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Saturday, October 28, 2006

Direct Push Guide

I am currently working on a comprehensive guide to Microsoft's Direct Push Technology based on my own experiences (I wanted to say struggles, but if I said that you probably wouldn't read it anymore would you?) getting Microsoft Exchange 2003 SP2 and my HP rw6818 to talk push mail. The topics and coverage are more or less finalized. In fact, I've listed them below.

Hopefully, it'll be a help to folks tearing their hair out trying to get Microsoft's push mail up and running with their Windows Mobile 5.0 devices. The goal is to create a readable guide that gives a sufficiently technical and broad coverage of Direct Push without boring you to tears.

This placeholder page will not be changed - so feel free to link here directly and come back periodically as I finish up the other sections.

1. Introduction

2. Getting it up!

  • Pre-requisites for Direct Push
  • Setting up your Server: Web2Mail
  • Setting up your Server: Exchange 2003
  • Configuring your Handheld

3. Advanced Topics

  • Troubleshooting and diagnosis
  • Monitoring your traffic
  • Advanced traffic tuning
  • Tricks and Tips

As it is a work in progress, if you spot any fractual mistakes or errors, do feel free to feedback to me by leaving your comments on this blog or by dropping me a mail directly at paulmah (at) gmail.com. Cheers!


You are here: > > How is Microsoft’s Direct Push better than the Blackberry

Friday, October 20, 2006

How is Microsoft’s Direct Push better than the Blackberry

I thought long and hard not about the contents of this article, but about the title. While sure to generate some controversy, this is what I believe to be the case. My personal opinion is that the current implementation of Direct Push overall is better than RIM’s Blackberry device where it comes to push mail access on Microsoft Exchange. In fact, I consider Direct Push to be superior to any of the other offerings on the market when it comes to using Exchange as a backend mail server.

As it is, the Blackberry is still very much a de facto standard in the push mail market which it created practically single-handedly. Hence we have this little comparison with it, and the corresponding title – “How is Microsoft’s Direct Push better than the Blackberry?”

Because don’t live in a world of black and white, I have decided to segregate the discussion on the various features into three distinct parts in which I categorize certain features in which Direct Push is superior, inferior, and where it is competitive with the Blackberry. Also, I must qualify that I have previously used both a 7290 and a 7730 with both BIS as well as with BES 4.0/Exchange 2003. I am interested if you have any feedback or comments regarding features that I might have inadvertently missed.



Scalability
Microsoft might have got into the push mail playing field relatively late. However, with the improvements in Direct Push which is being built directly into Exchange 2003 SP2, it offers superior scalability in terms of the number of handheld clients that can be supported per server. Read here about how Direct Push works if you have not done so yet.

Anecdotal evidence from a Microsoft staffer indicates that they have internally deployed and are supporting over 45,000 (Yes, that’s forty-five thousand) Windows Mobile devices using this technology already. That was end-2005 – probably on a pre-release version of Direct Push and Exchange SP2. These handhelds are supported on a total of two dual-processor Pentium Servers with 2GB of RAM each. I am unsure at this point of the implementation architecture as the link on a public white paper pertaining to it was broken. However, extrapolating from Exchange’s rather heavy-duty requirements itself, it is likely that these two servers are only serving the Windows Mobile devices and do not run the mail-handling portion of Exchange itself. (I have sent in an Email enquiring about the missing white paper – hope I get a reply soon!)

The minimum requirements for the Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) version 4.1 – which is required to link-up Exchange with the Blackberry handheld in an enterprise, is quite different. The systems requirements for the BES is pegged at a minimum of a dual-processor Pentium with 4GB of RAM for a 2,000 device setup. You can find systems requirements page for the BES here.

There is no mention of scalability beyond 2000 Blackberry devices; though I am pretty sure that more devices can be added with some sort of clustering or manually partitioning the clients to be supported per BES. However, even assuming a linear scalability for the BES, 45,000 clients looks set to require over 20 BES boxes. It is clear here that a Direct Push implementation wins hands-down here.

Implementation Cost
You can try to accuse Microsoft of being a monopolist on this, but the fact is that if you already use Microsoft Exchange 2003 SP2 or are planning to migrate to it, the TCO is extremely compelling due to the fact that Direct Push technology is already built into Exchange.

