Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

News from Tech Ed USA

Nathan Mercer's blog — Wed, 08 Jun 2005 10:37:39 GMT

TechEd is on in the USA (Orlando, Florida) right now, Steve Ballmer did the opening Keynote (titled "Enabling...

re: Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

Keith Spragg — Wed, 08 Jun 2005 11:02:32 GMT

"..the means by which AUTD works must be initiated by the device."

The one area that you've not mentioned is the provisioning for this on the device - obviously at the moment there are _some_ devices that support this, or you wouldn't be able to watch your management bump in to each other, however, the devices we have right now should be capable of using this with a phone based client (after all, we are talking _smart phones_ here, rather than just your 8390). Any details of when these will come?

Secondly, just to correct you on a couple of (largely irrelevant ;-) ) points - you could definately get a connection cable for the 8390 and the 7210 - In the UK, the 8390 was offered as the 8310 (the ONLY difference being the radio frequency - the 90 was tri-band, iirc) and there were cables for that, and the 7210 was re-badged for business (with a much nicer facia) as the 6610, which came with the data cable in the box. I synched using Nokia Data Suite (also in the box on CD) and things seemed to be ok. I was able to pick up the contacts I'd synched to the old Palm M105 I had, and although it left things a little screwy to start with, a bit of playing sorted it out.

Currently, I'm using Smartner's Duality to get AUTD mail - I'm not busy enough to have someone booking meetings for me, so just having access to the last couple of days worth of email is quite enough! Perhaps an option where only certain items are updated might be useful, as there are many people out there who only want to have meetings updated, to stop the data-creep coming home with them, and also reduce the overhead of mobile data further?

PS - the mobile telcos are running scared of Skype over mobile, which means data rates are unlikely to get much cheaper any time soon.

K

TechEd Day 1&2 from an Exchange perspective

David Lemson's WebLog — Wed, 08 Jun 2005 13:51:54 GMT

It’s been a huge couple of days for the Exchange team, especially the Exchange Mobile Sync team, which...

re: Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

Nathan Yelton — Wed, 08 Jun 2005 23:29:46 GMT

So, how do we know that a Windows Mobile device we purchase today will be able to support the new features when they are released? Or do we have to wait for new devices which support them?

What about ActiveSync for Nokia and Palm devices?

Thierry — Thu, 09 Jun 2005 00:53:20 GMT

Thank you for this 'inside information', very educative. I just wondered, not so long ago I believe Nokia and Palm licensed your activesync mechanism. Could you please inform us about the capabilities and/or compatibilities on hardware bot running Windows Mobile 5.0?

Thanks in advance,
Thierry Lammers

Microsoft's push e-mail isn't really push?

MobileRead — Thu, 09 Jun 2005 09:30:51 GMT

Is Microsoft trying to redefine the meaning of push e-mail? A few days ago the company's chief Steve Ballmer announced an Exchange Server feature pack to include "Direct Push Technology" - the delivery of e-mail to mobile devices without any action on...

re: Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

Max — Fri, 10 Jun 2005 00:42:58 GMT

Thierry and Nathan... we will have a blog about device support coming very soon... stay tuned!

Keep the comments coming!

The

E-Bitz - SBS MVP the Official Blog of the SBS — Fri, 10 Jun 2005 03:10:35 GMT

The

E-Bitz - SBS MVP the Official Blog of the SBS — Fri, 10 Jun 2005 03:10:56 GMT

re: Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

Alex Yakhnin — Mon, 13 Jun 2005 16:21:50 GMT

This is a very interesting solution, yet very simple. But what happens on the client in case of losing connectivity? I guess it will be trying to re-connect. How often it will be making these re-tries? Isn't that going to affect battery life?

Thx... Alex

re: Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

Sami Khoury — Mon, 13 Jun 2005 20:27:33 GMT

The retries will affect battery life, of course, just as running any type of code at all on the device will affect battery life. In terms of how often the retries are issued, you can imagine basing this on a heuristic derived from things such as the current signal strength, the reason for the loss of connectivity, and perhaps even the duration of connectivity loss.

I am not familiar with the retry scheme that will be used by Windows Mobile devices in the case of a loss of connectivity.

