Mobile Gateway - Push Email - Synchronization - PIM

1. Functional Overview

1.1. Mobile Email

1.2. PIM Synchronization

1.3. Instant Messaging

1.4. Social Networking

1.5. Web Feeds

2. Architecture Overview

2.1. User Interfaces

2.2. C lient Provisioning

2.3. Observation and Notification


2.5. Email Engine

2.6. SMS / MMS Interface

2.7. Synchronization Engine

2.8. Universal Data Connector

3. User Interfaces

3.1. End-User User Interfaces

3.2. Administration User Interface

4. Client Provisioning

5. Observation and Notification

5.1. Observation Engine

5.2. Notification Engine

6. IMPS / XMPP Engine

6.1. IMPS

6.2. XMPP and Proprietary Instant Messaging

Protocols

6.3 Using Instant Messaging with Mobile Gateway

7. Email Engine

7.1. IMAP / POP3 and SMTP Engines

7.1.1. IMAP / POP3 Engine

7.1.2. SMTP Engine

7.2. Transcoding Engine

7.3. WAP Engine

7.4. Email-to-MS Engine

7.5. Functionality Provided by the Email Engine

7.5.1. Email to SMS

7.5.2. Email to MMS

7.5.3. Social Networking

7.5.4. Web Feeds

8. Synchronization Engine

8.1. Client Mapping and Conflict Resolution (Slow

Sync)

8.2. Client Mapping and Conflict Resolution (Fast

Sync)

8.3. Serializers and Deserializers

8.4. Device-specific Content Serializers

8.5. Request Queue

8.6. Response Queue

8.7. Incoming Client Changes

8.8. Outgoing Server Changes

8.9. Device-specific Settings

9. Universal Data Connector

9.1. Back-End Server Protocols

10. Front-End Connections

10.1. Front-End Protocols

10.1.1. Dynamic Device Configuration

10.2. Content Model

10.3. Synchronica Email and IM Clients

11. Database

11.1. Preferences and Data Mappings

11.2. Java Persistence API

11.3. Database Schemas

11.3.1. GWDB Database

11.3.2. SETTINGSDB Database

11.4. Supported Databases

12. Implementation Scenarios

12.1. Operator Implementation

12.2. Security

12.3. Scalability and Resilience

13. Network Integration

13.1. Network Elements Overview

13.2. Application Server

13.3. Database Server

13.4. Monitoring Integration

13.5. Reporting Integration

13.6. SMSC Integration

13.7. MMSC Integration

13.8. Billing Integration

13.9. User Interface Integration

13.10. Device Detection Integration

13.11. Back-End Integration

Mobile Gateway Architecture for Device Manufacturers

Contents

1. Functional Overview

Synchronica Mobile Gateway 5 provides next-generation messaging - a single platform providing mobile

access to push email, synchronization, instant messaging, social networking, and web feeds.

People are increasingly using social networking and instant messaging for daily communication. Mobile

Gateway will appeal to your entire customer base with a combination of mobile access to these services, as

well as to more traditional electronic messaging services.

Mobile Gateway 5 provides a clientless, standards-based solution with key advantages which are unmatched

in the market. It combines many mobile and internet industry standards including LEMONADE, IMAP IDLE,

OMA EMN, OMA DS, OMA CP, XMPP, and OMA IMPS for devices with native messaging clients and provides

access to messaging services for more basic phones through Email to SMS, Email to MMS, and WAP Push,

delivering mobile messaging services to any mobile phone in use today.

Device Manufacturers

Overview

Mobile Gateway

Features

Benefits

Architecture

Device Requirements

MediaTek Toolkit

Live Demo

FAQs

Mobile Backup

Quotes

We expect very high annual

growth rates in penetration [for

wireless push email] over the next

four years, an average of roughly

107 percent per year in growth.

And likewise, we expect rapid

revenue growth rates in this space

as well. We forecast roughly 49

percent of annual average growth

in revenue in wireless push email

space through to 2011.

Matt Anderson

Senior Analyst

The Radicati Group

email address

Guarantee

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delivering mobile messaging services to any mobile phone in use today.

Mobile Gateway 5 provides mobile access to the most widely used services including Gmail and Google Talk,

Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Messenger, Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Messenger, Microsoft Exchange, AIM,

ICQ, Facebook, Facebook Chat, Twitter, LinkedIn, and any RSS-enabled web feed.

