In this chapter you can find out how to install
and configure the UCP IP SMS protocol for SMS messaging using the
Ozeki NG - SMS Gateway software. In addition to an introduction
containing general information about this protocol, this page provides
detailed installation and configuration instructions.
Introduction
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
CIMD2 connection.
The Computer Interface Message Distribution (CIMD)
protocol was introduced by Nokia. The Nokia SMS Center includes an
CIMD2 interface that transfers messages between applications and the
Nokia Short Message Service Center (SMSC).
CIMD2 is version 2 of the Computer Interface to
Message Distribution protocol. The CIMD2 interface is suitable for
client applications that send and retrieve messages over TCP/IP
sockets, such as Ozeki NG - SMS Gateway.
One of the advantages of using CIMD2 connections
is that you can specify the sender address of the message. The sender
address can be a custom phone number or a short word containing alphanumeric
characters. (See the instructions about the overridable checkbox
below.) Note, however, that some GSM service providers restrict the use
of this option.
Another advantage of CIMD2 is that it allows sending
messages of every type the GSM network can carry. It can be used to
send binary SMS messages (operator logos, ringtones), WAP Push messages,
as well as other types of messages. (Check out the
Appendix for links
to pages about different message types.) Concatenated SMS messages and various
alphabets can also be used.
A CIMD2 connection can be used through an IP link.
This link can be a leased line or the Internet. Optionally the link
can be protected by VPN.
If you wish to use CIMD2 to connect to your service provider,
you need to receive the following information from the service provider:
IP address of the SMSC
Port number of the SMSC
User name
Password
Installation and configuration
You can install and configure this connection using the
graphical user interface
of Ozeki NG - SMS Gateway.
To start installing and configuring a UCP service
provider 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 CIMD2 protocol, click the Install link
in the respective entry in the list (Figure 1).
Figure 1 - Starting to install the CIMD2 connection
When you have installed the CIMD2 Connection,
the Configuration panel will show up on the right of the interface.
The first tab of the panel is the
CIMD2 settings tab, which consists of a Connection and an
Identification section.
First,
specify the CIMD2 server settings. This information is provided by the
GSM service provider whose service you have subscribed to. The connection
parameters are the host name (or IP address), the port number, a
username and a password. The hostname refers to the server that Ozeki
NG - SMS Gateway will connect to. This specification allows you to
customize a connection. The valid values of the port parameter range
from 0 to 65535. The username and the password are text attributes
which can also include numerical characters. Service providers often use
the phone number of the service or the port number as the username.
These specifications are an essential part of the SMSC authentication method.
Enter the information in the respective edit boxes (Figure 2).
In the Use source port edit box you can specify
the source port. Only use a value other than 0 if your operator prompts
you to do so.
Figure 2 - Specifying the server settings
Then, specify the telephone number
assigned to this connection and the service provider 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
SMPP 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.
To perform general settings related to sending and
receiving SMS messages using this protocol, click the General
Settings tab. This will open a panel consisting of the
Sending and receiving the Timeout handling and
Communication link management section.
In the first section of the panel you can check any or
all of the checkboxes. Which one(s) to check depends on what you wish to use
this connection for and whether you need a delivery report. You can
choose to use the connection for only sending or only receiving SMS
messages (or both sending and receiving), and you can choose to request
a delivery report for outgoing messages (Figure 3).
Figure 3 - The General settings tab
In the Timeout handling section of the tab
you can make choices and specifications to handle your connection to
the SMS Center and the status of your SMS messages.
In the Submit timeout edit box you can specify the
maximum waiting time for an SMS Center response confirming that your message
has been successfully submitted. Successful submission means that the
SMS Center has accepted the message for delivery. You can specify the
waiting time by giving the number of seconds in numerical characters
representing any positive whole number. If you are content with the
default specification (60 seconds), leave this edit box unchanged.
You can choose how to consider a message you have sent
if there is no response from the SMS Center after the specified length of time.
Select one of the three radio buttons.
Select Sent to consider a message sent even if there is no
response from the SMS Center.
Select Not sent to consider a message not sent if there is no
response from the SMS Center.
In the right section of this configuration panel you can
manage communication links. At first, in "Windows size" line you can
increase the window size, if your SMPP service provider supports windowing.
The windowing feature of Ozeki NG - SMS Gateway enables the program to
initiate more than one operation before receiving responses. For
stop-and-wait flow control, use window size 1. (The maximum window size
is 128.) You can set how many protocol messages can be sent out before
the SMS Center responds to them. Protocol messages can include SMS messages,
keepalive packets, etc. The default value is 1. If you set this number
too high, your SMS messages may be discarded, as most GSM service providers
try to prevent their networks from being overloaded (Figure 5).
If you check the checkbox in the Communication link management section,
you can make the program send keepalive packets to maintain connection.
Proxy servers will drop a connection after a short period of time if there
is no activity on it. Keepalive packets are sent during idle periods to keep
the connection open.
In the Keepalive period edit box you can specify the maximum length
of idle connection between the Ozeki NG - SMS Gateway and the SMSC. You
can specify it by giving the number of seconds in numerical characters
representing any positive whole number. If you are content with the default
specification (30 seconds), leave this edit box unchanged.
You can also check the Limit speed to checkbox (you can provide the exact
time in MPM) if your service provider does not support high speed.
To configure logging, click the Logging tab in
the Configuration panel.
First, 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 and/or log in hexadecimal format. Choosing the second
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 4).
Figure 4 - Logging options
You can also 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 the Log 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 4 above).
If you are content with the default specifications, leave the text boxes
unchanged.
The Advanced tab contains three checkboxes.
The Include checksum field for protocol messages checkbox allows
you to make the program use a checksum to check the integrity of an SMS message.
By default, this checkbox is checked.
Check the Replace STX and ETX to operate with custom protocol
implementations checkbox to avoid using the STX character, and to replace
the ETX with the CR/LF (newline) character.
Check the Don't include the originator address when submitting
messages checkbox.
Figure 5 - The Advanced tab
The Include checksum field for protocol messages
checkbox allows
you to make the program use a checksum to check the integrity of an SMS message.
By default, this checkbox is checked.
Check the Replace STX and ETX to CR. CR handling method
checkbox.
Check the Don't include the originator address when submitting
messages checkbox
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 8).
Figure 6 - 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.