All other push mail solutions that I am aware of on an enterprise level – including the BES, that runs off an Exchange server, all require a separate per-device licensing fee of some sort. With Direct Push on the other hand, there is absolutely no additional cost. This translates immediately into an unbeatable total cost of ownership (TCO) and significantly less complication when it comes to managing the licensing.

True Remote Mailbox Access
There has been earlier complains about Microsoft’s AUTD in which users complain that read status of Emails are not synchronized properly back to Exchange. Happily, this is no longer the case with Direct Push and Exchange SP2. Direct Push now offers complete access to your entire Exchange mailbox, read status and moving of mails into subfolders are synchronized immediately be it reading your mail on your handheld (Handheld updates Exchange) or using your Outlook client at your desktop (Exchange updates handheld).

With the Blackberry on the other hand, you are limited to the most recent 1000 Emails. In this regard, Direct Push offers superior access, giving you the option to synchronize your entire Exchange mailbox if so desired. Every single mail can be made accessible, not just new ones. The best part is that even if you opt not to synchronize your entire mailbox, all folders are nevertheless still accessible to the user while on the road. If you need something, simply select the appropriate folder and synchronize away.

Software Selection
As of time of writing, Direct Push is only implemented either on Windows Mobile or Microsoft Smartphone devices. Inherent to these devices is the ability to run the corresponding Windows Pocket PC/Smartphone software. I have not looked at Pocket PC software for a number of years; but I must say that I was pleasantly surprised at the staggering array of software offerings available when I got my Windows Mobile Pocket PC recently.

The presence of Blackberry applications is certainly no laggard on the Enterprise scene where it is going strong. In fact RIM publishes a Solutions Guide on its website that is available at no additional charge here. The software selection is quite dismal on the consumer end on the other hand. Other than a Bible and a multi-network chat-client, there is hardly any other options for the power-user.

I have previously used and owned a number of rather different handheld devices; including a Palm Pilot Pro, Psion 5 as well as a Rex Pro 5. Believe me when I say that having access to an excellent range of 3rd party software can make or break the popularity of a handheld.

Security
Direct Push offers the option of utilization HTTPS as data transport – implementing industry-standard SSL-encrypted traffic as well as verification against spoofing via the use of signed digital certificates. It has the additional benefit in that no traffic is ever stored on a third-party server or Network Operating Center (NOC), no matter how transitory or temporal. All data travels through the Internet and goes directly through your firewall into your Exchange via port 443.

The Blackberry works on the concept of the messages being stored then forwarded through a NOC operated by RIM. In fact, a large part of the infringement case filed by NTP is based on the premises of the Emails being stored at the NOC. More on this here and here.

It can be argued that the data transiting through RIM’s NOC is heavily encrypted and hence should not be a concern. However, most enterprise would probably sleep better at night knowing that no data will ever be stored on servers that are not their own. With Direct Push, this concern is addressed.

Operating Cost
Direct Push is engineered for very low data traffic requirements. You can even set it to manual synchronization or automated polling with intervals of up to 4 hours. You also have relatively fine control over the exact folders to monitor, how many kilobyte of an Email to download, for example. Additionally, Direct Push also features compression by default, allowing for utilization of data traffic to be kept low.

All the above is implemented by utilization of standard TCP/IP connectivity without the need for special provisioning on the telco level. However, the utilization of standard IP ironically results in its more glaring weakness – the amount of data traffic needed to run Direct Push is heavily influenced by number of factors not always outside your control.

Factors such as poor mobile network coverage, soft-reset, even incoming calls (For those on GPRS or networks where simultaneous data and voice connections is not supported) will result in increased data utilization as Direct Push re-establishes the lost connection. This can be an issue if it happens a lot. I will go more into this later in my planned section on monitoring and optimizing your GPRS traffic.

But because the Blackberry relies on the mobile network infrastructure to broker a connection with the BES, and only transferring data when performing synchronization itself, it faces no such issue. As it is, raw data usage (and cost) is theoretically higher for Direct Push.

However, where I live (Singapore), the Blackberry plans for all the 3 local telcos are structured such that if I opt for a non-unlimited data package, the cheapest metered plan is at least two to three times the cost of a standard 3G/GPRS metered data plan. This is including the cost of the data I will need for 24-hours Direct Push using standard 3G/GPRS.

The higher cost for Blackberry plans is presumably due to recurring licensing costs payable by the telco to RIM for operating the regional NOC necessary to support the Blackberries. Because of this reason, I would consider it to be a tie operating cost-wise.

