NowSMS configuration for Tcp/Ip Ethernet Modem

NowSMS configuration for Tcp/Ip Ethernet Modem SearchSearch
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vidit mittal
New member
Username: Viditmittal

Post Number: 1
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Friday, December 22, 2006 - 09:56 am:   

Hi Bryce,

I have installed the GSM Modem (MultiTech MultiModem - GPRS - EtherNet Wireless Modem) on one of our development machines. I have configured the modem and it seems to be working fine as i'm able to telnet it and also able to make a call through it.

I have also installed the NowSMS and i'm trying to connect it to the GPRS modem. Can you please tell me the procedure on how to get it connected.
I have tried all but nothing is seems to be working.

NowSms Configuration
Malcolm - Now Support
Moderator
Username: Malcolm

Post Number: 71
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 - 10:33 pm:   

This looks like something that Bryce worked on directly with one of your colleagues about 6 weeks ago. Hopefully your colleague was able to forward the information supplied by Bryce in order to resolve your configuration issues.

You cannot use HTTP to connect to a Multitech GPRS Ethernet modem.

Instead, the modem supports AT commands over a TCP/IP Telnet interface.

Special support for these types of modems was added in NowSMS beginning with the v2006.12.05 release. v2006.12.05 is available as a patch for existing NowSMS installations at http://www.nowsms.com/download/newpatch.zip.

Configuring a connection to a TCP/IP modem from NowSMS requires manual editing of the SMSGW.INI file.

Under the [SMSGW] section header, NowSMS lists the SMSC interfaces under a keyword of Modem1=, Modem2=, Modem3=, etc.

To manually define a connection to an IP modem, use the following format:

[SMSGW]
Modem1=IPModem - 1.2.3.4:5000

1.2.3.4 specifies the IP address of the modem, and 5000 would specify the port number for the telnet interface of the modem.

Typically, the modem is going to require a username and password for login. To define this, you need to create a section header for the modem in SMSGW.INI, as follows:

[IPModem - IPModem - 1.2.3.4:5000]
Username=xyz
Password=pass

In the example above, substitute the IP address and port number of the modem in the section header, so that it matches the value supplied for the "Modem1=" setting. xyz and pass should be replaced by the username and password, respectively, that is required to connect to the modem.

Once you have manually made these edits, you can go into the NowSMS user interface, and "test" the modem to verify that NowSMS can connect to it. You can also define other "Properties" for the modem. For example, I recommend setting "SMS Message Storage" to be "Direct to Modem" for best results receiving SMS messages.

Note that NowSMS can only use this type of modem for sending/receiving SMS messages ... it cannot use the modem for sending/receiving MMS.

--
Malcolm
Now Wireless Support

vidit mittal
New member
Username: Viditmittal

Post Number: 2
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Monday, January 08, 2007 - 04:15 am:   

Thanks Malcolm for the response, yes you were right Bryce did worked with one of my colleague for the same and had got the things working, actually I didn’t have that information.
Anyways, I got the things working at my end and the problem that I’m facing now is that when I try to send message to the modem sometimes either the message gets lost or they are received out of order(I mean second message is received before the first) and sometimes duplicate messages are received. But when I send the message directly to the carrier it is received without any problem (I guess problem is not with the carrier).
Can you please help on this? I'm also attaching the log files with this.
[SMSGW]
Debug=Yes
Modem1=IPModem - 192.168.101.86:5000
WebAuth=No
WebMenu=Yes
WebPort=8800
ReceiveSMS=Yes
ReceiveMMS=No
ReceiveSMSCharset=utf-8
ReceiveSMSCommand1=* http://192.168.101.127/callback/1003/receive.callback?to=919999026802&from=@@SENDER@@&text=@@FULLSMS@@ No
[IPModem - 192.168.101.86:5000]
Username=admin
Password=admin
ReceiveSMS=Yes
ReceiveMMS=No
ReceiveTo=Direct

application/zipLog
SMSIN-20070104.zip (4.1 k)
Malcolm - Now Support
Moderator
Username: Malcolm

Post Number: 76
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Monday, January 08, 2007 - 08:25 pm:   

Hi Vidit,

I'm not sure what to make of anything.

It would be interesting to see an SMSDEBUG.LOG. However, the SMSDEBUG.LOG that is included in your ZIP only shows several hours of failure to connect. The debug log rolls over to a new file every night at midnight. It looks like there was some SMS activity on the 4th, but at some point over the weekend, NowSMS lost the ability to connect to the modem.

