How to set up a custom SMS provider in RSA Mobile
2 years ago
Originally Published: 2004-02-15
Article Number
000062497
Applies To
RSA Mobile 1.5 Authentication Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP3
Issue
How to set up a custom SMS provider in RSA Mobile
Resolution
To develop and deploy a new SMS plugin in RSA Mobile, follow these steps:

1. Figure out if the new plugin needs to have configurable data or not. If it does, create a configuration file. We use sms-<plugin_name>.properties as our naming convention, where <plugin_name> is the plugin name in lower case of your choice. All configuration data will be presented as name-value pairs. The name of the attribute should start with mobileid.sms.<plugin_name> to avoid name conflict.

2. OPTIONAL - Implement a Java class that will read the sms-<plugin_name>.properties file

3. Implement the com.rsa.mobileid.techservice.sms.SmsSession class to provide your plugin-specific SMS transportation mechanism. The current convention is to create a sub-directory under the \com\rsa\mobileid\techservice\sms\ directory using the new plugin name. As of RSA Mobile 1.0, there are 4 plugin names - modem, smpp, redmessage, and email. Refer to the Javadoc embedded in the SmsSession.java file for more information about the API. Currently, the queryMessage(), replaceMessage(), and cancelMessage() are not used; no real implementation is needed. Instead, you can simply throw an SmsNotSupportedException back to the caller. Refer to the existing SMS plugin implementations for more information.

4. Write a unit test for the new plugin

5. Compile and test the new plugin using the unit test

6. Add your new plugin name into the mobileid.sms.session.plugins value list. The list has all the supported plugin names separated by commas.

7. Add a new entry <plugin_name>.classname=com.rsa.mobileid.techservice.sms.<plugin_name>.<plugin_class_name> to specify the class name of your new plugin

8. If your new plugin is part of the RSA Mobile deployment kit, you do not need to do anything to deploy this new plugin. If the plugin is developed after RSA Mobile is installed, you must create the \com\rsa\mobileid\techservice\sms\<plugin_name> directory hierarchy under the <INSTALL_DIR>\rsaappserver\bea\wlserver\ directory and copy the <plugin_class_name>.class file into the directory.

9. If you deploy the new plugin after RSA Mobile has been installed, you must perform steps 6 and 7 manually. The files are located in the <INSTALL_DIR>\rsaappserver\properties\ directory.

10. To switch/select the new SMS plugin, simply use the ?configtool CONFIGSMS <plugin_name>? from a command prompt. This command will also bring up a Java editor to enable you to modify the configuration file in case you want to configure the plugin with non-default values.

11. Restart your Authentication Server and the new plugin should be ready to fire