Ease of Setup/Use
The Blackberry is an obvious win on the consumer level due to their easy-to-setup and highly integrated BIS service. For Direct Push, an Exchange server must be installed with the above-average complexity it entails in terms of either mail forwarding or setting up of the appropriate domain and configurations. There are existing Exchange hosting services on the market, but since they are not directly supported by Microsoft, I have not factored them in the appraisal here.

On the enterprise level, I would consider both BES and Direct Push to be on equal standing in terms of ease of setup. However, having used Blackberry devices before, it must be commented that they are on the most part, rugged with a rock stable operating system. Perhaps it might have to do with the absence, on the most part, of destabilizing third-party software. But the fact remains that once setup, the Blackberry generally just refuses to stop working.

Management Features
Exchange 2003 SP2 does finally offer some basic management abilities such as the ability remotely wipe a lost or stolen handheld or when the password is entered wrongly repeatedly. BES on the other hand, offers a plethora of administration options and server-side control that is fine-grained almost to the extreme. In this regard, Microsoft still has a huge amount of ground to cover – the BES definitely wins hands-down on this.

No other mail servers supported
Well, if you’re using Direct Push, then obviously you will be using Microsoft Exchange instead of with Lotus Notes, which BES supports, for example.

You are here: > > How does Direct Push really work?

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

How does Direct Push really work?

From the earlier section “When nudge comes to shove: How push is Direct Push?”, we talked about three methods of retrieving Email available to Windows Mobile 5.0 devices onwards – by polling, Direct Push, or manually.

All three methods of retrieving your Email ride on top of your standard mobile technologies such as GPRS, EGPRS and 3G etcetera. Now, compared to AUTD, Direct Push might appear to be more complicated, but how it works is really quite trivial if you have a good idea of how the Internet works. Even if you don’t, do try to follow-through my explanation as knowing how Direct Push communicates with Exchange will allow you to trouble-shoot so much more effectively. Additionally, later sections such as traffic optimization will assume that you have a good idea of the mentioned.


Upon startup, your supported Windows Mobile device will initiate a TCP/IP connection with your (already configured) Exchange 2003 SP2 server. This TCP/IP connection can either be unencrypted or encrypted (recommended) using SSL. Of course, if you opt to use encryption (SSL), then you will either have to purchase a proper digital certificate from a vendor or create a self-generated (free) one and manually importing it into your Pocket PC.

Note that as of the time of writing that it is entirely possible that your particular Pocket PC device or Smartphone does not support importing of self-generated digital certificates and/or only support a limited number of root certificates. As it is, it would be prudent to do some basic research before committing any money into your handheld (if you have not purchased one yet), or shelving out money for a commercial certificate. We will go more into this later.

Back to Direct Push: once a data connection is established, certain information and settings are exchanged between the device and Exchange. An ActiveSync is then initiated that will determine if any actual data synchronization is necessary. If it is, a full ActiveSync will occur. If no synchronization is required, then no further data transfer happens. Regardless if any full ActiveSync occurs or not, the interesting part comes after this.

In a typical Internet connection, what normally happens is that the data connection is closed once data transfer is finished. In the case of Direct Push, the socket connection is kept open between the device and server. Note that this is not an abnormal or any proprietary aberration by Microsoft in the using of the IP protocol. Keeping a connection open is actually allowed for in TCP/IP. We encounter this on a daily basis in the form of KEEP-ALIVE requests usually sent from web servers to our web browsers. In fact, it is very similar to how Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) mail servers are architected around - in which a combination of IDLE and NOOP commands are used to periodically poll the server and keep the network connection alive.

In the case of Direct Push, the Exchange server will keep monitoring the relevant set of folders for changes. The relevant set of folders to be monitored is already transmitted by the Windows Mobile handheld as part of the data exchange in the connection process.

When a change in the monitored folder(s) is detected the Exchange Server will send a byte of data back to the handheld using the existing data connection. This will tell the Windows Mobile device to perform an ActiveSync - which will allow the relevant changes to be retrieved. If a change occurs on the handheld set however - the user sends an Email for example, then the handheld will initiate the ActiveSync with Exchange immediately to update the server. Note that unlike AUTD, not only are deleted or moved items detected, even changes in read status on either the handheld device or Exchange server via Outlook client is detected and synchronized accordingly.

Because the entire Direct Push process is done via a standard Internet socket connection, the key advantage is that no special network provisioning or setup is required anywhere. There is no need for your telco to offer support or perform a special “provisioning” for you, unlike a Blackberry.

