Place for information about telematics hub updates.

We supported special streaming protocol called nis . This protocol is used in Russia only, and although it is very stupidly designed - HTTP/SOAP based with just one message per HTTP request - it is quite popular on CIS space for inter-servers communications. Feel free to use it.

nis streaming protocol was updated to send values for Digital inputs, outputs and Analog inputs. The number of streamed Analog inputs is limited up to 8 for nis and wialon_retranslator streams.

We have removed deprecated fields " ident " and " phone " from the devices REST API. These fields was left for backward compatibility for a few months. In addition, we have removed old stream subscriptions REST API methods also marked as deprecated a few months ago. More details are placed in this article: https://flespi.com/blog/sync-up-with-changes-in-the-flespi-device-api

Platform has changed the way it accumulating logs when operating under subaccounts hierarchy . Say you have account root with subaccount sub and it branched another subaccount subsub . Tree looks like this: root<=sub<=subsub. Now imagine that you have log message for the subsub account, for example device was connected. Before the update : logs both in realtime (subscribing to flespi/logs/#) and in history mode (accessible via REST ) where placed by the system into an account subsub and all its parents: sub and root . Thus when operating with large volumes we have quite a big storage size of root top-account basically multiplied by the number of subbaccounts it has. After the update : the log message will be stored exactly and only at the account where it was generated. E.g if you have device or channel that belong to some subaccount you can access log messages for this entity only from its account. This is applied to both REST and MQTT. Toolbox was modified accordingly and now has account selector whenever you have some flespi accounts to switch between.

We increased telemetry expiration time up to 370 days.

We've added the "status" field for each device setting. It's indicating the source of the current setting value (if available) and the flespi platform intention to read the new current value or apply the pending setting value. The full documentation is available here: https://flespi.io/docs/#/gw/!/devices

Platform update affects devices with ident collisions. Collision occurs when two or more devices have the same ident, device type and share a common channel. The device with the lowest identifier remains unlocked, other devices will be blocked using the "bad configuration" code.

adsa We have reverted update until some problems being solved.

Next Monday, on October 14, we will install an update with the small change in our Telematics Gateway REST API. Once installed, the devices creation method ( POST , https://flespi.io/docs/#/gw/!/devices/post_devices ) will require the " device_type_id " and " configuration " fields to be specified. Also, the " configuration " object for all device types will require an " ident " field. Please review your integrations and correct them to always include such fields when you're creating devices. If you have any questions, please contact us in the chat embedded in the flespi.io panel or on forum.flespi.com

adsa The problems were resolved and the update was installed.

[Changelog] flespi telematics hub

kial

Scheduled removal of the parameters: image.name and image.timestamp.
Date of deletion: February 27, 2024

Now those values stored in fields "name" and "created" of the the media.image object parameter.

kial

As announced by kial , now parameters image.name and image.timestamp are no longer added to messages that already contain the media.image media file parameter in the new form.

shal

We adjusted the output of our JSON generating engine to prevent escaping of forward slash ‘/’ inside string values.

Forward slash character escaping is not required by JSON format and if you are parsing JSON by any modern parsing library this change will not be visible for you. However if you rely on pure textual output from a REST API call and parse our JSON somehow manually in the code you may need to adjust your parsing scheme.

YuryAheichyk

The process of resending commands in case of no response from devices on the TCP and MQTT channels has been updated. Previously, commands were resent without checking that the device connection was still active. Now, commands are resent only if the server has received data from the device since the command was initially sent.
This change aims to improve the accuracy of assessing communication availability with the device, to avoid sending traffic to dead connection.

adsa

Update to Geofence Experience

We have rolled out an update that significantly enhances the geofence experience. Previously, geofences were maintained within plugin or calculator configurations, leading to several issues:

Updating a single geofence required updating the entire list of geofences.
Sharing geofences between calculators was not possible.

To address these issues, we introduce a new geofence concept while retaining the old one.

Key Features of the New Geofence System

Independent Entity: A geofence is now an independent entity characterized by an id, name, geometry (polygon, circle, or corridor), and metadata.
Enhanced Integration: Geofences can be linked with various components such as plugins, calculators, or streams.
- Streams: Linked geofences enable selective message transmission within or outside designated geofences.
- Plugins: Linked geofences enrich message parameters with geofence names and metadata.
- Calculators: Linked geofences are utilized within selectors, validators, and counters.

Additional Features

Grouping: Geofences can be organized into groups, similar to the grouping of devices.
Access Management: Geofence access can be managed through ACLs.
Subaccount Access: Access to geofences from unrelated subaccounts can be granted.
Priority System: Geofences have a priority range from 0 to 100, with higher priority geofences being checked first in case of intersections.

This update enhances your telematics solution by incorporating robust geocoding functionality, improving usability, and enabling more flexible and powerful geofence management.

You can find more technical details here.

adsa

We have added a new REST API method to manually check whether a point is inside or outside selected geofences.
Corresponding REST API method:

HTTP Method: GET
Endpoint: gw/geofences/{geofences-selector}/hittest

shal

Media traffic in channels is now measured separately from standard channel traffic for telematics data and is not limited by channel restrictions.

From now on, we measure and limit combined in/out media traffic on a per-device basis. With much higher limits compared to telematics traffic, this makes video telematics features much more affordable for any flespi tariff. Even in the Free tariff, we allow 100 MB of media traffic per minute for each device.

