Users

Authentication

There is a need for all services to be able to set the access directly per user in the accounts Management section. However, for SMS (and FTP) this is a challenge as they already have their own authentication settings through username/password combination. Sometimes you simply want to create specific accounts for SMS (and FTP) and not to be forced to create extra email users for them.

Access Mode

All services have the Access Mode capability. Service access can be set globally, on the domain level or the user level.

Each service, domain or user now has general service options which are in fact the same as you would define for an FTP or SMS account. Based on the Access Mode you are able to edit either of them. Once Access Mode is set properly you do not need to define any SMS (or FTP) accounts and simply use system users automatically.

If SMTP session is authenticated, the authenticated user is used when the access mode is checked. Therefore users do not even need to authenticate when sending SMS from their accounts and they simply only need to SMTP authenticate and SMS authentication is done automatically in the background. Limits and options are applied accordingly (globally, domain level wise or user level wise, based on the Access Mode).

The Access Mode for SMS – when set to Account from list – ensures that system accounts (such as mailing lists, notifications, ...) do not get full access to SMS Service and only dedicated SMS accounts which are defined on the SMS - Users tab and set as Active are able to use SMS service.

Username/password

SMS Gateway also implements its Users tab where you can define a list of users (accounts). By default, user authentication is required. The SMS Account feature (dialog) allows you to manage accounts, groups, number of messages sent monthly, expiration, etc.

SMS Server supports "authenticated" URL variables. You can indicate that the sender email address is authenticated and must be processed as a local account. sms: protocol automatically uses authenticated parameter if SMTP session is authenticated.

Summary

Username/password authentication and Access Mode are integrated. If the sender is not SMTP authenticated user, the authentication against the list setup in SMS Service - Users is attempted. If username/password authentication is not found or invalid, the system authentication is applied. If successful, the sms.dat file is read from a location based on Access Mode (global, domain, user). If the user is not listed, he/she is denied access and cannot send.

Processing Order

SMTP AUTH based on Access Mode -> username/password authentication: users based on Access Mode -> username/password authentication: users listed in SMS Service - Users (e.g. external users).

It is really simple and you have an absolute power to create any scenario. This also means that on the domain or user level you can find settings for SMS, FTP and Push services, depending on the Access Mode configured for the respective service.

tabServices_push_ftp_settings

SMS Account Setup

general_users

Field	Description
Add...	Click the button to add a new account.
Edit...	Click the button to edit the selected account.
Delete	Click the button to delete the selected account.

An SMS account serves the purpose of account management for SMS users. It offers similar functionality as email account options and includes a very basic billing. It lets you define groups of users (or separate users) which will share the same authentication, the same destination gateway and you can define a common expiration and send-out limits for them.

new_sms_account_dialog

Field	Description
Active	Tick the box to activate the account.
User	Use the "..." button to select the user/account.
Password	Enter the password which will be used to authenticate the user for SMS service. It can differ from the user's email account password. If left blank, the user won't need to authenticate.
Description	Enter brief account description.
Gateway	Select a gateway from the list.
Expire	Select a date of the account expiration; if left blank, there is no expiration applied.
Monthly message limit	Enter the maximum number of messages that can be sent per month; if "0" (zero) is left, there is no limit set. For example evaluation accounts can be created by limiting a number of sent messages to 10 and/or setting a 7 day expiration.
Number of sent messages this month (Auto adjusted)	The use is two-fold: Message counter.The value shown here tells you how many messages have been sent this month by users or groups within this account. It is automatically reset to 0 at each month's end. Counter reset. Type 0 or any other value and click OK to reset the monthly counter.
Number of sent messages previous month (Auto adjusted)	The value shown here tells you how many messages have been sent in the previous month by users or groups within this account. If there has been no activity in that month, it is automatically reset to 0 at each calendar month's end. Counter reset. Type 0 or any other value and click OK to reset the monthly counter.
Last sent	Shows the date and time when the last message was sent through this SMS account.