1.1. Mobile Email

Mobile Gateway provides industry-standard (IMAP) push email using the built-in email clients of a wide range

of smartphones and feature phones. Mobile Gateway also supports phones which would not usually be able

to access push email services. Mobile Gateway's email-to-MMS and email-to-WAP technologies support

entry-level feature phones which do not have built-in messaging clients. The email-to-SMS gateway further

extends the market reach to legacy 2G, and non-data-enabled mobile phones.

Due to its industry standard approach, Mobile Gateway supports all IMAP / POP3 email boxes including

popular ISP email services, such as Gmail, Yahoo, or Windows Live Hotmail. In addition, Mobile Gateway

also provides access to corporate email accounts on Microsoft Exchange, Sun Java Communications Suite,

and Lotus Domino without requiring modifications on the corporate firewall.

As part of the operator deployment, Mobile Gateway can feature an operator-branded email service,

enabling an operator-branded email account to be offered to customers.

1.2. PIM Synchronization

Mobile Gateway offers PIM synchronization (SyncML) using the built-in synchronization clients of a wide

range of smartphones and feature phones. As an added value, Mobile Gateway also supports phones which

would not usually be able to access synchronization services. The synchronization of key personal

information, such as contacts and calendar entries, enables users to restore their phone data in the case of

phone loss, damage or upgrade. PIM Push enables corporate users to have access to vital business

information on their mobiles, thus ensuring that their staff are always up to date.

Mobile Gateway supports contacts, calendar, and tasks synchronization on Microsoft Exchange, Sun Java

Communications Suite, and Lotus Domino; accounts, contacts, and calendar on Gmail; contacts on Windows

Live Hotmail.

In addition to email accounts, Mobile Gateway can also feature an operator-branded PIM account which can

be synchronized with SyncML-capable mobile phones.


Mobile Gateway delivers instant messaging to a wide range of mobile phones by using the built-in instant

messaging (OMA-IMPS) client available on many devices, allowing subscribers to stay connected to all their

community friends without having to download additional software.

Due to its industry-standard approach, Mobile Gateway supports all of the most popular instant messaging

communities including ICQ, Google Talk, MSN / Windows Live Messenger, AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Facebook

Chat, and any community which uses Jabber / XMPP.

As a core feature, Mobile Gateway includes an XMPP IM server which can be customized to create an

operator-branded mobile instant messaging community.

In addition, fully brandable IM clients are available for Java-enabled handsets, as well as several

smartphone platforms including the iPhone, Android devices, and Windows Mobile.

1.4. Social Networking

Mobile Gateway provides push social networking to the built-in messaging clients on a wide range of

smartphones and feature phones and extends social networking even to entry-level phones by sending feeds

and status updates as MMS or SMS.

Mobile Gateway supports the most popular social networking sites, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Users

can update their Facebook status, keep up to date with their Facebook friends, and comment and post

pictures. With Mobile Gateway, a user's mobile phone becomes their Facebook. Mobile Gateway access to

LinkedIn network updates and Twitter tweets is also available.

Updates can even be delivered from a wide range of existing social networking communities including

operator-branded communities to any mobile phone.

1.5. Web Feeds

The Mobile Gateway web feed service enables users to keep up to date with current events, sports, and

entertainment news, using their mobile phone.

With a built-in web feed (RSS) connector, Mobile Gateway provides as standard live updates from the most

popular websites including Al Jazeera, BBC, CNN, ESPN, Entertainment and Gossip, The Financial Times,

Mobile World Congress, Mobile Europe, The East African, and U.K. Weather. In addition, users can create

their own web feed accounts from any website which supports RSS-enabled feeds.

Updates are pushed as emails into a separate mailbox on any phone with a built-in email client. On entry-

level phones, Mobile Gateway sends updates as an SMS, MMS, or WAP Push.

As part of an operator deployment, Mobile Gateway's standard web feed list can be customized to offer

operator-specific, local, and regional content providers.

2. Architecture Overview

The architecture of Synchronica Mobile Gateway 5 is constructed from a number of components as shown in

figure 1 - Synchronica Mobile Gateway architecture overview.

At the front-end, the components connect to the Short Message Service Center (SMSC), Multimedia Message



Service Center (MMSC), and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) of a mobile operator network, as well as

providing the front-end web interfaces for the service. At the back-end, they connect to the servers of email,

synchronization, instant messaging, social networking, and web feed providers. Other components connect

to a database which is used to store metadata about the items which are transferred between the front- and

back-ends.