When this limit is exceeded, the device will temporarily block media (video and photo) functionality only, leaving normal telematics (messages, commands, etc) functionality operating in the usual mode.

adsa

New REST API methods have been introduced to manage deleted items. Deleted items are retained in the trash for 30 days.

Methods

Fetch deleted items:
- GET /platform/deleted/{items-selector}
Fetch logs of deleted items:
- GET /platform/deleted/{items-selector}/logs
Restore deleted items:
- POST /platform/deleted/{items-selector}/restore

Recently deleted items retain a backup that can be used for restoration. The restored item inherits the ID, storage, and properties of the original item.

Limitations

The restoration process requires a Master token.

There are some limitations when restoring deleted channels. A restored channel will attempt to use the same URI, which may already be in use. If the URI is occupied, the channel will not be restored.

The restoration process is performed under the subaccount to which the item belongs. If the subaccount is fully deleted, you must first restore the subaccount before operating within it.

Supported Item Types

Devices
Channels
Streams
Plugins
Calcs
Groups
Modems
Subaccounts
Webhooks

Examples

Restore all deleted devices:
```
  curl -X POST --header 'Authorization: FlespiToken XXXX' 'https://flespi.io/platform/deleted/origin%3Dgw%2Fdevices%2F*'
```
Restore a channel with ID 123:
```
  curl -X POST --header 'Authorization: FlespiToken XXXX' 'https://flespi.io/platform/deleted/gw%2Fchannels%2F123/restore'
```

adsa

We've added a configurable delay before sending a webhook request. It could be helpful in some cases where the peer is not ready to process the request immediately.

YuryAheichyk

YuryAheichyk 1NCE modem has been updated, added Source address optional configuration field, which allows to check the SMS sender when receiving a message additionally

adsa

We have added the ability to disable devices. This feature can help mitigate channel loading bursts caused by channel inaccessibility or connectivity issues. Once a device is disabled, existing connections will be closed and new connections will be rejected. Only disabled devices can be moved between subaccounts.

Corresponding REST API method:

HTTP Method: PUT

Endpoint: gw/devices/{devices-selector}

Request body:

{
  "enabled": false
}

adsa

We've implemented some changes to storage containers:

You can attach custom metadata to storage containers.
We removed a restriction that prevented access to subaccount's containers or CDNs with the owner's token.
You can grant access to the containers to subaccounts.

adsa

We've extended the functionality of the storage containers by publishing all posted messages to the MQTT bus. This way, you can subscribe to the topic flespi/message/storage/containers/+ to receive all new container messages.

shal

We are deprecating Snapshots functionality in devices.

If you were using this system to retrieve device messages snapshots please make sure you switch to GET /gw/devices/XXX/messages call instead. The call without parameters will return all messages currently stored in the device in the same format as snapshot, just not archived.

On Monday, August 19 any REST API call to snapshots will return deprecated warning.

On Monday, September 23 REST API calls with access to snapshots will be not available to use anymore.

adsa

We have extended the REST API method by adding an optional command ID. This makes it convenient to query the result of a specific command using the following endpoint:

GET /gw/devices/{devices-selector}/commands-result/{command-id}

Additionally, the ability to fetch multiple command results remains available:

GET /gw/devices/{devices-selector}/commands-result

adsa

We have introduced the ability to assign geofences to individual devices, simplifying configurations on top of flespi. Now, each device can have its own unique set of geofences. For example, a plugin can combine its own assigned set of geofences with the device's geofence set.

GET, POST, DELETE /gw/devices/{device-selector}/geofences/{geofence-selector}

We will also support such assignments for calculators.

adsa

We have added an alternative set of parameters to the hit test geofences REST API method.

The first set tests whether the coordinate hits the selected geofences.

GET /gw/geofences/{geofences-selector}/hittest
{
 "lat": 0,
 "lon": 0
}

The second set returns a set of geofences that are within the specified boundary.

GET /gw/geofences/{geofences-selector}/hittest
{
 "max_lat": 0,
 "max_lon": 0,
 "min_lat": 0,
 "min_lon": 0
}

adsa

We've implemented some changes to CDNs:

You can attach custom metadata to CDN.
You can grant access to the CDNs to subaccounts.

shal

We enhanced device media transparency with new log message (event code = 28) that is published when the media file is accessed via HTTP.

shal

For those who are using method POST /gw/devices/{device-id}/calculate we have important change that requires from your an action.

There are 2 variants how to trigger this API call and provide to flespi configuration for calculation:

Providing all configuration for counters, selectors, validators directly in the REST API call.
Providing calc_id (ID of calculator) from which this selectors, counters, validators will be used during the actual calculation.

We are deprecating a second variant of data provisioning in this API call - when calculation configuration is provided via referenced calc_id. On January 14, 2025 an attempt to use this method with calc_id in the parameters will return an error. From today when you are calling this REST API method with second variant configuration it adds deprecated warning into REST API call response.

Please modify your integration and provide into this API method all selectors, counters and validation configuration directly. You can add a GET /gw/calculators/{calc_id} call to retrieve calculator configuration beforehand and supplying its parameters to the calculation call. Or just hard code the configuration to calculate in the code directly.