Varius Message Router – How to send SMS messages

There are many methods of sending SMS messages by an external system or an end user.

How does an external system send SMS messages?

An external system sends out SMS by communicating with Varius Message Router via SMTP and HTTP. Please check out our integration guide for more detailed steps.
 
1. Using SMTP
The external system configures the IP address of the Varius Message Router as its SMTP server for sending out emails. The external system sends out emails to recipients in the format of @fluidsms.com. The content of the email message will be the SMS message. You can also configure Varius Message Router to include the subject of the email message in the SMS message as well.
 
2. Using HTTP
The external system is configured to access a custom URL in Varius Message Router to send out SMS messages.  The format of the custom URL is 
 
http://<%ip_address%>/pages/sendmsg.aspx?user=<%username%>&password=<%password%>&to=<%recipient_mobile_no%>&text=<%sms_text%>

How does an end user send SMS messages?

1. Using the Send SMS web page
Login to the Varius Message Router web interface and access Client Tools > Send SMS.
Specify the recipients by keying in the mobile numbers or select them from the contacts database.
Key in the SMS message or select from a list of message templates and click Send to send out the SMS messages.
 
2. Using the Excel Send SMS web page
From the Varius Message Router web interface, access Client Tools > Excel Send SMS.
Upload a Microsoft Excel file consisting of two columns, namely recipient mobile number and message text.
Each row in the Excel file will be sent out as an SMS message.
 
3. Using Microsoft Outlook or any email client
From Microsoft Outlook or any email client, create a new email account with the IP address of Varius Message Router as the SMTP server.
Create a new email message and specify the email recipient in the format of @fluidsms.com.
Key in the email message content which will be the SMS message.
Send the email through the new email account created.
Once the email reaches Varius Message Router, it will be converted into an SMS message and sent to the recipient mobile number.
 
4. Send email to @fluidsms.com
Configure your email server including Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes or any SMTP server to forward all emails sent to the domain fluidsms.com to the IP address of Varius Message Router.
With this rule in place, send an email message using your favourite email client such as Microsoft Outlook with the email recipient in the format of @fluidsms.com. This email message will be forwarded to Varius Message Router which will then convert it to an SMS message.