There are several questions above regarding device availability -- as Max and KC said, there is forthcoming information on this. I myself do not know what device makers' plans are, so I'm anxious to read this upcoming blog, too.

Sami

Weekend reading

subject: exchange — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 19:26:38 GMT

Some Exciting ActiveSync Updates Coming Soon!

Ted's Blog — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 22:34:58 GMT

I read this article at You Had Me at EHLO
a few days ago and it made me very excited.&nbsp; There are...

re: Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

Dave Caddick — Thu, 16 Jun 2005 15:36:08 GMT

Hi Sami,

Very enlightening information, and for me it really does appear that this is almost one of those technologies that confuses people because it's too simple?

Having said - dealing with enterprise level security and attendant Firewalls, etc. would I be right in understanding this needs to bounce off an ISA Server in the DMZ to enable the RPC/HTTP(S) connection?

Cheers,
Dave

re: Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

Sami Khoury — Mon, 20 Jun 2005 18:21:45 GMT

Dave-

There is no requirement for an ISA server, though enterprises do tend to place a firewall in front of their Exchange servers.

Sami

re: New features of the Phone Synchronization in SP2?

Vadim — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 03:26:19 GMT

1. As was already mentioned here it does not look really as 'push' technology - it is 'pull' technology, as all the syncs are initiated by the device (here is why we need INCOMING http ports opened, right?). So why call it 'push'? Competing GoodLink is true 'push' technology as device only accepts updates directly from the corporate server (apparently saving air charges).
2. It is not clear what exactly is new - SP0 and SP1 have the same technology. Actually, at first I thought the mechanism described is ExchangeActiveSync for 2003 sp0\sp1. So what do I miss? Seems like my hopes to get 'true push technology' with SP2 is a mirage.
3. It is not clear why to stick to this somewhat awkward mechanism with device requests loops (every request will cost you even if you are on unlimited data plan). At least in curent sp1 implementation the Exchange itself has to send SMS to device when changes occured, only then device open connection to the server to pull data. Is it different now in sp2? Or it is the same in sp1 (that is device periodically requests updates from the server) and we (O'K, I) just did not know it?
3. Whatever it is the simplicity mentioned (in the comments, at least) is first glance impression. That is it would be simple if it worked. Unfortunately, it is not really. It is buggy. I tested GoodLink technology and it IS simple - it took about three hrs to set up a pilot and make it work with Treo650. And it works flawlessly so far, setup was very well documented and easy to understand. And it is already four days as I am trying to make AUTD ActiveSync work on Exchange2003 with Motorola 220. Everything is set up according to all the docs I was able to get my hands on but it just does not work (to make sure it seems it WAS working for a while and then just stopped, with no apparent reasons). Since we can save some money using ActiveSync instead of GoodLink I'm still trying to get it working but...
Documentation is sparse, difficult to get and rather superficial. Software is definitely buggy and troubleshooting info is virtually non-existant. So what does anybody mean it is a 'simple' solution???
May be somebody can tell me how to make AUTD work or where to find troublshooting info?

re: On simplicity of Synchronization Problem End-to-End

Vadim — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 03:39:04 GMT

Whatever is the simplicity mentioned (in the comments, at least) it is a first glance impression. That is it would be simple if it worked. Unfortunately, it is not, really. It is buggy. I tested GoodLink technology and it IS simple - it took about three hrs to set up a pilot and make it work with Treo650. And it works flawlessly so far, setup was very well documented and easy to understand. And it is now four days as I am trying to make AUTD ActiveSync work on Exchange2003 with Motorola 220. Everything is set up according to all the docs I was able to get my hands on but it just does not work (to make sure it seems it WAS working for a while and then just stopped, with no apparent reasons). Since we can save some money using ActiveSync instead of GoodLink I'm still trying to get it working but...
Documentation is sparse, difficult to get and rather superficial. Software is definitely buggy and troubleshooting info is virtually non-existant. So what does anybody mean it is a 'simple' solution???
Good (and simple) technology is the one which works and properly documented. However good may the idea be in the foundation of the technology it is worthless if implementation is sloppy (sorry, but somebody had to say that). My problem with ActiveSync is a number of bugs in PRODUCTION system and lack of docs. I can make it work with scheduled or manual sync but not AUTD - no apparent errors, no troubleshooting info, just like that.

re: Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

Jim — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 20:36:47 GMT

I agree with Vadim regarding the push/pull definition confusion. Unless I'm uninformed by current or future radio technologies, how does the device submit/receive HTTP while still able to receive phone calls. If the device is chatting, albeit in small bits, over the air, my i700 on Verizon will not take phone calls. The SMS method will keep me up to date and still allow for calls (unless updating).

