Device policies
You can use Device Policies to create unique coverage and network configurations that can be assigned to devices. There are two types of policies, Service Policies and Coverage Policies.
Service policies
Service policies allow you to set usage limits on data or SMS. They can also be used to restrict types of networks or services. By default, a new policy has no restrictions. However, by creating a service policy, you can control the following:
- Breakout Region (automatic or manual selection)
- Data
- Usage limit
- Service type (for example, 2G, 3G, 4G, NB-IoT)
- SMS
- SMS MO (Devices may send SMS)
- Sending limit
- SMS MT (Devices may receive SMS)
- Receiving limit
- Allow/deny the exchange of SMS between devices
- Allow/deny the exchange of SMS with external parties
- SMS MO (Devices may send SMS)
- SMS Interface
- Web Portal (default)
- Webhook
- SMPP
Create a new service policy
To create a new service policy, follow these steps:
- Log in to your emnify account.
- Navigate to Device Policies. Service policies is the top section on the page.
- Select New service policy.
- Replace New service policy with the name of your policy, then add a Description and edit the Configuration.
Changes save automatically. To remove a service policy, click the trash bin icon next to Details.
Creating one policy per use case or device type helps you adjust and save your device settings based on the demands of a particular use case.
Webhook SMS interface
When selecting Webhook as your SMS Interface, you need to provide the URL for your webhook. Optionally, you can provide a secret key to prevent unauthorized access.
Show how to configure a webhook
Select Configure Webhook.
Provide the URL, optional secret key, and select Add Webhook.
SMPP SMS interface
When selecting SMPP as your SMS Interface, you are provided a System ID and Password for accessing the emnify SMPP Server.
Show where this happens in the Portal
Coverage policies
A coverage policy lets you choose which data plan and regions to operate in. Policies comprise of the Data Plan and one or more Coverage areas. The default coverage policy depends on your current subscription package.
Create a new coverage policy
To create a new coverage policy, follow these steps:
- Log in to your emnify account.
- Navigate to the Coverage Policies section of Device Policies.
- Select New coverage policy.
- Replace New coverage policy with the name of your policy and add a Description. Then, choose a Data Plan and Data allowance from the available options.
- Finally, click Create.
By default, connectivity is disabled, and any devices assigned to this coverage policy are blocked from all networks. You need to enable at least one Coverage area for your devices to connect.
Changes save automatically. To remove a coverage policy, click the trash bin icon next to Details.
Creating multiple coverage policies lets you differentiate between device types based on their coverage needs and the associated costs.
Data plan
The Data Plan dropdown shows a list of data plan names with Regional Pro selected by default.
Coverage areas
The list of Coverage areas varies depending on which Data Plan you selected.
The Coverage map is a global map that shows the coverage you have based on your selections. You can browse the entire list of countries in the Coverage list or search for a specific country where you plan to deploy your devices. This list provides the names and number of networks per country. Each country's listing can be expanded to reveal the network, coverage area, data rates, and SMS sending and receiving rates.
Assign devices to a policy
Service policies only become useful after you start assigning devices to them.
Develop a strategy for grouping your devices according to certain criteria related to your use cases, deployment regions, product lines, or services. Choose service policy names and device tags related to these criteria. This helps with selections when performing bulk assignments to service policies.
Devices don't automatically reset if you change the service or coverage policy. Due to caching, it can also take up to 24 hours before changes are applied to a device.
Be sure to reset its connectivity for the change to take effect sooner.
Single device assignment
When viewing Device Details, select Edit for either Service Policy or Coverage Policy to show a dropdown list of available policies. Select your policy from the list. You should see a real-time notification confirming the change.
Bulk assignments
Navigate to Connected Devices and search for the devices you wish to assign to a policy. Select the checkbox next to every relevant device.
If you followed the previous tip, you can filter by tag to show only the devices to be assigned. If the filtered list looks good, select the top checkbox in the table heading to select them all.
A new menu appears at the top of the page that provides bulk operations. Select More and then either Change Service Policy or Change Coverage Policy. Choose your policy from the presented dropdown list and then select Save. The devices you selected are assigned to their new policy, and you should see a real-time notification confirming the change.
Show an example
Device policy changes
In addition to creating device group policies and assigning devices to them, you can also update existing policies using the same interface you used when creating them.
Update policies
When several devices are deployed and assigned to the same policies, your changes to the policy are automatically pushed to devices in the group. For instance, you might want to increase the data usage limits for a service policy that has 100 devices assigned to it. As soon as you change the service policy, it's pushed to all 100 devices.
Change a device's policy assignments
Another way to change a device's group policy is to switch from its current policy to another one.
For a single device, you can select its new policy from a dropdown list when viewing the Device Details by selecting Edit as described in this document's Single device assignment section. For changing a group of devices to a new policy, see Bulk assignments.
Make sure the changes take effect immediately
Resetting connectivity is also available as a bulk option. Once you have chosen multiple devices, select Reset.
Show where to confirm the changes
