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View Full Version : The Ins and Outs of Push Email & Exchange


Jon Westfall
06-30-2006, 09:01 AM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials/Exchange-2003-Mobile-Messaging-Part1-Microsoft-DirectPush-technology.html' target='_blank'>http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials...technology.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"One of the most interesting features available in Exchange 2003 Service Pack 2 is without doubt the new DirectPush technology (aka AUTD v2), which improves the mobile messaging experience for your end-users by providing close to real over the air (OTA) push technology. In this article, which is the first in a 5 part article series on mobile messaging using Exchange 2003 with SP2 applied and mobile devices running Windows Mobile 5.0 with the Messaging and Security Feature Pack (MSFP) installed, we’ll take a closer look at the new DirectPush technology."</i><br /><br />If you ever wanted to know more detail on how the MSFP and AUTD, and SP2, (And other abbreviations) got your push email to you, then this write up should be helpful. It's always neat to see how things work, of course you already know that, being a Pocket PC user and most likely someone who appreciates the steps involved in your user experience :)

Philip Colmer
07-05-2006, 09:48 AM
I'm confused ... although it doesn't take much :D.

The article says "you only need to enable Microsoft DirectPush under the Comm Manager as shown in Figure 4 below" but it seems to me that Figure 4 shows DirectPush as disabled - or is the icon misleading?

Either way, on my device, I do not get the two arrows that the author talks about.

I've got synchronisation with Exchange working - but it seems to be the old scheduled style. It doesn't seem to be the new AUTD method and I can't see what I need to do to turn it on.

--Philip

Philip Colmer
07-05-2006, 10:34 AM
I think I've found the two little arrows that the article is talking about. I've currently got Wi-Fi turned on, and the arrows are superimposed on the Wi-Fi icon!

Curious ... given that everything I've read about DirectPush says that it uses the GPRS connection. Maybe it is for the HTTPS connection to the server and then using ActiveSync over the primary Internet connection?

Anyway, the Exchange team have also done a video about this feature: http://msexchangeteam.com/videos/9/train/entry426996.aspx.

The main downside seems to be that the device doesn't provide you with an audible or vibratory alert when new email arrives, unlike the Blackberry. Could be a showstopper :cry:.

--Philip

Janak Parekh
07-05-2006, 05:52 PM
I'm confused ... although it doesn't take much :D.
I think the author is wrong. The two arrows at the top merely indicate an IP connection, and has nothing to do with Direct Push. And yes, the icon in the wireless manager is indeed disabled.

I've got synchronisation with Exchange working - but it seems to be the old scheduled style. It doesn't seem to be the new AUTD method and I can't see what I need to do to turn it on.
If you are running AKU2 and the Exchange Server is 2003 SP2, it's automatic -- you just set to "as new items arrive" and you do not have to supply your phone number.

--janak

Janak Parekh
07-05-2006, 05:55 PM
I think I've found the two little arrows that the article is talking about. I've currently got Wi-Fi turned on, and the arrows are superimposed on the Wi-Fi icon!
Right -- there are multiple possibilities for the arrows, depending on what is the "dominant" IP connection. It's roughly in the following order:

1. IP over your cellular network (arrows on top of 1x/EV/G/U);
2. IP over WiFi (arrows on top of the WiFi icon);
3. IP over AS (just the arrows).

Curious ... given that everything I've read about DirectPush says that it uses the GPRS connection. Maybe it is for the HTTPS connection to the server and then using ActiveSync over the primary Internet connection?
Direct Push will indeed only work over a cellular data connection. Not sure what happens if you have WiFi running at the same time as cellular data.

The main downside seems to be that the device doesn't provide you with an audible or vibratory alert when new email arrives, unlike the Blackberry. Could be a showstopper :cry:.
It should with most devices if the Messaging/Inbox applet is not in the foreground. Apparently this behavior is OEM-customizable, and some HTC Wizard OEMs decided to turn it off. Not quite sure why. :? My 700w vibrates faithfully as emails come in.

--janak

Philip Colmer
07-06-2006, 09:21 AM
A bit of an update, having used the QTek 9100 for a bit longer ...

I found out how to enable vibrate for new email messages - it is (sensibly enough) under Sounds &amp; Notifications.