However, it must be said that there is an inherent risk that the idle connection might be silently dropped by a myriad of factors. This could range from application or network firewalls, timeouts or dropped packets due to poor network connectivity. If this happens - as it invariably will due to poor mobile coverage at certain locations, then theoretically push mail will grind to a complete and permanent halt if the handheld never realizes that the connection has been lost.

To prevent this, the concept of a heartbeat time interval is implemented. At the end of every heartbeat (Default in AKU2 is 480 seconds, or 8 minutes), the handheld will perform a PING by attempting to send some data back to the server. If the PING fails a five times in a row, then the connection with the server is torn down and re-established from scratch. Because performing a PING involves sending data, it is hence possible to optimize one's traffic usage by manually specifying a larger PING interval. More on this later.


Now, if you are technically-minded at all, the thought might have crossed your mind after reading my above explanation about how Direct Push works: "But this sounds more like pull mail than push mail isn't it?". Indeed, there has been debate by some parties on the purity of just how 'push mail' is Direct Push. My personal take on this is very simple: If it tastes like hamburger, looks like hamburger, smells like hamburger - and is edible; is there a need to really care about the thawing and cooking process? Besides, there are distinct advantages in Microsoft’s architect which we will look in the next section.

You are here: > > AUTD: An earlier method of Push Mail by Microsoft

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

AUTD: An earlier method of Push Mail by Microsoft

The push mail that this guide focuses upon is implemented using a Windows Mobile 5.0 device with the Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP) together with a Microsoft Exchange 2003 SP2 server. For additional information about whether you have the minimum requirements, please refer to the pre-requisite stated in the next section of this guide.

In this section however, we shall touch a little on Always-Up-To-Date (AUTD), which is the name of Microsoft’s earlier (and initial) attempt at rolling-out Push Mail. AUTD is the only option for Windows Mobile 2003 and Windows Mobile 2003 SE devices for Push Mail. AUTD is also the only Push Mail option on the server side for vanilla Exchange 2003. Exchange 2003 SP2 supports both AUTD and Direct Push.

Below are two screenshots of the Microsoft Exchange 2003 and Microsoft Exchange 2003 SP2 server-side configuration page.


Why write about an earlier and obsolete variant of Push Mail, you ask? Sadly, there has much confusion over the various admittedly confusing terminologies and options available. Surfing through various on-line forums, it is not uncommon to encounter users who are trying to implement POP3 polling or IMAP IDLE methods on their spanking new Windows Mobile 5 MSFP devices due to lack of an available “Short Messaging Service (SMS) gateway to implement Microsoft’s Push Mail solution”. Even when it comes to users knowledgeable about the mechanism of Always-Up-To-Date (AUTD), there is confusion over Direct Push being another variant of AUTD also using an SMS gateway – which cannot be further from the truth; the implementation of Direct Push is superior to and more elegant than AUTD.

Below is a simplified summary of the components necessary for either AUTD or Direct Push.

AUTD
  • Server: Microsoft Exchange 2003
  • Device: Windows Mobile 2003/2003 SE or WM 5.0 without MSFP or AKU2
  • Requires SMS: Yes (If “When new items arrive” option is selected)
Direct Push
  • Server: Microsoft Exchange 2003 SP2
  • Device: Windows Mobile 5.0 with MSFP or AKU2 and up
  • Requires SMS: No
How it works is this: when a new message is delivered to an (Exchange) folder that has been configured for synchronization, an Exchange store event is generated in a user’s Exchange mailbox account. This event triggers an Email to be sent to a standard SMS Gateway. This SMS gateway will in turn generate a SMS control message to be sent to the user’s mobile device. This SMS control message is different from a regular SMS because it does not appear as an SMS message in the Inbox of your handheld device. Instead, upon receipt of such a control SMS, your Windows Mobile device will initiate synchronization with the Exchange Server without further intervention.


As mentioned above, because the sending of the notification to the handheld device is really converted from an Email to SMS via an SMS Gateway, an existing Internet connection or leased line from the Exchange 2003 server to the SMS gateway is all that is required. No further hardware is necessary.

Such an SMS Gateway is normally provisioned by your mobile phone provider. For example, a standard Email sent to your mobile number, e.g. 91111111@yourprovider.com will result in an SMS being sent to your mobile device. Hence, Telco support is necessary for this to work. If your mobile phone company does not offer such as service – either free or on a pay-per-sms-basis, then you are most probably out of luck!