Vadim, AUTDv1 IS VERY simple to setup and I've done dozens of them. Are you referring to v2? Would love to discuss.

thanks for the info Sami!! Keep it coming.

re: For Jim - Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

vadim — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 21:07:22 GMT

Thanks, Jim,
if you could drop me a line I would gladly discuss some of the AUTD points. I am not sure which version AUTD I am using - it is the one that comes with Exchange2003 sp0 and sp1 (on the device side it is the Win2003 Second Edition). I guess it is AUTDv2. But... For me it WAS relatively easy to setup (I had to guess couple of not clearly defined things, though) but the problem is it is just not working. Scheduled sync is fine but not AUTD. The simplicity of setup IS the problem - what do you do when it does not work and it is too simple to find anything else to change? Besides, this UNDOCUMENTED (as far as I am concern) feature of 'device expiration' when not manually synced drives me nuts! Any way to disable it??? Anyway, I would certainly appreciate any enlightment on the technology (even though it seems I want to use it less and less).
Jim, if you e-mail me at VADIMZ@HOTMAIL.COM I would be glad to chat on the subject.

re: Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

Sami Khoury — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 18:56:29 GMT

hi Vadim-

Sorry to hear that you're having trouble with AUTDv1. AUTDv1 is the SMS-based solution, and troubleshooting info can be found here:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;822176

AUTDv2 (or, "Direct Push", as we now call it) has several distinct differences and improvements over AUTDv1 that I mentioned in my blog. Among those are that it is entirely based on data connections. So the behavior you describe, where scheduled sync works but AUTD does not, cannot occur with Direct Push -- that is, if scheduled sync works, Direct Push must, too, and vice versa.

Further, it requires no additional setup on the device. Once you provision ActiveSync on the device for doing scheduled sync, that device has all it needs to establish a Direct Push session, too.

Last, when SP2 is released, I hope you'll give it a shot and let us know how it goes. I suspect that the experience will be much more smooth than what you've seen with AUTDv1.

Best,

Sami

Smartphone 2003?

Mark — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 14:09:24 GMT

Very informative - thanks very much. All the press coverage links Direct Push to Mobile 5 on the client side. Will it work with Smartphone 2003 as well?

Rgards
Mark

re: Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

Sami Khoury — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 19:56:11 GMT

It won't work on Smartphone 2003, unfortunately. To use Direct Push, you'll need a device that is running Windows Mobile 5.0 and the Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP). Think of the MSFP as an additional install on top of a Windows Mobile 5.0 base system.

As I mentioned in an earlier response above, expect a blog in the coming weeks that talks about devices that will support this.

Sami

re: Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

Kenneth — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 05:27:44 GMT

I'm still confused as Jim had earlier mentioned, if a device is constantly using the data connection, how can you receive phone calls from your phone?

My friend has the Audiovox XV6600 and when he's using the data connection (AIM, web, etc..), all phone calls go to voicemail. So if the pocketpc device maintains an http connection throughout each "cycle", you'll never get a phone call unless I'm missing something here.

re: Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

Sami Khoury — Wed, 06 Jul 2005 00:09:34 GMT

[This comment has been changed to reflect updated information.]
Kenneth- 
Incoming and outgoing calls are unaffected by Direct Push when the underlying TCP connection is idle (i.e., most of the time). You can make and receive calls as though there was no active data connection. When there is actually data in transit, incoming calls will be routed to voicemail. This is unfortunate, but all data-enabled mobile applications suffer from this -- it is not unique to Direct Push.
Regards, 
Sami

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The Messaging Guy — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 16:02:34 GMT

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Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

News from Tech Ed USA

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re: Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

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re: Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

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re: Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

re: Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

re: New features of the Phone Synchronization in SP2?

re: On simplicity of Synchronization Problem End-to-End

re: Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

re: For Jim - Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

re: Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

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re: Solving the Phone Synchronization Problem End-to-End

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