On the issue of what is required for DirectPush ... you definitely need GPRS. If you turn off the mobile phone part, ActiveSync says that the current schedule requires a cellular connection. That said, I'm still not convinced that it continues to use GPRS for the actual data transfer. I still think it uses GPRS for the HTTPS connection and then the active Internet connection for the normal ActiveSync transfer.

If I'm wrong, it is because Microsoft don't get the icons right at the top of the display :-). With Wi-Fi turned on, the AS arrows are definitely on that icon, even with GPRS live &amp; happy.

I can, though, envisage some problems with staff who have been used to using BBs until now. I don't, for example, like the fact that the device occasionally pops up a notification window saying that it is connecting to GPRS. I think it ought to do this in the background, silently. Blackberrys seem to.

Also, I've had a pop-up saying that it can't get an IP address (or something like that). I assume that is when I've driven home and, when I've got home, the phone has lost the mobile signal and is complaining. Again, Blackberrys seem to just handle this quietly.

--Philip

Janak Parekh
07-06-2006, 04:27 PM
On the issue of what is required for DirectPush ... you definitely need GPRS. If you turn off the mobile phone part, ActiveSync says that the current schedule requires a cellular connection. That said, I'm still not convinced that it continues to use GPRS for the actual data transfer. I still think it uses GPRS for the HTTPS connection and then the active Internet connection for the normal ActiveSync transfer.
This can't quite be accurate, because Server/Exchange ActiveSync is done entirely over HTTPS.

The question is if EAS can use two HTTPS connections -- one over GPRS for notification, and one over WiFi to actually perform the sync. I'm guessing no, and that the icons are wrong.

I can, though, envisage some problems with staff who have been used to using BBs until now. I don't, for example, like the fact that the device occasionally pops up a notification window saying that it is connecting to GPRS. I think it ought to do this in the background, silently. Blackberrys seem to.
I think this is a device-specific thing. The Treo won't show the dialing window.

Also, I've had a pop-up saying that it can't get an IP address (or something like that). I assume that is when I've driven home and, when I've got home, the phone has lost the mobile signal and is complaining. Again, Blackberrys seem to just handle this quietly.
And again, the Treo does this silently as well. I think MS gives too much flexibility to the OEMs in this regard. :?

--janak

slayerhawk
07-07-2006, 04:43 PM
We just had a Cingular rep come to our offices. We confirmed that you have to use GPRS for Push to work.

My boss currently has rules in Outlook that sort email to different folders. How can I specify which email I want pushed to his device?

any ideas?


Thanks

Philip Colmer
07-07-2006, 07:05 PM
My boss currently has rules in Outlook that sort email to different folders. How can I specify which email I want pushed to his device?
I've been thinking about this because it is an area where BB may be better than MS.

One option might be to set up a rule that copies emails you want pushed into a specific folder, and you set up the mobile device to synchronise only that folder. I haven't tested this, though, so I don't know if it would work. I don't know, for example, if you can stop the Inbox from synchronising.

--Philip

Janak Parekh
07-07-2006, 08:00 PM
My boss currently has rules in Outlook that sort email to different folders. How can I specify which email I want pushed to his device?
You can control which folders are pushed. Go into Inbox/Messaging, and choose Menu => Tools => Manage Folders. The catch is that Inbox must be synced, and only messages coming into the Inbox will trigger a vibrate, but other than that it should work well.

--janak

Charles Louisson
08-14-2006, 03:37 PM
This can't quite be accurate, because Server/Exchange ActiveSync is done entirely over HTTPS.

The question is if EAS can use two HTTPS connections -- one over GPRS for notification, and one over WiFi to actually perform the sync. I'm guessing no, and that the icons are wrong.



I've just stumbled in here from a Google search - I have an iPAQ hw6915 set up with push email and it seems to work quite well, except for the WLAN/GPRS integration - or lack of it!

EAS with the hw6915 (or any other GPRS/WLAN WM5 phone?) offers the potential for big savings versus BB as I am sure that a significant proportion of the traffic is delivered when users are in range of a WLAN.

Right now if you set EAS to "as items arrive" then all traffic seems to be routed to GPRS regardless of whether WLAN is active or not, but if you change the schedule to any specific interval then it seems to route over WLAN if available.

The gotcha is that once the iPAQ goes into standby (5 minutes max when on batteries) the WLAN is gone and it reverts to GPRS, and when it wakes up it starts syncing (over GPRS) before the WLAN is back up. Since the minimum specific interval for sync is 5 minutes, you are almost guaranteed to be in standby!

