To use Outlook Mobile Access, users point their WAP devices to http://servername/oma, where servername is the name of the Mobile Information Server system. If you're using the Exchange 5.5 Data Provider, users use the URL http://servername/oma55 to access the Exchange Server 5.5 virtual Web. When the user connects, Mobile Information Server prompts for the user's network logon credentials. These credentials can consist of the user's primary domain logon or a wireless alias, depending on how you implement security. After being authenticated, users can access their Outlook email, calendar, contacts, and tasks.
The Exchange 2000 Event Source. Recall that during Mobile Information Server installation, you didn't install the Exchange Event Source (aka the Exchange 2000 Notifications feature). To configure Exchange 2000, you need to install the Exchange Event Source on the Exchange 2000 server. Run the Mobile Information Server setup routine on your Exchange 2000 server and select only the Exchange 2000 Notifications feature from the wizard dialog box that Figure 2 shows. To complete the event source deployment, you need to create an Exchange 2000 SMTP Connector in the Exchange System Manager. This connector lets Mobile Information Server push alerts to users' devices.
Then, access Internet Services Manager (ISM) on the Mobile Information Server machine to configure the connection to the smart host (i.e., a server configured to perform DNS name resolution to external domains). The SMTP connector lets Exchange Server route the event source notifications to Mobile Information Server, then to the user's device. The connection to the smart host lets Mobile Information Server route SMTP alerts to the smart host, which routes them to the carrier's SMTP gateway.
Outlook rules. When you install the Exchange 2000 Event Source, the installation creates the Mobile Outbox folder in the user's Outlook folder list. The event source works with the Mobile Outbox to send notifications to users. To enable notification functionality, the end user must set up Outlook rules that copy email messages to the user's Mobile Outbox when certain conditions are met. Users can decide how they want to configure their Outlook rules to generate alerts.
Exchange 5.5 Data Provider. The Exchange 5.5 Data Provider provides Outlook Mobile Access browse functionality from Exchange Server 5.5. Before you install the Exchange 5.5 Data Provider, you need to create a service account between Mobile Information Server and the Exchange Server 5.5 server. This service account can be the existing Exchange Server 5.5 service account. Alternatively, to limit access from Mobile Information Server to the Exchange Server 5.5 server (e.g., to provide access to only a subset of Exchange Server 5.5 users), you can create a service account named OMAGateway and include specific mailboxes in that account.
To install the Exchange 5.5 Data Provider, you need to expand the Microsoft Mobile Information Server node in the setup wizard's Component Selection window that Figure 2 shows, select the Exchange 5.5 Support subcomponent, and enter the requested information for the service account. The setup program will install the Exchange 5.5 Data Provider and create a virtual root to give the user browse access to data resources.
To deploy the Exchange 5.5 Data Provider, you use the Active Directory Connector (ADC) to migrate Exchange Server 5.5 user accounts to AD. Mobile Information Server then disables those user accounts and uses the disabled accounts to store mobility information about users. The ADC retrieves data from the Exchange Server 5.5 private data store and puts the data into AD. You need to set up an ADC for every Exchange Server 5.5 machine in the enterprise. For configuration details, see the online Help on the Mobile Information Server CD-ROM.
Intranet Browse. The Intranet Browse Data Provider lets users access intranet-hosted WAP applications. Those applications could provide wireless enterprise features such as sales-force and field-force automation, customer relationship management (CRM), and enterprise resource planning (ERP). When you install Mobile Information Server, Intranet Browse setup installs by default.
After installation, you need to take a couple of simple steps to let users access Intranet Browse applications. To set intranet site access, right-click the default Mobile Information Server site in the MMC Mobile Information Server snap-in, select Properties, and click the Intranet Browse Sites tab. Select the Allow access to all Intranet sites check box to let users access all intranet sites, or specify sites to limit users' access to only those sites. To access the Intranet Browse site, users use their WAP-enabled device to access a URL of the form http://servername/in/applicationpath, where servername is the name of the Mobile Information Server system and applicationpath is the application pathname (e.g., cowireless03/articletest).
Administering Mobile Information Server. You administer the various aspects of Mobile Information Server through the Mobile Information Server snap-in. The administration components in the snap-in let you access details about Mobile Information Server applications, carriers, device types, and event sources. In addition, you administer some mobility aspects through AD. As I explained earlier, users manage their own wireless mobility preferences.
Application-level security. To use application-level security, you need to configure the Mobile Information Server system with appropriate certificates from a suitable certificate authority. Users can then use an HTTP over Secure Sockets Layer (HTTPS) URL to reference the secured applications from a wireless device through the service provider's WAP gateway. Application-level security uses Wireless Transport Layer Security (WTLS) between the WAP device and the WAP gateway and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption between the WAP gateway and Mobile Information Server in the DMZ.
A Wireless Direction
Although you might see changes to particulars, such as the Mobile Information Server interface, when Mobile Information Server becomes publicly available, this implementation overview should give you the information you need to prepare a foundation for your enterprise mobility strategy. Then, after the product is available, you'll be ready to quickly implement it.
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