An Overview of The BlackBerry Solution
Understanding How The Device, Back-End, and NOC Work Together
Jul 22, 2008
The BlackBerry solution by Research In Motion (RIM) has a lot of moving parts. How do they all work together? What do they do? And why is BlackBerry different than other smartphone solutions? This article will give the reader an overview of the components of a BlackBerry implementation and how they work together.
Device and Data
The first, and most obvious piece, is of course the device. For a more detailed description and advice on choosing a device, see this article with Tips for Choosing a BlackBerry. Once the device is chosen, though, you've only begun to assemble the pieces.
All cell phones require service from a carrier. Unlike a regular voice-only cell phone, a voice plan is not enough, though. Smartphones require data service, too. The data service is essentially like signing up for DSL from a land line provider - it provides the network connectivity to layer on top of voice service. Some carriers may also require purchase of a BlackBerry plan, either for BlackBerry smartphones or for devices that will be used within an organization and connected to a business back end server. Check with the carrier for details.
Once the device, data service, and BlackBerry service is set up, there is one other device side piece to consider - the software on the handheld itself. New versions are often being released with new features. If you are part of a large organization, the on staff Information Technology (IT) team may upgrade the device on behalf of the users or coach users though how to do the upgrade.
Back-End Software
After setting up the device and service, there is also the back end to consider. Most organizations will use BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) or BlackBerry Professional depending upon the size of the organization and the level of features needed for the installation. For points to consider in making this decision, see Choosing a BlackBerry Software Platform. Individuals may use BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) or manually download emails using BlackBerry Desktop Manager.
In selecting and installing (or upgrading) the BlackBerry backend software, many organizations will purchase T-Support, which works as both software assurance, allowing downloading of future versions of the software, and as support, so that organizations can contact RIM in the even of any issues. They may also bring in a BlackBerry Alliance Member to assist with the installation or upgrade and train the administrators that will maintain the system going forward. For home users, the carriers offer trained customer service staff who can assist in configuring BIS. Additionally, a great deal of information, including movies that walk users through how to set up software and devices, are available on the RIM site.
For organizations, the BlackBerry server will poll the organization's email server to find messages to send to the smartphones. While most organizations already have an enterprise-level email server such as Lotus Domino, Microsoft Exchange, or Novell Groupwise, if an organization wishes to use BES or BlackBerry Professional Software and does not have a mail server, now is the time to set one up. Often carriers are able to bundle email server software with the BES/Professional software and devices for a discount, so ask your carrier representative about this before purchasing all the pieces independently.
If an organization would like to set up BES/Professional and an email server for the first time to receive email on the BlackBerry but does not want to incur the upfront expense of purchasing the required hardware, software, and services, outside companies can manage all these pieces for the organization, effectively hosting BES and the mail server.
Once the device side and back-end pieces are in place, the organization is ready to connect to the BlackBerry Network Operations Center (NOC).
The NOC
The NOC is one aspect of the BlackBerry solution that is unique among smartphones. The major advantage of including the NOC in the BlackBerry solution's architecture is that it allows a higher level of security than what is available with any other smartphone solution. All traffic from a BES is encrypted as it travels through the NOC and can only be decrypted by the target device. Because all traffic goes to the NOC before being routed to the BES, the BES only accepts incoming transactions from one location - the NOC. Other smartphone solutions have to accept incoming transactions from the internet.
RIM's solution, including the NOC, is very secure and has passed FIPS 140-2 Validation. For additional inforamation on the security of the BlackBerry solution, see this page on the RIM site.
With the device, device software, carrier data plan, and BES software in place, emails can travel securely from the BlackBerry to the NOC and back again, enabling wireless email for users.
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