Q. What is a WAP Gateway?
A. A
WAP Gateway is a server through which all wireless (WAP) data is
transferred from wireless devices (using WAP requests) to content sites (in
WML format) and back again. A WAP Gateway is a server that typically
resides within the wireless carrier's network, but may also reside within a
corporate business environment.
Q. Can the WAP Gateway access
information from any web site?
A. Information can only be accessed from
sites that have been specially designed using Wireless Markup Language (WML),
which is the specific language understood by WAP phones and browsers.
HTML-based sites cannot be accessed by wireless devices because the
information cannot be processed by devices with small displays and
low-bandwidth.
Q. What are the advantages of
installing a WAP Gateway in a corporate environment?
A. For businesses that are very concerned
about security of information (financial institutions, m-commerce operations,
etc.), the best way to ensure secure transactions is by controlling the entire
communication process, which means installing the WAP Gateway behind the
corporate firewall. The data is encrypted within the enterprise before it is
transmitted through the airwaves.
Q. What are the requirements for
hosting the WAP gateway at the corporate business level?
A. The enterprise must be prepared to
develop the content they wish to make available in Wireless Markup Language
(WML), which is the language that can be understood by WAP phones and
browsers. This requires the current web site (or new site) to be created in a
completely new format, as HTML is not a language that can be understood by a
WAP phone. There are no simple tools available for automatic conversion of
HTML to WML.
Q. If I install a WAP Gateway, is
there anything special that users need to do to access my WAP gateway instead
of their carrier's gateway?
A. Users must be using a WAP phone that can
be configured to access a different WAP gateway than that of their carrier.
Outside the United States, this is very easy to configure, as most phones are
already WAP-enabled and can easily be configured through simple menu updates.
In the United States, there are currently very few WAP phones available; most
phones are
HDML phones, which rely on proprietary gateways located at the carrier.
This is rapidly changing in the U.S., however, as more and more pressure is
placed on the carriers and technology providers to allow open access to
different gateways.
Q. Are there any tools available for
converting HTML content to WML format?
A. It is not recommended that off-the-shelf
tools be used to automatically convert content to WML, as information can
easily be lost and translated improperly. For an experienced HTML programmer,
WML is a simple language to learn.
Q. What is "Lite" about the Infinite
WAPlite product?
A. The download size, the price, and the
overhead on the computer system that is running the gateway. There are three
version of the Infinite WAP server: WAPlite, Enterprise WAP Server, and WAP
Server for Carriers. WAPlite limits the number of concurrent users (maximum of
50) and provides no encryption. WAPlite is a full-featured WAP gateway that is
designed primarily for developers, companies doing evaluations, and smaller
installations.
Q. Does the Infinite WAP Gateway
support cookies?
A. Yes, session cookies are supported. WAP
devices themselves do not support cookies, therefore the gateway supports
cookies on behalf of the devices. Due to current limitations of WAP,
persistent cookies (cookies that have a lifetime beyond a single user session)
are not supported, only session cookies.
Q. Does the Infinite WAP Gateway
support WMLScript?
A. Yes,
WMLScript is supported.
Q. Does the Infinite WAP Gateway
support using SSL to connect to web servers hosting WML content?
A. Yes, but only in the version of the
Infinite WAP Gateway that includes support for
WTLS.
Q. Does the Infinite WAP Gateway
include security?
A. Yes, there is a version of the Infinite
WAP Gateway that supports WTLS, the wireless security standard.
Q. How does WTLS work?
A. WTLS is a security protocol that is used
to provide secure connections between mobile devices and a WAP Gateway. To
provide end-to-end security to an application running on a web server, the WAP
Gateway must use the SSL or TLS protocol to connect to the web server. The
Infinite WAP Gateway supports SSL and TLS in the WTLS version of the product.
Note: WTLS support for the Infinite WAP Gateway is an extra cost item, and may
not be available in all export markets.
Q. Does the Infinite WAP Gateway
support SMS?
A.
SMS is not supported by the Infinite WAP Gateways, as it is too slow for
access to interactive WAP based content. So if you are planning for an SMS
based solution, you may find that it is too slow for most applications, as
users may experience delays of 10 seconds or more.
Q. What character sets does the
Infinite WAP Gateway support?
A. The Infinite WAP Gateway will support the
character set of the Active Code Page (ACP) that is configured for the Windows
environment in which it is running. In those environments, the Infinite WAP
Gateway will translate from this ACP (such as Chinese Big5, which is code page
950) to
UTF-8 for presentation on the mobile devices. WML pages can also include
Unicode characters, provided that Unicode is supported on the mobile devices
that are used.
Q. Where must the Remote Access
Server (RAS) reside?
A. The
RAS server can exist at various locations because the Infinite WAP Server
is not particular how the request comes in to the server machine. Some access
the RAS servers on their ISP locations, some use the RAS server at the
wireless service provider and some set up their own RAS server. Setting up
your own RAS server can increase security since the device is talking directly
to your own network and does not have to travel across the Internet to the
Infinite WAP Server. This RAS server can be a remote access server already
setup on your network, or one that is setup on the same machine as the
Infinite WAP Server.
Q. Are Sprint PCS phones WAP
compatible?
A. Sprint PCS customers are accessing the
Internet services through an Openwave (formerly Phone.com) gateway that
resides on Sprint's location. Many of these phones are based on the Openwave's
browser that is not fully WAP compliant. This means that users of the current
Sprint PCS service would need to use the Openwave gateway that Sprint already
provides and would need to write their content in HDML for full compatibility.
The Infinite email connector products fully support both HDML and WML for
email conversion.
Q. What questions can I ask to find
out if my cellular company supports WAP?
A. WAP is supported over many different
systems. The major problem is making sure that wireless devices that are
compatible with your cellular company are also WAP compliant. You want to make
sure that your provider supports data packets on their service. Then you need
to make sure that the phones they are compatible with support the WAP
protocols. Remember that phones with Openwave's browsers earlier than 4.x are
not fully WAP compliant and would not support connecting to an Infinite WAP
Server.
Q. Can I generate my own certificates
to be used with the Infinite WAP Server?
A. WTLS certificates are different in format
from SSL certificates. This means that you need certificate authority software
that supports WTLS to generate your own certificates, such as Baltimore
Technology's Unicert.
Q. If I have an Infinite WAP Server,
can I access WML sites?
A. The Infinite WAP Server allows a WAP enabled device to
access WML content hosted on properly configured web servers. In other words,
if you have a properly configured WAP device, a data connection to your
Infinite WAP Server and Internet access, you can reach hundreds of WML content
providers that are already developing information for your phone.
