SMS Set Up and Protocol on Cellular-Enabled SynLink PDUs

by Mark Molina

SynLink PDUs with Cellular 4G LTE for a Complete Remote Solution

With 4G LTE cellular connectivity, rest assured that you will always have remote access to your valuable assets even when your internet connection goes down. 

Prerequisites

  • SynLink Smart PDU with 4G LTE Modem (SP-1001AIE-01-M01)
  • Activated SIM Card (Contact Synaccess on how to purchase and activate a SIM card)
  • Network Configured/Connected Setup (Quick Start Guide)
  • Web Browser

    Initial Setup

    Important: Remove power from the PDU before following the steps below. It is important that the PDU is turned off before inserting SIM.

    synlink_4g_pdu
    1. Unscrew the cap covering the SIM card slot and insert the activated SIM card. Screw back the cap.
    2. Screw on the antenna on the antenna slot. 
    3. Plug the network Ethernet cable.
    4. Plug in power to the PDU. The control module will automatically turn on. After a few seconds of boot up, the LCD should display PDU settings. Navigate to the Network section and take note of the IP address

    Modem Status and Allowed Phone Numbers 

    The web interface is the easiest way to display status and configure the 4G LTE modem. Using your favorite Web browser, access the web interface via the IP address of the PDU.

    1. Navigate to the SMS Configuration section: Network->SMS
    2. You should see two sections. The Status and Configuration section should automatically refresh and show you all important modem statistics (i.e. Cell Phone number, Signal Strength, etc.). Click Refresh to update the status. Click the Help Icon (?) for definition of each field.
    3. Under Permitted SMS Phone Numbers, you can specify which phone numbers are allowed to communicate with the PDU. When entering phone number, make sure to include the country code and only enters the digits. Do not include special characters such as +,-,(), etc.

     

    Verify SMS Connection 

    Important: PDU's cell phone number can be found in Network->SMS->Status and Configuration->Cell Phone Number

    1. Using a cell phone included in "Permitted SMS Phone Numbers", text "get token" to the PDU's cell phone number.
    2. You should receive a message with a random string. If so, then you've completed the setup and you are now able to manage your PDU via SMS. If you did not receive a random string, then see Troubleshooting FAQs below.

     

    SynLink SMS Commands and Protocol

     Make sure your cell phone is included in the Permitted SMS Phone Numbers. 

    To execute a command, the user needs to input a token. A token can be generated using "get token" command.

    Detailed Description of the Commands List:

    • get token
      • Returns a 5 character random string that is used to execute other commands
      • There is only one token valid at any given time.
      • Token is only valid for one command. After successful command, the token is discarded. 
      • If command is unsuccessful, token is not discarded and may be reused.
    • ping [token] [ip address]
      • pings an ip address and returns status
    • outlet [token] [outlet#] [on|off|reboot]
      • turns on/off/reboot an outlet and returns status
    • status [token] [network|outlet|sensors]
      • status [token] network
        • Returns the IP configuration of the PDU
      • status [token] outlet [outlet #]
        • Returns information about specific outlet (i.e. state, current, power, etc.)
      • status [token] sensors
        • Returns the temperature and humidity readings if a sensor is attached (purchased separately)   
    The protocol for communicating with the PDU over SMS is summarized in the flow chart below.

      SMS Alerts

      You can configured your PDU to send you SMS alerts to notify you of an event. A list of all events can be found here. 

       The example below shows a setup where the user is alerted via text message if the internet network connection goes down.

          1. Navigate to Automation section and click on "New Action"
          2. In resulting Create New Action page, choose SMS Action in the Action Type drop down box.
          3. Type in the Action Name and the Cell Phone number that will receive the SMS alert.
          4. Click Save.
          5. Navigate to Automation section and click Create New Event. 
        1. Pick an Event Type and provide an Event Name. For this example, we picked AutoPing Timeout.
        2. Type in a target IP address. This IP address could be a host outside of your network. Failing to Ping this host should mean that you lost network connection.
        3. Under Add Existing Action for Event, choose the SMS action we created in step 2. Click Save.
        4. You should be able to see the new Event you created like below.

      That's it! You will receive a text message when the PDU detects a network outage. You can test this by unplugging the ethernet cable from the PDU followed by an SMS alert!

       

      Troubleshooting/FAQs

      • I texted "get token" to the PDU cell phone number but I get no response.
        • Make sure that your cell phone number is in the Permitted SMS Phone Numbers.  See Modem Status and Allowed Phone Numbers section for details.
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