(It is possible to use existing commercial or private SMS Gateways to forward the control SMS. However, this falls squarely outside the scope of this documentation.)

You are here: > > When nudge comes to shove: How push is Direct Push

When nudge comes to shove: How push is Direct Push

It might not be immediately obvious to the beginner; but there are actually three primary ways for retrieving your Email on a Windows Mobile 5.0 MSFP device. Depending on your data plan, preference and requirements, this flexibility is actually pretty useful.

(a) Manually

This method gives you maximum control over your data traffic and only checks your mail when you manually click on “Sync” in the ActiveSync application on your Pocket PC.


(b) Automated (interval) polling

This method is actually recommended for users who experiences heavy mail traffic but is not on an unlimited data plan due to company claims policy or lack of such data plan offered by your local Telco.

Rather than perform 20 different ActiveSyncs (with the associated data overheads) in an hour because of 20 different mails that come in separately in that period of time, setting it to poll every 15 or 30 minutes will probably result in a lower data consumption. By downloading more mails at a lower frequency (than the mails coming in), you are basically allowing the built-in data-compression inherent to WM 5.0 to work to your maximum benefit.

(c) When new items arrive

Ditto. Direct Push in its fully glory – you receive Email as they arrive on your server.

Additionally, for any of the above other than manual synchronization, you can define your preferred Email retrieval method by “peak” or “off-peak” periods. For example, if you do not care to be disturbed by Emails when you are in bed between 11pm to 7am, then you can put it under “Manual” synchronization and opt only for “When new items arrive” for the rest of your waking hours.

Peak periods can also be further defined by the day of the week. It is not perfect of course – while you can define your peak or off-peak periods down to the day and hour, you cannot create additional groupings. But hey, lets be contented with what we already have yeah?

So what does it mean for you? With this variety of flexibility, here are a few possible modes of treating your Email depending on your personality type. So how shall it be, are you more into nudge-mail or shove-mail? To help you make up your mind, below are some totally un-researched personality-types that might surface.

(Usual disclaimer applies: any resemblances, passing or otherwise to anyone dead or living is not intentional and strictly coincidental… wait a minute, nobody is forcing you to read this guide anyway right?!)

The Librarian Ninja

  • Synchronize your entire Exchange folder into your Pocket PC using ActiveSync when it is tethered to your PC/Laptop.
  • All means all. Compromise is not a word in your dictionary. You are a librarian, so everything is archived right? Everything is in your Pocket PC, including file attachments from half a decade ago. Space isn’t a problem because you have configured all the attachments to be saved on your spanking new 2GB mini-SD card. Crack-berry fans, go eat your hearts out.
  • Set it to option c, “When new items arrive” so that you are fully updated on new mails that comes into your Inbox.
  • And because you have all your Emails within reach, you can immediately verify if the claim by your staff pertaining to that amendment in the contract 2 months ago is really true.
  • Deliver an immediate, scathing ninja strike via Direct Push if the claim turns out to be false.

The Miser Workaholic

  • Synchronize the latest batch of pesky mails that seemed to have creep into your Inbox overnight before leaving for work in the morning.
  • Because company isn’t paying for your telecommunication charges, set it to Synchronize “Manually” to save on GPRS traffic.
  • Select “Send outgoing mail immediately” so that you can answer those urgent mails when commuting to work on the train.
  • Get nagged for two whole weeks by wife when attempting to do the same while on holiday.

The Blackberry Wannabe

  • Synchronize using cable? No way! Nothing less than “When new items arrive” and “Send outgoing mail immediately” will do for you.
  • It is so cool and geek to be able to talk loudly on your Windows Mobile phone on the crowded train and say: “Sure, no problem, let me send you the mail now.”
  • Problem is, all the Emails you have in your Inbox are forwarded to yourself by yourself. Because the only real Emails you ever receive are shows “Hotmail Staff” under the From field.

The Selective Road Warrior

  • Synchronization is set to “When new items arrive” – you won’t be called a road warrior with anything less isn’t it?
  • Synchronize the last 3 days of mail from your Inbox as well as the last 3 months of mails from your Sent folder just in case.
  • Yes you have the latest 2GB mini-SD cards, but with lexipedia, half a dozen dictionaries, assorted PDF, CHMs and enough EBooks to last you through a nuclear winter, you have got to be selective you know.
  • Actually, you used to have two of the 2GB mini-SD card. Well, until one day while you were swapping them on the move, one of them popped out of the spring-loaded SD slot, and into the elevator shaft.