Wouldn't it be much better if you could use GPRS for notification as items arrive and WLAN (if available) for the sync, with a short delay to allow any WLAN connection to come back up?

Janak Parekh
08-14-2006, 07:23 PM
Welcome to the site, Charles.

EAS with the hw6915 (or any other GPRS/WLAN WM5 phone?) offers the potential for big savings versus BB as I am sure that a significant proportion of the traffic is delivered when users are in range of a WLAN.
Not only that, it offers the ability to use EAS when you're in weak coverage. At one point, I was using my JasJar with a carrier using SMS push; even if the JasJar was in an area with a too-weak signal for GPRS, as long as the SMS came through the device could wake up and sync over WiFi. (This was before the MSFP was installed on the device, which changes the behavior of "as items arrive". And I think that was what was happening, although I didn't test it extensively. I do know the SMS-based push algorithm entailed the device actually waiting before triggering the AS, by design.)

Wouldn't it be much better if you could use GPRS for notification as items arrive and WLAN (if available) for the sync, with a short delay to allow any WLAN connection to come back up?
Yes, it could be very convenient. I think this may become a reality when UMA starts becoming more prevalent, allowing seamless handoffs between WiFi and cellular data. On the other hand, as 3G, 3.5G and 4G hit the market and more unlimited plans come into effect, the benefit of WiFi diminishes immensely. My 700w is sufficiently fast over EVDO that dealing with the "hassle" of WiFi (association time, amongst other things) is just not worth it.

--janak

Charles Louisson
08-18-2006, 11:17 AM
Yes, it could be very convenient. I think this may become a reality when UMA starts becoming more prevalent, allowing seamless handoffs between WiFi and cellular data. On the other hand, as 3G, 3.5G and 4G hit the market and more unlimited plans come into effect, the benefit of WiFi diminishes immensely. My 700w is sufficiently fast over EVDO that dealing with the "hassle" of WiFi (association time, amongst other things) is just not worth it.

--janak

I wouldn't have thought it beyond the skills of MS to come up with a utility that could figure out that if it can talk to the specified Exchange server over WLAN it should use that rather than GPRS/EDGE/EVDO or whatever. But it does need to be automatic - if there is hassle people will not bother.

I would guess that a lot of the Blackberry traffic (more than half?) is probably delivered when people are in their offices, almost certainly in range of a WLAN connected pretty directly to their Exchange server. Even when you are out of the office, you are frequently in range of a public WLAN, so it could at least try that route first.

Why pay your operator to deliver it - and before you say "unlimited" in my book there are no free lunches - if it is truly unlimited you are probably paying too much, and if it has a limit then by sensible use you could probably find a cheaper plan with a lower limit.

A lot of us would not be jumping through these hoops if BB was reasonably priced, so price is important here, and MS should take advantage of being the knight in shining armour for once in their existence and put the finishing touches to the job!

Philip Colmer
08-18-2006, 06:41 PM
Why pay your operator to deliver it - and before you say "unlimited" in my book there are no free lunches - if it is truly unlimited you are probably paying too much, and if it has a limit then by sensible use you could probably find a cheaper plan with a lower limit.
Another reason why I think this would be a good idea is because whilst you may have an unlimited data package, it is typically only covered if you are in your "home" country. If you are in a roaming situation, you end up paying for it, typically around $14 per MB.

Not nice.

So any opportunity to offload that onto what might be a cheaper transport system would be of benefit.

--Philip

Janak Parekh
08-21-2006, 10:57 PM
Why pay your operator to deliver it - and before you say "unlimited" in my book there are no free lunches - if it is truly unlimited you are probably paying too much, and if it has a limit then by sensible use you could probably find a cheaper plan with a lower limit.
I don't call it a free lunch, but I wouldn't go back to limited data. T-Mobile offers unlimited data and WiFi for $30/month, with pretty much no catches. Alas, I use Verizon, which is more expensive, but it's also quite fast.

I think Philip outlines an excellent point for WiFi, though. Unfortunately, the mobile team at Microsoft often has to tradeoff features in the interest of actually shipping product, and I haven't seen seamless support for multiple connection types at the top of the featurelist. However, that's for shipping OSes; it's possible Microsoft is working on this for future OSes. If the opportunity does arise, I will chat with the MS folks about it. :) I do think UMA will gather attention and drive support.

--janak