Simultaneous outbound MMS from multiple modems

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Cesar Cepeda
New member
Username: Cesarcepeda

Post Number: 1
Registered: 12-2016
Posted on Wednesday, December 21, 2016 - 06:02 pm:   

Hi,

I'm trying to use NowSMS to send outbound MMS through multiple modems. All of the modems use SIMS from the same provider, and thus, point to the same WAP gateway.

When several MMS are queued (each with its own outbound-route specified) the MMSWAPDEBUG.LOG file shows that all the modems succesfully establish their dial connection with the WAP gateway. Nevertheless, when the actual messages are sent, it seems that they are sent one by one, that is, the first modem sends its message, after it's done, the second modem sends its message and so on.

I understand that the issue may arise from the fact that all modems are connected to the same gateway and it is a problem of making each MMS packet be sent to the same gateway via a different TCP connection.

My question is: Is it possible to send MMS through different modems simultaneously? If so, how can it be done or which config parameters should I pay attention to?

Thanks in advance.
Bryce Norwood - NowSMS Support
Board Administrator
Username: Bryce

Post Number: 8161
Registered: 10-2002
Posted on Thursday, December 22, 2016 - 05:23 pm:   

Hi,

The only solution for this is to use Android phones as modems instead of USB modems.

We have studied this problem extensively, but have not found a reliable solution for handling multiple USB modems simultaneously
communicating with the same gateway or MMSC. That said, your post made me reinvestigate this issue, and I have asked our engineering team to look into this again.

Using the Android phones as modems definitely has no limit on simultaneous MMS activity.

-bn

Bryce Norwood
Now SMS/MMS Support
Cesar Cepeda
New member
Username: Cesarcepeda

Post Number: 2
Registered: 12-2016
Posted on Thursday, December 22, 2016 - 07:06 pm:   

Thanks for the answer, let me know if engineering has any new info.

On the Android solution, I understand that this solves the simultaneous channels, but can you still receive MMS? Or do the inbound MMS get "captured" by the phone?

Cesar Cepeda.
Bryce Norwood - NowSMS Support
Board Administrator
Username: Bryce

Post Number: 8162
Registered: 10-2002
Posted on Friday, December 23, 2016 - 03:21 am:   

Hi Cesar,

The Android phone as a modem over WiFi configuration does support both sending and receiving MMS.

That said, we did have a possible engineering breakthrough to improve simultaneous MMS on USB modems. More testing and development is required...but it appears after many years of fighting this issue, we finally figured out the quirky TCP/IP routing of Windows. Unfortunately, with the holidays, I'm not sure when we'll have a test version available...maybe next week, but probably after the new year.

Android phones over wifi still generally offer better performance for the following reasons:

1.) Some mobile operators wil not provision MMS support if they detect that the device is a modem.

2.) Higher performance with Android devices when LTE is available. LTE modems often lack AT command support.

3.) (This is the issue that we might finally have a solution for.) If you are using multiple modems connected to the same mobile operator, with conventional modems, only one can be active at a time for sending or receiving MMS (multiple modems can be active, but they block while another modem is processing an MMS transaction, NowSMS manages this automatically). With the Android devices, there is no such limit, and all devices can process MMS transactions simultaneously.

I will post an update here when we have a test build with this change.

-bn

Bryce Norwood
Now SMS/MMS Support
Cesar Cepeda
New member
Username: Cesarcepeda

Post Number: 3
Registered: 12-2016
Posted on Friday, December 23, 2016 - 03:49 pm:   

Those are VERY good news indeed. Thanks for the answer Bryce. I'll be looking forward to your post.

Cesar Cepeda.
Bryce Norwood - NowSMS Support
Board Administrator
Username: Bryce

Post Number: 8163
Registered: 10-2002
Posted on Friday, December 23, 2016 - 04:01 pm:   

Hi Cesar,

I'm going to go ahead and upload this version for you to try.

If you do encounter a problem, save the MMSCDEBUG.LOG and MMSWAPEBUG.LOG for us to review...and run the install for the old version to roll back to that version (do not uninstall).

The test version is at http://www.nowsms.com/download/nowsms20161223.zip.

-bn

Bryce Norwood
Now SMS/MMS Support
Cesar Cepeda
New member
Username: Cesarcepeda

Post Number: 4
Registered: 12-2016
Posted on Friday, December 23, 2016 - 04:41 pm:   

Thanks Bryce,

We'll perform some tests and let you know of any result.

Merry Christmas to you and all the NowSMS team.

Regards,

Cesar Cepeda.
Des - NowSMS Support
Board Administrator
Username: Desosms

Post Number: 5779
Registered: 08-2008
Posted on Tuesday, January 03, 2017 - 08:25 pm:   

Hi Cesar,

Hope you had a great holiday.

I just wanted to follow-up and mention that there is a minor update that supersedes the one mentioned by Bryce.

https://www.nowsms.com/download/nowsms20170102.zip

--
Des
NowSMS Support

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