This section provides a short description of Mobile Gateway's major components. In later sections, all

components are described in greater detail.

2.1. User Interfaces

The end-user interfaces provide end-users with convenient portals to create and manage their account via

separate HTML and WAP interfaces.

The Mobile Gateway administration portal enables customer-care staff to manage customer requests and

system administrators to configure global settings, using any HTML browser.

2.2. Client Provisioning

The client provisioning module compiles and submits email, synchronization, instant messaging, and access

point name (APN) settings to the SMS interface for delivery to mobile handsets, using the OMA CP standard.

This enables easy automated configuration of mobile handsets, significantly reducing customer support calls

relating to errors in manual configuration. It enables over-the-air (OTA) configuration of the email,

synchronization, and instant messaging clients on phones.

2.3. Observation and Notification

The Observation Engine monitors back-ends for new events and triggers a notification when a new event is

identified. The Observation Engine accepts notification of new events from back-end servers or uses a

scheduled polling mechanism to regularly check for new events. The Notification Engine is triggered when a

new event is identified by the Observation Engine. The Notification Engine then notifies the appropriate

mobile device of the new event, using OMA DS, OMA EMN, IMAP IDLE, Email to MMS, Email to SMS, or OMA

IMPS.


The IMPS / XMPP Engine manages instant messaging user presence, and message communication between

mobile handsets or desktop messaging clients and instant messaging communities. It uses the IMPS protocol

for communication with mobile handsets, the XMPP protocol for communication with desktop messaging

clients on PCs, and XMPP and proprietary protocols to access instant messaging community servers at the

back-end.

Figure 1 - Synchronica Mobile Gateway architecture overview

2.5. Email Engine

The Email Engine manages the email receipt and delivery processes between back-end servers and mobile

handsets. It is also the mechanism by which social networking and web feed content is delivered to user



devices. It contains the IMAP / POP3 / SMTP Engine, the Transcoding Engine, and the Email-to-MS Engine. It

converts content from back-ends into formats that can be rendered on the mobile phones. For mobile

phones without a built-in email application, it delivers emails as WAP push messages, MMS, or SMS,

depending on handset capabilities. It converts replies back into an email or a response that is compatible

with the back-end.

2.6. SMS / MMS Interface

The SMS / MMS interface manages the connection between Mobile Gateway's client provisioning module,

Observation and Notification Engines, IMPS / XMPP Engine, Email Engine, and a mobile operator's SMSC and

MMSC. The interface uses either the SMPP, UCP, or CIMD protocol to connect to the operators SMSC and the

MM7 protocol to connect to the operators MMSC.

2.7. Synchronization Engine

The Synchronization Engine manages the synchronization of calendar, tasks, contacts, and notes data

between back-end PIM stores and mobile handsets, using the Open Mobile Alliance data synchronization

(OMA DS) protocol.

2.8. Universal Data Connector

The Universal Data Connector (UDC) provides a Java Content Repository-based (JCR) interface which allows

back-ends to be plugged into Mobile Gateway, using an open industry standard (JSR-170). The JCR-based

API for back-ends enables easy development of connectors for proprietary services, using Synchronica's

UDC software development kit (SDK).

Mobile Gateway ships with a number of standard connectors, allowing connectivity to the following back-

ends:

Email and PIM Back-Ends Email Contacts Calendar Tasks

Microsoft Exchange 2003, 2007, 2010

Sun Java Communications Suite 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Lotus Domino 6.5, 7

Gmail

Windows Live Hotmail

Yahoo Mail

Any IMAP / POP3 mailbox

Table 1 – Push email and synchronization - Supported email and PIM servers

Instant Messaging Communities

MSN / Windows Live Messenger

Google Talk

AIM

ICQ

Yahoo Messenger

Facebook Chat

Synchronica Messenger

Any Jabber-/XMPP-based community

Table 2 – Instant messaging - Supported instant messaging communities

Social Networking Sites

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Table 3 – Social networking - Supported social networking sites

Web Feeds

Al Jazeera, BBC, CNN, ESPN, Entertainment and Gossip, The Financial Times, Mobile World Congress,

Mobile Europe, The East African, and U.K. Weather

Any RSS-enabled feed

Operator customizable list of RSS feeds from local and regional providers

Table 4 – Web feeds - Supported feeds

3. User Interfaces

The Synchronica Mobile Gateway 5 user interfaces allow end-users and administrators to interact with Mobile

Gateway.