--
Malcolm
Now Wireless Support
vidit mittal
New member
Username: Viditmittal

Post Number: 3
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 12:28 pm:   

Malcolm when i try to test the connection through the nowsms it comes back with the error message "Error Initializing the modem -ATZ". But when i try to access the modem by typing in the IP in the Internet explorer it works fine. Can you tell me what might be the reason for this.
Let me know if you want any specific tests to be performed that might help you to debug the issue.

Thanks
Malcolm - Now Support
Moderator
Username: Malcolm

Post Number: 80
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 06:38 pm:   

On a hunch, try having the modem reset, and see if that resolves the problem. (It is unfortunate if this is what it takes to resolve the problem, but it would mean that the telnet interface has stopped responding, while the web browser interface is still working.)

If that does not resolve the problem, unfortunately there is not a lot of diagnostic information when you use the "Test" modem button (because we only have very limited support for this modem in the configuration UI, which is why you need to manually configure it).

However, we should get some more information from the SMSDEBUG.LOG. If you restart the NowSMS service, does the SMSDEBUG.LOG contain any more detailed information than what it showed before?

--
Malcolm
Now Wireless Support
vidit mittal
New member
Username: Viditmittal

Post Number: 4
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 06:49 pm:   

Malcolm, I did hard resetted the modem before testing and was getting the same problem, i'm uploading the document containing all the information that we collected during the testing. Let me know if this is of any help to you
application/mswordTest Report
NoWSMS.doc (409.1 k)
Malcolm - Now Support
Moderator
Username: Malcolm

Post Number: 87
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - 07:49 pm:   

Vidit,

Your document indicates that a hard reboot needs to be performed in order to get NowSMS talking to the modem again.

Do you mean a hard reboot of the modem? Or do you mean a hard reboot of the machine running NowSMS?

I think you mean a hard reboot of the machine running NowSMS, in which case, I am curious ... does stopping and restarting the NowSMS service have the same effect? (If so, this sounds like something we should be able to fix with some investigation.)

--
Malcolm
Now Wireless Support
vidit mittal
New member
Username: Viditmittal

Post Number: 5
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Thursday, January 11, 2007 - 05:59 am:   

No Malcolm with hard reboot i mean the reboot of the modem not the machine , but i have also tried with rebooting the machine on which nowsms is running and i'm still having the same issues.
Let me know if you want some specific information that need to be captured to get this thing working.
Also, Malcolm do you suggest that there may be some problem with the modem itself?
Malcolm - Now Support
Moderator
Username: Malcolm

Post Number: 97
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Thursday, January 11, 2007 - 10:28 pm:   

Bummer.

Yes, I think there are problems with that modem. It looks like after some period of time, if the Telnet/IP connection drops, the modem will not accept any more connections.

What you might want to do is try the serial/IP converter software that is available from the following company: http://www.tacticalsoftware.com/products/serialip.htm

That software emulates a serial port and redirects the request to an ethernet modem. So in NowSMS, you would configure it to use "COMx" (substitute the port number being emulated), and this other software would manage the connection to the modem.

I'd be curious to see if that fares any better. If it doesn't, then I definitely think there is a problem with the modem.

--
Malcolm
Now Wireless Support
vidit mittal
New member
Username: Viditmittal

Post Number: 6
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Friday, January 19, 2007 - 02:54 pm:   

Malcolm since we are having problems with MultiModem Ethernet modem we are thinking of using some other modem. The only thing that we want is that the modem should be able to connect directly to ethernt port so that we do not require a PC to connect a modem. I was wondering if you can suggest a modem which works seemingly for inbound and outbound messages and which can be connected to ethernet port directly. If you think there are no such good modems available than i'm okay with a modem which requires a PC to connect to.

Thanks
Vidit
Malcolm - Now Support
Moderator
Username: Malcolm

Post Number: 111
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Monday, January 22, 2007 - 08:34 pm:   

Hi Vidit,

The Multitech model is the only one that I have seen that offers this configuration option.

It is less convenient (and potentially more expensive) to go the modem connected to a PC route, but based upon what you have observed, it should be more reliable. And you can use TCP/IP protocols to route messages between PCs with the connected modems.

--
Malcolm
Now Wireless Support
vidit mittal
New member
Username: Viditmittal

Post Number: 7
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Tuesday, January 23, 2007 - 04:13 pm:   

Hi Malcolm
I was wondering if you can suggest me some names of the modems that we can use in place of Multitech Ethernet modem.

