RE: [cobalt-users] WAP on RAQ2

[Per Knutsen <pknutsen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Sean,

I reckon the right nomenclature is 'gateway', not 'portal'. A WAP gateway
is a particular piece of software which is usually located on a server of
a mobile operator. It is responsible for compiling the WML pages into
bytecode which can be understood by a WAP device. HTTP and TCP are not
optimized for the intermittent coverage, long latencies and limited
bandwidth associated with wireless networks. HTTP sends its headers and
commands in an inefficient text format instead of compressed binary. The
WAP gateway takes care of the conversion required. A WAP gateway is simply
the piece of the chain that makes sure everything your WAP device receives
is in a format it can understand.

I have no direct experience in configuring gateways (am therefore not the
best person to advice), but I know for sure that the gateway is required
for proper handling of WML pages. You can combine the webserver and the
WAP gateway in one box, for increased security (say, if data is to be
encrypted by SSL). Several companies out there offer gateways of their
own, like kannel.org and annyway.com.

With that said, few people actually need to set up their own gateway as
this is (to my knowledge) usually offered by the upline network provider.
If your server is on a shared network the gateway is probably also shared
by everyone. Check out the details with your server provider (if any) if
they support for WAP. Not everyone does.

There are many WAP browser out there that can parse WAP pages both with
and without a gateway between your server and browser. Using one of these
would be an easy test if the problem is the gateway, or something entirely
else.

I any case, I still see no need for rewriting.


Med vennlig hilsen / Yours Sincerely,
Per Magne Knutsen
NetHut.no
http://www.nethut.no
mailto: pknutsen@xxxxxxxxx



On Thu, 11 Jan 2001, Sean Rich wrote:

> "...it is not sufficient to simply configure the server for WAP. The 
> content must also be relayed through a WAP portal"
> 
> Can anyone confirm/deny this? According to my research any web server can 
> serve up WML pages, no need to go through a special portal. But then again, 
> my site ain't workin' quite right. (-:
> 
> Oh yeah, I forgot the following that I also added to the srm.conf:
> 
> #ADD WAP STUFF
> AddType text/vnd.wap.wml wml
> AddType application/vnd.wap.wmlc wmlc
> AddType text/vnd.wap.wmlscript wmls
> AddType application/vnd.wap.wmlscriptc wmlsc
> AddType image/vnd.wap.wbmp wbmp
> 
> 
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