There are two end-user user interfaces, a web interface and a WAP interface both of which allow end-users

to register their mobile numbers and up to five email, instant messaging, social networking, or web feed

accounts and to setup their phone and manage their account settings. The web interface can be accessed

using a web browser on a PC at the URL http://domain/sync/registration, the WAP interface is accessed

using a WAP browser on a mobile handset at the URL http://domain/sync/wap. Both interfaces protect

access by requiring the user to enter their email address and password.

Figure 2 – Synchronica Mobile Gateway end-user web interface

Figure 3 - Synchronica Mobile Gateway end-user WAP interface

3.2. Administration User Interface

The administration user interface allows administrators to perform administrative tasks, such as creating or

deleting user accounts, changing the administrator password, or inspecting Mobile Gateway log files. The

administration interface is accessed from a web browser on a PC at the URL http://domain/sync/admin and

is protected with an administrator username and password. After successful authorization, the administration

interface displays the tab Gateway which can be used to change the administrator's password, administrator

email address, view or upgrade the maximum number of licensed users, or reset cached synchronization

information.



Figure 4 - Synchronica Mobile Gateway administration interface

4. Client Provisioning

The client provisioning module automatically configures user handsets over the air for use with Synchronica

Mobile Gateway 5.

A user enters his phone type and telephone number on the Web or WAP interface. Mobile Gateway refers to

its settings database which contains configuration data for mobile devices. A package containing required

settings is sent to the phone. To save or install these settings, the user enters a four-digit PIN on his

handset. For more information on the Synchronica settings database, please refer to section 12.3.2

SETTINGSDB Database.

How a device is configured depends on the capabilities of the device. It can include configuration of IMAP,

SMTP, SyncML, APN, MMS, and IMPS settings.

Note: If a carrier uses ADD integration, the PIN entry requirement to accept the client

provisioning settings is not necessary, and the user does not have to select the phone model

manually.

Over-the-air client provisioning ensures that the device configures correctly, reducing user errors and

related support overheads. It is a fast and convenient experience for the device user. Client provisioning can

be done using the web interface, the administration interface, or the WAP interface. If a supported device,

such as Windows Mobile, Android, or iPhone, requires a Mobile Gateway client, the software is installed over

the air. If a device does not support industry-standard protocols, it can still use the Mobile Gateway service

via SMS.

Figure 5 - Synchronica Mobile Gateway client provisioning from the web interface



5. Observation and Notification

The Synchronica Mobile Gateway 5 observation and notification module contains the observation and

Notification Engines.

5.1. Observation Engine

The Observation Engine monitors back-ends for new events and triggers a notification when a new event is

identified. The Observation Engine can accept notification of new events from back-end servers or use a

scheduled polling mechanism to regularly check for new events.

5.2. Notification Engine

The Notification Engine notifies the client if something on a server changes.

It uses the following protocols:

Open Mobile Alliance Data Synchronization Server Alert (OMA DS). An SMS-based notification

protocol for PIM content which triggers the mobile handset OMA DS client to initiate a synchronization

session with the server

Open Mobile Alliance Email Notification (OMA EMN). An SMS-based notification protocol for email

content which triggers the mobile handset IMAP email client to initiate a connection to the server

IMAP IDLE. A constant connection between the Mobile Gateway server and a mobile handset, allowing

notification of new events to be transmitted to the handset, triggering its IMAP client to initiate a

connection to the server

Email to MMS. Email messages are automatically converted into MMS format by the Email-to-MS Engine

and delivered to MMS-capable mobile handsets. This allows feature phones to display pictures in email

messages

Email to SMS. Email messages are automatically converted into SMS format by the Email-to-MS Engine

and delivered to mobile phones. Even the simplest and oldest mobile phone that has a screen can display

emails transformed into SMS messages

OMA IMPS (Instant Messaging and Presence Service) Version 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3. Provides the

mobile industry-standard protocol for instant messaging and presence. The standard is widely adopted

and used by the instant messaging applications found on many mobile handsets

XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol). A protocol developed by the Jabber

community and formalized by the IETF. XMPP is an open technology for realtime communication which

powers a wide range of applications including instant messaging, presence, multi-party chat, voice and

video calls, collaboration, lightweight middleware, content syndication, and generalized routing of XML

data

A diagram showing how the Observation and Notification Engines work:

Figure 6 - Synchronica Mobile Gateway Observation and Notification Engine overview

When the Observation Engine detects a change on a server, it adds a corresponding event to the event

queue. The Notification Engine notifies the device either through an OMA DS server alert (OMA DS Push

using an SMS) or by notifying the IMAP client of the device, using IMAP IDLE or OMA EMN. If the delivery

method is Email to SMS / MMS and the Observation Engine detects a change on the server, then the Email-

to-MS Engine extracts text content from new emails and converts it into standard SMS / MMS messages to

be sent to the user's handset.