Thanx
Vidit
Malcolm - Now Support
Moderator
Username: Malcolm

Post Number: 115
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Tuesday, January 23, 2007 - 07:42 pm:   

Hi Vidit,

We generally like the standard serial or USB Multitech modems. There is one thread here where someone is having a problem with a Multitech modem locking up under heavy SMS receive load. However, we generally have good experience with these modems.

Wavecom modems are good, but can be difficult to source in many countries.

We haven't tested iTegno modems ourselves, but we do seem to have a lot of customers that use them.

I believe that both iTegno and Multitech use a GSM modem chipset from Wavecom, so all 3 of these modem options are very similar.

There are also dedicated modem devices from Siemens and Nokia which I would not hesitate to recommend.

At the end of the day, it depends on which modem brands you can easily source from a supplier. I tend to prefer the modems with the Wavecom chipset.

--
Malcolm
Now Wireless Support
vidit mittal
New member
Username: Viditmittal

Post Number: 8
Registered: 12-2006
Posted on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 - 04:23 am:   

Hi Malcolm,
We are thinking of giving a last shot to debug the issue and are trying to arrange a call between Multitech modem team and us.
I was wondering if its possible for you to be the part of the call.

Thanks
Vidit
Bryce Norwood - NowSMS Support
Board Administrator
Username: Bryce

Post Number: 6897
Registered: 10-2002
Posted on Wednesday, January 31, 2007 - 09:14 pm:   

Hi Vidit,

Send a message to nowsms@now.co.uk with "Attention: Bryce" in the subject line, and we can try to coordinate times for participating in a call with Multitech.

-bn
Waleed Hameed
New member
Username: Waleed_k

Post Number: 1
Registered: 02-2007
Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 12:46 pm:   

Hello,
This is Waleed, Master student at Staffordshire University. I am working on NowSMS and using MultiTech MultiModem - GPRS - EtherNet Wireless Modem. I sow the above discussion, but from the start I couldn’t fined the SMSGW.INI file to make the manual modification on it.
I would be pleased with your further direction about the issue.

Thank you.

Waleed.
Bryce Norwood - NowSMS Support
Board Administrator
Username: Bryce

Post Number: 6923
Registered: 10-2002
Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 09:24 pm:   

Hi Waleed,

Since this earlier discussion, we have performed more in-depth testing with that modem.

First, you need NowSMS v2007.02.14 or later in order for this functionality to work well. To download a patch to update NowSMS 2006/2007 to this version, download http://www.nowsms.com/download/patch2007.zip.

Next, you need to manually define the modem in the SMSGW.INI file.

The key entries are this:

[SMSGW]
Modem1=IPModem - 192.168.101.86:5000

[IPModem - 192.168.101.86:5000]
Username=admin
Password=admin
ReceiveSMS=Yes
ReceiveTo=Direct

The "Modem1" (or "Modem2", "Modem3", etc.) setting defines the modem. It should be set to "IPModem - ip.address:port".

You can then define a section header for the modem within SMSGW.INI to define settings for the modem.

The Username and Password settings define a username and password to login to the modem if authentication is enabled on the modem.

The other settings can be set via the NowSMS configuration UI, but you might as well define them manually as they are recommended settings.

Note that there do seem to be some problems with the modem. Multitech recommended to another customer that you configure the modem to use "raw" mode instead of "telnet" mode (configured via the web interface of the modem), and that authentication be disabled for this interface (for some reason, authentication works fine in "telnet" mode, but not it "raw" mode). Once authentication is disabled, remove the "Username=" and "Password=" settings from SMSGW.INI.

If you use "telnet" mode with authentication, you may notice that sometimes the modem may become unresponsive if NowSMS loses its connection to the modem and needs to reconnect. Often this problem resolves itself within about 15 minutes. However, other times it has been observed that the modem must be power cycled to recover. These problems have not been observed if "raw" mode is used without user authentication.

Also, note that if you are having problems making the initial connection to the modem with NowSMS, it can be somewhat difficult to troubleshoot, since this configuration is not fully supported in the configuration user interface. I suggest enabling the SMSDEBUG.LOG (checkbox on "Serial #" page of the configuration dialog), and try to resolve initial connectivity problems by studying this log.

-bn
Bryce Norwood - NowSMS Support
Board Administrator
Username: Bryce

Post Number: 6924
Registered: 10-2002
Posted on Friday, February 23, 2007 - 09:26 pm:   

P.S. - It should also be noted that this modem can only be used for sending/receiving SMS ... not for sending/receiving MMS.