Using a Connector is a smart way for your devices to send less data by removing some routing logic (e.g. TLS) from the device and letting the Onomondo core network handle that for you. This offers battery, traffic, and cost savings while enhancing security.
However, when you use a Connector, all traffic is routed to that Connector, which means that it will not go directly to the Internet. Often it's preferable that some traffic is still routed directly to the Internet, and this article explains how to do that.
NTP (Network Time Protocol) Setup
We often see developers forget that many operating systems use NTP to keep time and thus need to be able to contact NTP servers. NTP uses UDP protocol and runs on port 123, so a passthrough rule for that should look like this:
DNS Setup
Since Onomondo's Connectors work on the network layer, they don't recognize any hostnames. So if your code tries to access myhostname.com:1234, it will first send a DNS request for myhostname.com and then contact that IP address.
That's why another common rule is to allow DNS to be routed to the Internet. DNS can run over both TCP and UDP protocols.
After adding both rules, your configuration will look like this:
If you want to save on traffic and power consumption, you should use IP addresses in your code, instead of hostnames. This will spare several DNS requests.
Firmware updates
One of the most common questions we hear when it comes to Connectors is how to allow firmware updates. There are many ways to do this, but often your device will "call home" in some way to check if there is an update.
As an example, let's say that your device calls your home server that has IP address 21.32.43.54. If there is an update, it will be fetched from an FTP server somewhere.
After adding both rules, your configuration will look like this:
Set up Passthrough rules with Traffic Monitor
In some cases, especially when testing with a larger device, there can be several services running on the device and it can be difficult to observe them all.
By using Traffic Monitor, you have a great way of seeing all the traffic going in and out of your device, which can help set the correct Passthrough rules.
A good way of doing this is to find the SIM you are testing with, then open the Traffic Monitor on the individual SIM page, and after that turn on the device. Keep doing what you normally do and see what traffic passes through.
If you have encountered any trouble with your Connector setup, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].