Connect your IT system to the mobile network

In the previous article we have discussed, why it is recommended to use an SMS gateway in your company if you wish to send and receive mobile text messages (SMS). This article gives you information about the possible alternatives you can select from, when you connect your corporate system to the mobile network. In general two main areas are covered: a wireless connection to the mobile network and an Internet based connection.

Introduction

With SMS communication technology you can improve the communication in your company. You will be able to send and receive SMS messages from your IT system which makes it possible to improve the efficiency of your business communication. SMS messages are fast and simple ways of communication. With the help of them important messages can be sent in any time. There is a very important advantage of SMS communication: you can always send your messages to the mobile phone of the competent people. Which means, you can reach them any time no matter where they are.

To achieve these features you need to setup an SMS gateway software. This software will make it possible to send and receive SMS messages from your IT environment. After you have installed your SMS gateway, you need to connect it to the mobile network. In this article you can read about how you can do these connections.

Wireless connection

To connect your SMS gateway to the mobile network you can use a wireless connection. In practice it means that you attach a GSM device to your computer and you will use this to connect to the mobile network. The GSM device can be a GSM modem or a mobile phone. You also need an RS232 data cable or USB cable to attach the GSM device to the computer. You can also use Infrared or BlueTooth connection, but you should keep in mind that cable connections are more reliable. A SIM card is also necessary, it can be obtained from any mobile network operator. The SIM card is inserted into the device and it will give you the mobile phone number, that you can use to operate. After you have plugged everything together the SMS gateway will control the GSM device and will use it to send and receive SMS messages. Please take a look at the following video to see how you can attach a GSM modem to your computer to setup a wireless SMS connection to the mobile network.

IP SMS connection

The other possibility to connect the SMS gateway to the mobile network is the IP SMS connection. It means that you connect the SMS gateway directly to the Short Message Service Center (SMSC) of the mobile service provider over the Internet or a leased line. In this case the SMS messages are sent directly to to the SMSC of the service provider through TCP/IP. To connect to the service provider's SMSC you need a contract with them and you will be given their IP address, port number, a username and a password. If you setup an IP SMS connection, the SMS gateway software will manage the link and will convert your messages to and from the appropriate SMS protocol (CIMD2, UCP, SMPP, HTTP, etc).

Operating multiple connections simultaneously

In some systems there can be demand for increased message throughput, redundancy or logical separation of services. In these cases you can setup more than one connection to the mobile network and you can have your SMS gateway manage these connections simultaneously. Multiple connections are often used if high capacity is needed or if you want to increase operation safety, cost-effectiveness, functional separation of services, or for regional localization. In practice more than one connection means that the gateway simultaneously manages more than one GSM device. Or in case of IP SMS connection it communicates using multiple IP links with one or more SMS service providers. Of course your gateway can operate wireless and IP SMS connections at the same time.

Multiple connections to the mobile network give you the ability to setup least cost routing. For example, if you have least cost routing setup, and there are three mobile service providers in your country then your company can connect to all of their SMSC through a dedicated link. You can do this if you connect to them using three modems with three different SIM cards or if you setup 3 different IP SMS links. With a least cost routing setup you can direct messages to the appropriate mobile network based on telephone number prefix. With this setup you can save money if we assume that sending SMS messages within a network of a service provider is cheaper. (Ozeki NG SMS Gateway can be used to setup least cost routing.)

With multiple connections you can gain other advantages, such as backup routing. It is a common practice to use an IP SMS connection and a wireless GSM modem connection on the SMS gateway at the same time. With this setup you can use the wireless link as a backup connection. In case the IP SMS connection goes down for any reason, the wireless link can take over. This solution helps you avoid SMS losses and delivery problems and allows you to achieve better service levels. (You can configure backup routing in the outbound routing table of Ozeki NG SMS Gateway.)

Some companies setup multiple links to increase the message throughput of their system. For this purpose load balancing needs to be configured. In a load balancing configuration the messages are distributed evenly on the available connections. If one of the connections fail, the others take over. (Load balancing is also handled by Ozeki NG SMS Gateway.

Ozeki NG SMS Gateway for mobile network connection

Ozeki NG SMS Gateway can be properly used in the above mentioned ways. It supports all the possible connections and configurations. In case of more than one connections inbound routing and outbound routing tables can be used to make sure SMS messages will end up where they should. In the software the mobile network connection options can be configured easily and operate very reliable. It does not matter whether you use a wireless GSM modem or an IP SMS connection because it functions in an excellent way with both options.

Ozeki NG SMS Gateway is able to do the above mentioned tasks in the following way:
In case of GSM modem connection the gateway software manages the modem with the use of AT commands. The software reads the incoming SMS messages from the modem and also sends the outgoing messages. In case of IP SMS connection the SMS gateway uses the appropriate TCP/IP based SMS protocol which is necessary to communicate with the mobile network. It transmits the messages to the SMSC of the service provider and receives the incoming delivery reports and messages. Ozeki NG SMS Gateway is also prepared to handle problems originating from network overload, connection breakdowns and other errors. Ozeki NG SMS gateway manages these problems in a way that all of the SMS messages will be forwarded if possible and if not the end user will be notified about the error cause.