So there, time to own up: which one are you? Ideas or feedback welcome. Feel free to leave a comment on this page.


You are here: > > KeyControl

KeyControl

KeyControl is an extremely configurable plug-in that makes it possible to access Winamp and control it through your own system-wide hotkeys. Standard functions such as Play, stop, skip track, fast forward are all supported. There are also more interesting ones such as system volume control, switching skin and even single-play PGM (Repeating your favorite song at the touch of a hotkey).


Even though it was initially released way back in 2001, its ability to create hotkeys using the standard ALT-CTRL-SHIFT as well as the WIN-key as modifiers remains unsurpassed. Not only that, you can combine these modifiers not only with the standard keyboard keys but also with the SCROLL WHEEL or the MOUSE BUTTONS of your computer mouse to form the most unique hotkeys. This is something not found in ANY other hotkey plug-ins, including the default one bundled in recent versions of Winamp!

Maximize your keyboard keys so that you can play your favorite FPS or MMORPG games completely unhindered. Give it a try today!

[Download KeyControl v1.02]


You are here: > > The Concept of Push Mail

Monday, October 16, 2006

The Concept of Push Mail

I think it would be fair to credit the popularization of the term 'Push Mail' to Research in Motion’s (RIM) ubiquitous Blackberry device. For those living in a cave in Afghanistan for the last few years, push mail refers to the automatic receipt of Emails – implicitly assumed to be a handheld device, as soon as they arrive at the destination Email server. This is in contrast to the traditional way of receiving mails either via manually triggering it at the Email client or by performing an automated poll after every stipulated number of minutes.

A proper appreciation of the value of push mail cannot be achieved without first acknowledging that the concept by itself introduces a paradigm shift - and a very niche one at that. Logically, the technology for on-the-road Email access has already existed for years prior to the introduction of the first Blackberry device. Even then, Internet connectivity can be achieved in the form of a PDA or laptop paired to the right model of mobile phone.

Think about it: if someone tried to explain the concept of electronic mail (Email) to you just twenty years ago – would you have considered the entire idea as outright bizarre? Yet Email is now so prevalent that it has changed the way we work. Phone calls are often followed by Email to formalize the points discussed. For an increasing number of jobs advertised, the only point-of-contact for sending in your resume is now often an Email address. Indeed, a new form of marketing called Email marketing (Some just call it spamming) – which did not exist previously, has materialized to specially target the increasing number of those who have an Email address.

Of course, as in everything else in life, there are also detractors who disagree on the actual usefulness of having your Email appear auto-magically on your handheld device at all hours of the day. Jass van Ekris certainly has some things to say about that in his article titled “The (non)sense of push communication” at the Modern Nomads.

Regardless of our position towards push mail, the fact is irrefutable that it has matured from its quiescent start into a solid market segment that simply cannot be disregarded. Push mail is here to stay. Certainly, this is a fact is certainly not missed by the technopreneurs among us. This can be evidenced by the fact that there are no shortages of players on the market. Other than the incumbent market-leader RIM, both Microsoft and Nokia are making strident inroads into the market – if only more towards upping the quality of their respective technical implementations than any evolutionary improvements in features.

In the case of the latter, Nokia seemed to have adopted a dual strategy of negotiating cross licensing deals for interoperability with as big a swathe of the existing market players as possible. Additionally, it has also acquired Intellisync – probably so as to integrate it as an indigenous solution for its mobile phone and leapfrog into RIM’s league.

Additionally, we also have the more established companies with proven products as well as existing relationships with Telcos such as Good Technology, Seven and Visto, not to forget a myriad of smaller players such as CAMEO InfoTech, Consilient, just to name a few.

Personally, the idea of having Emails being pushed to me within seconds on it arriving on the server is attractive to me. To the skeptic however, do try to give using the push mail a shot first. You might surprise yourself yet. We will not dwell any further into this however, as an extensive discussion of the (perceived or otherwise) merits or demerits of push mail is certainly not the purpose of this guide here.

One aspect normally missed out by the non-user doing an evaluation is that receiving of Emails is normally not all there is to it. Every one of the established push mail implementations on the market today not only cover Emails, but generally have support for push-type synchronization of calendars, contacts, to-do lists and notes features as well. Direct Push, for instance, supports all of the above (other than notes) as well as well as being able to access Exchange’s global address list (GAL) over-the-air.