The Observation Engine detects changes in one of the following ways:

If the back-end server supports event-based notification, the Observation Engine is notified directly by

the server

If the back-end server does not support event-based notification, the Observation Engine polls the back-

end server frequently, using a time interval specified by the administrator or the user

If the back-end server supports an endless (IMAP IDLE) session between the client and the server, the



Observation and Notification Engines notify the client as soon as they detect changes

The Observation Engine as standard supports a regular poll-based discovery mechanism. It is also capable

of accepting server-based new event notifications.

6. IMPS / XMPP Engine

The IMPS / XMPP Engine provides Synchronica Mobile Gateway 5 users with instant messaging functionality

on their mobile phones. As shown in figure 5, Mobile Gateway provides chat functionality for the most

popular instant messaging communities including MSN, Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger, AIM, and ICQ. This

will be extended in the next release of Mobile Gateway to include, group chat, file transfer, and add contact

functionality. This functionality is already available for any Jabber / XMPP community and with Synchronica

Messenger XMPP IM server which can be customized to create an operator-branded mobile instant

messaging community.

Synchronica

Messenger

Any Jabber

/ XMPP

Community

MSN ICQ Yahoo

Messenger

Google

Talk

AIM

Chat

Group Chat

File

Transfer

Add Contact

Available

Available in next release

Table 5 – Synchronica Mobile Gateway 5 instant messaging functionality

To use mobile instant messaging with Mobile Gateway, a user registers his instant messaging account via the

web or WAP interface. Using the user's phone details, Mobile Gateway sends a provisioning message to the

user's handset, using the client provisioning module. The provisioning message configures the built-in instant

messaging client on the handset. Mobile Gateway then uses the OMA IMPS (Instant Messaging and Presence

Service) protocol to interact with the user's handset.

6.1. IMPS

Presence in instant messaging means the current online status of an instant messaging user, for example,

Online (connected to the service), Away (connected, but not currently using the service), or Offline (not

connected to the service).

Mobile Gateway uses IMPS to communicate with the instant messaging client on user handsets from its IMPS

/ XMPP Engine. It receives and stores the current presence status of the user and sends the user device

information about the current presence of any of the user's instant messaging friends. This allows the user to

see whether any of his friends are online - and for any of the user's instant messaging friends to see

whether the user is online.

When a mobile user engages in a chat with one of his instant messaging friends, Mobile Gateway uses IMPS

to deliver chat messages to the user's handset.

Because content is delivered directly to the built-in instant messaging client on the user's handset, the user

needs not learn a new interface on his mobile phone to use instant messaging with Mobile Gateway.

While Mobile Gateway uses IMPS to communicate with user handsets, it must also communicate with the

instant messaging servers which contain the user's instant messaging account. To connect with these

servers, Mobile Gateway uses the XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol) and other proprietary

instant messaging protocols.

6.2. XMPP and Proprietary Instant Messaging Protocols

Mobile Gateway connects to instant messaging servers, using UDC-JCR connectors. These include a standard

XMPP connector which can connect to any XMPP instant messaging community including popular instant

messaging services like Google Talk and Facebook Chat which use the XMPP protocol.

Mobile Gateway also offers the Synchronica Messenger instant messaging service, an XMPP-based instant

messaging service which can be operator-branded to create an operator instant messaging community.

For other instant messaging services which use proprietary protocols including Yahoo Messenger, Windows

Live Messenger, and AIM, Mobile Gateway has as standard specific UDC-JCR connectors to provide access.

While each UDC-JCR connector is written for a specific instant messaging service, they all plug into the

Mobile Gateway UDC which maintains a uniform interface for interaction with the different service types.

Note: Synchronica Mobile Gateway instant messaging can also be accessed from a PC, using an

XMPP-based instant messaging desktop client.

6.3 Using Instant Messaging with Mobile Gateway

Using the built-in instant messaging (OMA-IMPS) client of many devices, Mobile Gateway delivers instant

messaging to a wide range of mobile phones, allowing subscribers to stay connected to their instant

messaging friends without having to download additional software.

