Communication Profiles

Kalipso - Developing - Form - Communication Profiles

Communication, as understood by Kalipso, is any way to send or receive data to/from another device, typically a server.

The configuration of one (or more) communication profiles is necessary for connection to external databases.

To configure a communication profile, choose the option on the ribbon. There the following window appears:

In this window, one or more communication profiles can be added to the project. Once created, they appear in the listing.

On the right side are icons that allow the management of communication profiles. Thus, the icons have the following purpose:

• Add - Adds a new communication profile to the project (this option opens a new window).

• Edit - Edit a communication profile already created. In this case, you will have to select the profile already created in the list (this option opens a new window).

• Copy - Copies a communication profile already created.

• Paste - Paste a copied communication profile.

• Delete - Deletes the communication profile selected in the list.

When you click on add or edit a communication profile the window that opens is the same. You can see better below:

Add / Edit

The window appears divided into two tabs. General, for typical configurations and Certificates for adding certificates.

Tab - General

This tabulation is the main one for the creation and management of a communication profile. The available fields are:

General

• Name - Name for the communication profile.

• Type - Choose the type of communication. The available ones are:

  • Bluetooth Socket

  • Local

  • TCP/IP

• MIS Passw. - Enter the password for MIS Communicator

• Conn. Manager - Select the connection manager from the following available:

  • Yes - Uses one of the settings for managing communications that the device has..

  • No - Do not use.

  • Auto Internet - Choose an internet connection from those available at the device.

  • Auto Work - For connections through a VPN already created, for example.

  • Auto Mobile Broadband - Uses the device's GSM / GPRS card for connection.

The "Conn. Manager" option is only available for Windows CE and Windows Mobile.

The option "Conn. Manager" only appears when choosing the type of communication over TCP/IP.

When the option selected in "Conn. Manager" is "no" then the options "Connection, Phone, User and Password" of the next group are active.

• Encryption - Choose the encryption method from the following possible:

  • None

  • AES256

  • TLS

Details (option Bluetooth Socket in "Type" )

• MAC Address - Write the MAC address to the device

Details (option Local in "Type" )

• Port

• Baud Rate

• Parity

• Data Bits

• Stop Bits

Details (option TCP/IP selected in "Type" )

• Port

• Server (IP/Name)

• Connection

• Phone

• User

• Password

The parameters "connection", "Phone", "User" and "Password" serve to inform how the terminal connects to the Internet using an ISP provider. These options are only necessary when using Windows Mobile or Windows CE OS and in the option "Conn. Manager" is set to "no".

Connection

• Timeout - Specify the timeout period

• Tries - Specify the number of tries to connect

• Timewait - Specify the timewait period

Tab - Certificates

The "Certificates" tab is only available when the "TLS" encryption method was previously chosen.

Server

• Ignore Untrusted Certificate - If you are using untrusted certificates, like self signed certificates, you can use this option to allow communications to be established and accept the untrusted certificate. If you use this option, you are advised to also use the Certificate Fingerprint or the Public Key Fingerprint to allow only connections to MISCommunicator using a certificate the you trust.

• Ignore Invalid Certificate Name - You can use this option if the certificate name was issued with a different value that the one you are using when specifying the server address and you want to allow that connection to take place. If you use this option, you are advised to also use the Certificate Fingerprint or the Public Key Fingerprint to allow only connections to MISCommunicator using a certificate the you trust.

• Certificate Fingerprint List - Here you can specify a list of certificate fingerprints (SHA 256), separated by comma. When this is specified, a connection will only be established to a MISCommunicator that has a certificate with this fingerprint. This is called Certificate Pinning and it allows you to increase the security of your connections by only allowing to connect to servers with certificates that you explicitly trust. This is a list, so you can handle the server certificate renewal process. When you are renewing the server certificate, you can specify here both the old and the certificates, so when you change the certificate on the server, the clients will continue to be able to connect.

• Public Key Fingerprint List - Here you can specify a list of certificate public key fingerprints (SHA 256), separated by comma. When this is specified, a connection will only be established to a MISCommunicator that has a certificate with a public key with this fingerprint. This is called Certificate Pinning and it allows you to increase the security of your connections by only allowing to connect to servers with certificates that you explicitly trust. This is a list, so you can handle the server certificate renewal process. When you are renewing the server certificate, you can specify here both the old and the certificates, so when you change the certificate on the server, the clients will continue to be able to connect.

Client

• Certificate - If MISCommunicator is configured to require client certificates, then you need to specify here the client certificate file for that connection.

• Certificate Password - The password for the client certificate.

Notes

TCP/IP is a set of communications protocols used for the Internet and other similar networks. This includes communications through Wi-Fi, GPRS, 3G, 4G, Ethernet, ActiveSync Ethernet emulation, etc.

In Kalipso there are several ways you can communicate over TCP/IP:

• FTP (File Transfer Protocol): for sending and receiving files;

• Web Services: for executing Web Services;

• Sockets: for a manual implementation of communications.

By creating and configuring a TCP/IP communication profile has in the screen above, you can then use that profile to communicate with MIS Communicator and through it you can:

• Send/Receive Files;

• List files on the server;

• Run applications on the server;

• Give remote control of your device to the server;

• Access databases through ODBC.

Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances and is a standard wire-replacement communications protocol primarily designed for low-power consumption.

By creating and configuring a Bluetooth communication profile has in the screen above, you can then use that profile to communicate with MIS Communicator and through it you can:

• Send/Receive Files;

• List files on the server;

• Run applications on the server.

After the configuration of a communication profile using TCP/IP or Bluetooth, it is necessary to proceed with the configuration of the MIS Communicator before testing and using the connection.

To learn more about MIS Communicator click here.