Additionally, there is also a lot of difference in terms of the depth for the same features supported by the different push mail products. As a simple illustration, as of the time of writing, RIM’s flagship Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) 4.x only allows for the receipt of new incoming mails. There is an option during initial activation to ‘backfill’ to a certain number of earlier Emails. However this acts on the entire mailbox as a whole – you cannot specify the folders you might specifically want to include. Direct Push, on the other hand, allows the user to select any additional folders that they might care to keep synchronized.

Perhaps a detailed examination of these differences can be the subject of another write-up. Yet with the fluidity and constant improvements in the current playing field, it might be a pointless task. Whatever it might be; where push mail is concerned - you might hate it or you might love it, but push mail is certainly here to stay.


You are here: > > First part of Direct Push Guide Released

Friday, October 06, 2006

First part of Direct Push Guide Released



There you have it. The first installment of my Direct Push Guide is out. Read all about my Introduction to Microsoft's Direct Push Technology.

[More]

You are here: > > Deploying Microsoft's Direct Push Technology

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Deploying Microsoft's Direct Push Technology





It wasn't long since Windows Mobile 5.0 as well as the Adaptation Kit Upgrade 2 (AKU2) upgrade was released. Unlike previous editions of Windows Mobile, true push mail is now possible. Whilst a blackberry requires practically no configuration, it is not completely the case with a WM5.0 AKU2 device. It is still not too complex however, but there is a dearth of accurate and complete information on just how to setup

Over the next few weeks I shall attempt to address this lack of concise knowledge with a series of articles to form a monster guide pertaining to push mail. I will probably be going into both technical workings and explanations as well as practical guides. Who knows, I might even go into an in-depth technical comparison with the RIM's implementation of the wildly-popular Blackberry.

See you around!

You are here: > > Direct Push Guide

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Direct Push Guide

I am currently working on a comprehensive guide to Microsoft's Direct Push Technology based on my own experiences (I wanted to say struggles, but if I said that you probably wouldn't read it anymore would you?) getting Microsoft Exchange 2003 SP2 and my HP rw6818 to talk push mail. The topics and coverage are more or less finalized. In fact, I've listed them below.

Hopefully, it'll be a help to folks tearing their hair out trying to get Microsoft's push mail up and running with their Windows Mobile 5.0 devices. The goal is to create a readable guide that gives a sufficiently technical and broad coverage of Direct Push without boring you to tears.

This placeholder page will not be changed - so feel free to link here directly and come back periodically as I finish up the other sections.

1. Introduction

2. Getting it up!

  • Pre-requisites for Direct Push
  • Setting up your Server: Web2Mail
  • Setting up your Server: Exchange 2003
  • Configuring your Handheld

3. Advanced Topics

  • Troubleshooting and diagnosis
  • Monitoring your traffic
  • Advanced traffic tuning
  • Tricks and Tips

As it is a work in progress, if you spot any fractual mistakes or errors, do feel free to feedback to me by leaving your comments on this blog or by dropping me a mail directly at paulmah (at) gmail.com. Cheers!


You are here: > > Introduction to Microsoft's Direct Push Technology

Introduction to Microsoft's Direct Push Technology


Hi, this page is deprecated.

It used to contain an article on "Introduction to Microsoft's Direct Push Technology". However I looked at the growing size of the guide and decided to do a re-vamp to make it more reader-friendly.

You can find the new main page to the Direct Push Guide here.

KeyControl 1.02 Released!

KeyControl is an extremely configurable plug-in that makes it possible to access Winamp and control it through your own system-wide hotkeys. Standard functions such as Play, stop, skip track, fast forward are all supported. There are also more interesting ones such as system volume control, switching skin and even single-play PGM (Repeating your favorite song at the touch of a hotkey).


Even though it was initially released way back in 2001, its ability to create hotkeys using the standard ALT-CTRL-SHIFT as well as the WIN-key as modifiers remains unsurpassed. Not only that, you can combine these modifiers not only with the standard keyboard keys but also with the SCROLL WHEEL or the MOUSE BUTTONS of your computer mouse to form the most unique hotkeys. This is something not found in ANY other hotkey plug-ins, including the default one bundled in recent versions of Winamp!

Maximize your keyboard keys so that you can play your favorite FPS or MMORPG games completely unhindered. Give it a try today!

[Download KeyControl v1.02]