4.2 Configuration by SMS

2N® MeterCom PRO with an installed GSM / UMTS level allows for communication via SMS messages. SMS messages are used for basic settings. You have to know the telephone number of the SIM card inserted in your 2N® MeterCom PRO  to ensure a reliable function. You can configure the basic network communication parameters of the GSM / UMTS connection and get status info and/or perform device reset via SMS. SMS communication is protected with a password, which is identical with the DLMS password. Every SMS message consists of three parts: initial string, command and command parameters.

Caution

  • Every SMS to be sent to 2N® MeterCom PRO must meet all the conditions mentioned below. If not, the SMS will be ignored and no changes will be made. An error message will be sent to the SMS sending number.

Function Description

2N® MeterCom PRO can be configured by SMS messages. Send an SMS to the terminal SIM card number. Remember to enter all of the mandatory parameters correctly to avoid SMS processing failure and error reply.

Every configuration SMS must meet the following conditions:

  • Name of device – MCP.
  • Correctly formatted command (INFO, CNF, etc.).
  • Authorisation password.
  • Correctly defined parameters (refer to command parameters).
  • Upper/Lower Case must be respected.
  • Parameters must be separated with a space.
  • 7–bit SMS format (no diacritic symbols).
  • Maximum length of 160 characters (which is one SMS, concatenated SMS are not supported).

Note

  • The maximum SMS length is 160 characters. This is a GSM standard, which allows 1120 bits, i.e. 140 bytes, per SMS. Since 7bit encoding is used by default, 20 characters are saved per 140 bytes and so the resultant length is 160 characters. The GSM 03.38 character set is applied. UCS-2 16bit encoding is used for the characters that are not included in the ASCII standard (characters with diacritics). In that case, the SMS contains only 70 characters. Not supporting the UCS-2 character set, 2N® MeterCom PRO cannot process such SMS correctly and marks them as errors.
  • Modern GSM devices support SMS concatenating where several standard SMS are merged into a long one. Information on each fragment of the long SMS is written into the User Data Header (UDH) and so no fragment may be longer than 153 chars in 7bit encoding. Not supporting the UDH encoding system, 2N® MeterCom PRO cannot process such SMS correctly and marks them as errors.

Information SMS

Send the following INFO SMS to identify the signal level, serial number, firmware version and other parameters  of your 2N® MeterCom PRO: 

MCP INFO PWD=HELLO

Separate each message part with a space: header (MCP), command (INFO) and password (PWD=xxxxx).  The reply to such SMS, for example, looks as follows: 

EM_ID=11620371 SN=50-1008-0004 SIG=-57dBm LIP=89.24.0.201 STAT=GSM TECH=GPRS

The meanings of the parameters in the reply SMS are as follows:

  • EM_ID – e-power meter ID.
  • SN – 2N® MeterCom PRO serial number.
  • SIG – current GSM / UMTS module signal level.
  • LIP – 2N® MeterCom PRO IP address in the mobile network.
  • STAT – current DLMS connection state. Options:
    • LISTEN
    • GSM
    • OPTO
    • 485
  • TECH – selected registration technology. Options:
    • GPRS
    • UMTS 

Configuration SMS

If an SMS is received, processed and executed correctly, the module will be reconfigured. A configuration SMS must have the proper format and the commands must be separated with a space. If any of the parameters contains a space, it must be closed in brackets. The configuration SMS is protected with an access password, which is included as a PWD command parameter. HELLO is the default value.

Use the configuration SMS to set the following parameters:

  • APN – name of the provider's access point.
  • DUSR – user name for provider connection.
  • DPWD – password for provider connection.
  • IP – IP address of the server to which 2N® MeterCom PRO gets connected.
  • PORT – number of the remote TCP port for outgoing connection to the server and number of the local TCP port for incoming sessions.
  • NPWD – new access password.
  • RINT – outgoing call intervals to the server. Options:
    • 1–24 – interval in hours
    • 0 – disabled

Note

  • Enter the direct IP address of the server to which the module shall connect in the IP parameter. The domain name cannot be used.

To change the default values, send the following SMS to the number of the SIM card inserted in 2N® MeterCom PRO:

MCP CNF PWD=HELLO APN=<new apn> DUSR=<new username> DPWD=<new password> IP=<new IP address> PORT=<new port number> NPWD=<new password> RINT=<interval in hours>

Tip

  • Not all access data have to be included. For example, send only the following SMS: MCP CNF PWD=<password> APN=<new apn> to change the APN.

When new parameters have been set, 2N® MeterCom PRO will send the following SMS message to the configuration SMS sending number:

APN=internet.t-mobile.cz DUSR=internet DPWD= IP=10.0.25.30 PORT=58600 RINT=2

Caution

  • Some providers do not request the user name and password and so these parameters may be empty. Ask your provider whether it is necessary to enter the user name and password to get access to the Internet.

Device Restart

You can also use an SMS to restart your 2N® MeterCom PRO:

MCP RESET PWD=HELLO

Caution

  • The command execution takes about 30 s. Then 2N® MeterCom PRO is restarted.

2N® MeterCom PRO sends a confirmation SMS (OK) before restarting. 

Error Replies

2N® MeterCom PRO  sends an error reply to notify you of any configuration sending/processing error. If such a reply is generated, the command has not been executed! 

2N® MeterCom PRO  sends error replies until all the configuration SMS parameters are OK.
The following errors are available:

Unknown command – unknown command. CNF, RESET and INFO are only allowed.

Password missing – the command is correct, but the password string is missing or invalid.

Password incorrect – the command is correct, but the password is invalid.

Too many parameters – the received SMS has a valid format, but includes too many parameters.

Unknown parameter – the received SMS has a valid format, but a command is unknown.

Parameter value incorrect – the received SMS has a valid format, but a parameter is beyond the limit.