Does the Android modem talk back to the NowSMS server?

Does the Android modem talk back to the NowSMS server? SearchSearch
Author Message
Des - NowSMS Support
Board Administrator
Username: Desosms

Post Number: 5408
Registered: 08-2008
Posted on Friday, August 21, 2015 - 04:25 pm:   

A question from the support mailbox:


quote:

I have a question about the Android modem if possible.

Does the Android modem talk back to the NowSMS server? So if the Android was on data and not WiFi, would this work? Or does it need a fixed IP, either private or public so that NowSMS can talk to it instead?

Is it possible to set a validity period for SMS messages? For example, if we connect to an SMSC we set our validity period to 4 hours but I was under the impression it is not possible to use AT commands on Android, so would the validity period not be honoured on this modem type?

From what I have read, Android ignores the validity period in the PDU.

Many thanks,




I'll address the second question first. The validity period is not supported.

For the first question...

There may be always-on VPN tricks that we have not learned yet, but our current recommendation is that the Android device needs to be on WiFi. NowSMS does not have to be on the same WiFi as the Android device, they just need to have IP connectivity to each other.

If they are on the same network segment, NowSMS can scan the network to find the device by name, so it will work with dynamic or static IP addresses.

If they are on different network segments, the NowSMS server needs to know an IP address (and optionally a port #) that can be used to connect to the Android device.

When the Android device receives an SMS or MMS, it needs to connect back to the NowSMS server to deliver it. This address is not currently configurable, the Android app remembers the IP from when NowSMS server connection, and expects to connect back to port 8990.

For off-site modems, we'd recommend connecting them to WiFi with a VPN router that links them to to a common network with NowSMS.

We are looking into alternative always on VPN configurations, but at this point you'd need to try your own experiments with our trial version.

We have had feedback from one customer that they were losing VPN connectivity because during idle times, NowSMS only polls modems for connectivity issues every 600 seconds (10 minutes).

To keep the VPN active, it may be necessary to poll more frequently. This is configurable. In SMSGW.INI, under the [SMSGW] header, add ModemAppCheckInterval=###, where ### is the polling interval in seconds.

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Des
NowSMS Support