In Figure 3, you can see that the BlackBerry Enterprise Server system hasn't sent or received anything from the handheld for 8 days and almost 9 hours. Such a long amount of time without contact typically signals a problem such as the user forgetting to turn back on the BlackBerry's transceiver, a lapsed airtime contract, or a damaged transceiver. If the handheld's radio is on, you can generate a network registration request to test the device's connection to the wireless network or you can have the user send a PIN message to himself or herself. (RIM assigns to each BlackBerry a unique PIN that RIM uses to identify the device. PIN-mode communications are messages sent from one device to another rather than through an Exchange server.) To generate a network registration request, access the BlackBerry's Options mode, open Network Settings, click the track wheel, and select Register Now. This action sends a registration message to the RIM network; in response, the BlackBerry should receive a registration confirmation message. If the device receives this message, you know that it can communicate over the wireless network to the RIM infrastructure.
As I mentioned earlier, sometimes the BlackBerry's actual location is different from where the MSO thinks the handheld is located. Sending a PIN message or the registration packet or even just turning the radio off and on updates the BlackBerry's location, which usually also lets the RIM and wireless networks successfully route messages to the handheld. If these simple actions don't resolve the delivery problem, you might need to resort to a more drastic action such as wiping the device's memory clean and reloading the handheld's applications and data or removing and re-adding the handheld to BlackBerry Enterprise Server. These actions reset the databases that the handheld and BlackBerry Enterprise Server maintain.
If the Handheld Statistics screen shows a large value in the Pending to handheld field, as many as five messages are most likely queued on the wireless relay and the others are queued on the BlackBerry Enterprise Server system. Your next troubleshooting step is to look at the BlackBerry Enterprise Server Monitor status icon to check the connection between the BlackBerry Enterprise Server system and SRP host. The BlackBerry Enterprise Server Monitor watches the Windows event log for BlackBerry-generated events and periodically sends ping messages to the SRP host. If the Monitor is receiving responses to its pings, it displays an icon with a radio tower and radio waves. If the Monitor isn't receiving responses, it displays an icon with a radio tower and an exclamation point (no waves) and logs an event in the Windows Application log. You can also configure the Monitor to send an email alert to one or more SMTP addresses.
Connections between the BlackBerry Enterprise Server system and SRP host are initiated only by the BlackBerry Enterprise Server system, never by the SRP host. However, after a connection is established, communication is bidirectional. If either host is taken offline or an intermediate system (such as a firewall, DNS server, or router) causes a connectivity interruption, the connection between the BlackBerry Enterprise Server system and SRP host is lost and the BlackBerry Enterprise Server writes event ID 30155 to the BlackBerry debug logs (in the C:\Program Files\Research In Motion\Blackberry for Exchange directory by default). The logs are plaintext and contain data about all the actions that BlackBerry Enterprise Server performs. (For a closer look at the logs, see the Web sidebar "BlackBerry Enterprise Server Debug Logs," http://www.exchangeadmin.com, InstantDoc ID 27222.) The BlackBerry Enterprise Server system immediately tries to reestablish the connection, but depending on the reason the connection was lost, the attempt might not be successful immediately. If the connection is frequently terminated or you can't reestablish it, you'll need to look in the BlackBerry debug logs to determine the reason. For example, in the event
[30155] (08/20 14:06:47):{0x5A0}
SRP connection dropped,
Error=10060
the Winsock error code 10060 means that the connection timed out. To decode other errors, see "Windows Sockets Error Codes" (http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/winsock/winsock/windows_sockets_error_codes_2.asp).
Preventive Measures
By far one of the simplest things that you can do to ensure that your BlackBerry Enterprise Server system is functioning problem-free is to apply the most recent service pack. The most recent release is BlackBerry Enterprise Server 2.1 Service Pack 4 (SP4). Among other improvements, RIM has made a few changes that help prevent hung threads from negatively affecting overall operations. When BlackBerry Enterprise Server detects a hung thread, the server can restart the thread or prevent it from affecting other BlackBerry Enterprise Server processes. Another step you can easily take is to properly configure the BlackBerry Enterprise Server Monitor to send alerts to a monitored account or your pager when an SRP connection is lost or when significant events are logged in the Windows Application event log.
For many organizations, BlackBerry email is a crucial communications tool that you need to ensure is running properly. If your BlackBerry Enterprise Server system experiences problems, you need to know right away. Monitor the health status of the system the way you do your other servers: Establish baselines, check on queues, generate usage reports, and watch for signs of trouble in the Windows event log and BlackBerry Enterprise Server debug logs.