DCT Antares SB, User Manual

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4.2. *ENABLING THE UNIT ON GSM AND GPRS
4.2.2 Access Point Name (APN) for GPRS set up
A GPRS session enables the unit to communicate with IP networks (IP
addresses).
Although the most common IP network is the Internet, by
specifying an APN the cellular carrier can enable your unit(s) to work on a
user-private IP network that does not
necessarily communicate with the In-
ternet. Among other advantages discussed on the Operation chapter, when
using a private APN, devices like the Antares, Cellular Phones, PDAs, PCs,
Servers, etc can only be accessed by devices on the same APN. There are
several reasons why a cellular carrier may use different APNs, but the im-
portant thing is that
an APN is needed for the unit to start a GPRS
session , for it to be able to send and receive data over IP networks. The
most common situation is an APN with Internet access. Any device using
this APN has the ability of communicating with any IP network on the
Internet. Specifically if you are running your AVL (Automated Vehicle Lo-
cation) server on the Internet, this is the kind of APN you want.
An APN has the form of a server name on a dot-separated format and
it is supplied by the cellular carrier.
For example:
this.is.an.apn.com
or
internet.carrier-name.com
Setting the APN on the Antares SB
TM
is also done with the
RF
message.
An “empty” APN may be configured too. An empty value is used when
a GPRS session
5
is not desired. For more information refer to the TAIP
reference, but the command takes the following form:
To set the APN to internet.carrier-name.com send to the unit:
>
SRFAinternet.carrier-name.com
<
To leave the APN parameter empty:
>
SRFA
<
You can check the GPRS registration status with the
XANS
message and/or
with the On line led. This led has to be either ON or blinking when GPRS
is up. For more information consult the TAIP reference and the Leds sub-
section on the Operation chapter.
An APN configuration can be issued at any time and the unit will start
registering to the GPRS network as soon as the GSM registration process
is done and the APN parameter is set.
The Antares SB
TM
will not start a GPRS session if it is not reg-
istered on the GSM network. And when the GSM network is lost
the GPRS session is lost too. However the unit may work on the
GSM network regardless of the GPRS session state.
Note:
5
GSM communication only: Voice and/or SMSs
73