Hey hey,
Supported and Allowed modes are modified to be bitmasks of MM_MODEM_MODE
values,
and preference of a specific mode is now given in the new PreferredMode
property and as an extra argument to the SetAllowedModes() call.
* Supported Modes: bitmask specifying which modes are supported by the
specific
hardware. For example, a modem may only support 1G/2G/3G connections (not
4G).
* Allowed Modes: bitmask specifying which modes, of the ones Supported by
the
modem, are allowed to use. For example, a modem may support 1G/2G/3G
connections
but only 1G and 2G connections are allowed by the user as 3G involves more
expensive data rates.
[Allowed] ⊆ [Supported]
* Preferred Mode: specific mode which is preferred among the ones defined
in
the Allowed modes bitmask. For example, a modem may allow 1G/2G/3G
connections
but the user would like that if possible 2G be used, as 3G consumes too much
battery. If 2G is not possible, 3G can be used.
[Preferred] ∈ [Allowed]
I don't have a huge objection to this, but I'm not sure I see the
benefit of having the Preferred/Allowed split versus the complexity.
Basically, if Allowed were an enum where we enumerated the preference
there are 4 items to choose from (4G, 3G, 2G, empty) and 3 slots in the
preference order (since empty doesn't get a slot, just a single enum).
Thats a total of 25 combinations, but some like 2G4G don't really make
sense, so we have somewhere under 25. 32-bits gives us a lot of range
there if it's an enum not a bitfield. The downside is that it has no
relationship with the MM_MODEM_MODE flags. My worry is just that it's
added complexity (3 properties to check instead of 2) that may be just a
bit more work for clients.
I do see problems in both implementations, and I understand that the new
one may be more complex, but trying to cope with the addition of 4G to
the list is not an easy task, I would say.
It would be good to check what modes the new LTE devices support. Is
there anyone out there who can check this? Do the devices support
specifying 'preferred' modes to automatically connect in one mode or
another?
Also, do the 4G devices support complex setups like 3G preferred, and
if not available go 4G or 3G preferred, and if not available go 2G.
As a user, I think I can find good reasons to need these last two
options, not just 3G preferred.
--
Aleksander
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