposes.
You can install and configure the HTTP Server connection using
the graphical user interface of
Ozeki NG - SMS Gateway. To start installing and configuring an HTTP Server
connection, click the Add button in the top right-hand corner of the
Service providers panel on the left of the Management
Console interface. (To find out how to open this interface, check out
the QuickStart Guide.)
You can also add a service provider connection by clicking
the Add service provider item in the Service providers menu.
After you have clicked one of these, the Add service
provider panel will show up on the right of the interface. The panel
contains a list of protocols you can install and use for communication with
an SMS service provider.
To select the HTTP Server protocol, click the Install
link in the respective entry in the list (Figure 1).
Figure 1 - Starting to install the HTTP Server connection
When you have installed the HTTP Server protocol,
the Configuration panel will show up on the right of the interface.
The first tab of the panel is the
HTTP settings tab, which consists of a Connection and an
Identification section.
In the Connection section,
specify the HTTP Server settings. This information is provided by
the SMS service provider when you subscribe to the service (Figure 2).
Figure 2 - The HTTP settings tab
In the Base URL template, specify the base URL.
In the Identification section, specify the
telephone number assigned to this connection and the service provider
connection name. To facilitate identification and to avoid confusion,
you should name the connection after the GSM service provider. E.g.,
if you have set up an HTTP Server connection with Vodafone, it is
advisable to name it "Vodafone". Also, note that different connections
should be given different names. If you have different connections
from the same service provider, you can use different but similar names
for them, e.g.: "Vodafone1", "Vodafone2" (or something of the like).
However, some load balancing solutions require an identical name for
different connections. For details, visit the
Load Balancing
and the Load Balancing for
SMPP v3.3 page.
Enter the
information in the respective edit boxes. Remember to enter the phone number
in international format: starting with "+". You can check the overridable
checkbox to the right of the Telephone number edit box. This
ensures that you can replace the phone number specified in the Telephone
number edit box with a different one to be displayed as the sender of an
outgoing message. You can also replace the number with (alphanumeric) text
consisting of a maximum of eleven (11) characters. Therefore, when a message
is sent out, e.g. using the Database
user, you can specify any different phone number or a name to be displayed
as the sender of the message.
Note that the phone number to be specified in the Telephone
number edit box is a mandatory value. If you leave the edit box blank,
the sending will be unsuccessful.
To configure logging, click the Logging tab in
the Configuration panel.
The tab has a Logging and a Log file settings section.
Here, you can choose whether to make the program write log entries about
sent and received messages in human readable format and/or log low level
communication. Choosing the latter option will make the program produce
logfiles containing binary codes representing the communication data.
You should check at least the Log sent and received messages in
human readable format checkbox, as logfiles can be useful in debugging
communication problems (Figure 3).
Figure 3 - Logging options
In the Log file settings section of the tab, you can
make specifications for the size and the number of available logfiles.
Log rotation saves disk space, as it ensures that older (and probably no
longer needed) logfiles will be automatically deleted from the log directory,
which is specified in theLog directory text box. By default, the access
path to the logfiles is: C:\Program Files\Ozeki\OzekiNG - SMS Gateway\Logs
In the Maximum log file size text box you can specify
the maximum size of a logfile. Once this size is reached, a new logfile
will be created. Specify the number of kilobytes for the size of a logfile
by entering a positive whole number. By default, the maximum logfile size
is 8000 kB.
In the Number of rotated files text box, specify
the maximum number of rotated logfiles that are saved. Specify this number
by entering a positive whole number. By default, the number of logfiles that
are saved is 4 (see Figure 3 above).
If you are content with the default specifications, leave
the text boxes unchanged.
The Configuration panel for service provider
connections contains a Connect automatically on startup checkbox
(in the bottom left-hand corner). If it is checked, Ozeki NG - SMS Gateway
will automatically initiate a connection with the SMS Center when the
program has started. If this checkbox is not checked, the connection
has to be initiated manually.
To initiate the connection manually, click the Connect
link in the panel of the service provider connection (Figure 4).
Figure 4 - Links to operations
You can open the panel of a service provider connection by
clicking its name in the Service providers panel in the Management
Console.
The panel of a service provider connection consists of
three sections.
- In the upper section you can find the name of the service provider
connection (with the name of its protocol in brackets).
- You can see an icon showing if the service provider connection
is connected. If it is not, the icon is marked with an "x"
To the right of the icon you can find links to perform
different operations.
- Configure: to configure or modify the configuration
of an installed service provider connection. Clicking this link will
take you back to the Configuration panel.
- Events: to view the logging of the latest server events related
to the service provider connection. Clicking it will bring up the Events
panel containing the logging of the latest server events.
- Connect: to connect the service provider connection with the SMS
Center.
- Disconnect: to disconnect the service provider connection from
the SMS Center.
- Uninstall: to uninstall the service provider connection.
In the middle section of the panel you can see some of
the most important configuration information.
- The options that have been (re)activated
during the configuration are marked with a tick.
- The options that have not been
activated or those that have been deactivated during the
configuration are marked with an "x".
In the lower section of the panel of the service
provider connection you can read some information about its protocol.
More information
Next page:
HTTPS
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