Enhanced interoperability is provided across a range of devices and systems because of the use of the OMA



IMPS and XMPP industry standards. In addition, there are downloadable IMPS clients available for devices

which do not have native IMPS support.

Mobile Gateway allows users to connect to up to five instant messaging accounts and manage friends and

incoming messages from a single client. The brandable XMPP Synchronica Messenger service, in addition to

live chat, allows users to transfer files.

7. Email Engine

The Email Engine provides Synchronica Mobile Gateway 5 users with email, social networking, and web feed

functionality on their mobile phone.

It provides this functionality with the following sub-components:

IMAP / POP3 and SMTP Engines. For email receipt and delivery

Transcoding Engine. Converts / downsizes email attachments for MMS delivery

WAP Engine. Provides WAP access to a user's email account

Email-to-MS Engine. Converts emails to MMS or SMS messages and back

These components are described in more detail in the following sections.

7.1. IMAP / POP3 and SMTP Engines

The IMAP / POP3 and SMTP Engines manage email receipt and delivery processes between back-end servers

and mobile handsets, using the IMAP / POP3 and SMTP protocols. They provide the link between any

standard email box and the built-in email clients on millions of phones.

Most popular ISP mailboxes are based on IMAP / POP3 and SMTP, and business email servers, such as Sun

Java Communications Suite or Lotus Domino, are also based on these standards. The engines log into these

accounts, collect emails, and send them on to the user's mobile phone.

Note: Because Mobile Gateway supports OMA DS, it is able to offer OMA DS email in conjunction

with IMAP / POP3 and SMTP, providing a very strong combination which addresses a very wide

range of mobile handsets.

7.1.1. IMAP / POP3 Engine

To a mobile device, the IMAP / POP3 Engine appears to be a fully functional IMAP / POP3 server. When a

connection arrives, Mobile Gateway performs the necessary authentication and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)

negotiation. It then translates the folder and message operations into appropriate UDC commands which,

using the appropriate connector, allow the mobile device to retrieve and exchange messages with its

configured back-end. Mobile Gateway provides support for both available industry standards for push email

notification: IMAP IDLE and OMA EMN.

IMAP IDLE

The IMAP IDLE mechanism is part of the LEMONADE profile (License to Enhanced Mobile Oriented and

Diverse Endpoints) and is an extension of the IMAP protocol, enabling a server to notify a client of new

messages. The standard provides a constant connection between client and server. The IDLE command

works like a keep-alive message to ensure that the client stays connected. The server responds to the IDLE

command when there is a new message, indicating to the client that there is new data available.

The bandwidth usage of the IDLE command is very efficient.



Figure 7 - Synchronica Mobile Gateway Email Engine overview

OMA EMN

The OMA EMN (Open Mobile Alliance Email Notification) standard is a binary SMS-based protocol which allows

a server to send an SMS notification of a new email. The supporting email client will silently accept the

binary message and initiate an IMAP connection to the server to collect email. Once collected, the device will

alert the user.

Although the network usage for IMAP IDLE is very low, handset battery life and GPRS network limitations

may affect the decision as to which notification strategy is used.

7.1.2. SMTP Engine

While the IMAP / POP3 Engine enables users to receive emails on their phone, the SMTP Engine enables

them to send emails from their phone via Mobile Gateway. To a phone, the SMTP Engine is completely

transparent and appears to be a standard RFC2821 SMTP server.

When an SMTP connection arrives, the SMTP Engine performs authentication and SSL negotiation, followed

by necessary operations to allow the connected client to transmit new messages. The SMTP Engine then

passes any new messages to the UDC layer which relays them to the configured back-end server. Email

messages appear in the Sent Items folder on the user's messaging server as if they had been sent from his

desktop PC.

Note: The capability of appending messages to a mail server's Sent Items folder is dependent on

this functionality being supported by the mail server. Standard POP3 and SMTP mail servers may

not support this functionality.

7.2. Transcoding Engine

The Transcoding Engine converts and resizes email attachments so that mobile phones can display them

properly. Various document formats, such as Word and PDF, as well as images, such as JPEG or GIF, are

transformed to best fit the capabilities of a given mobile device. The transcoded attachments provide users

with a rich mobile email experience.

7.3. WAP Engine

The WAP Engine enables users to view their emails in the WAP browser on their device. It sends a

notification SMS or a WAP push to the handset with a link that opens a WAP view of the user's inbox. Users

can read their messages in the WAP browser and can reply to these messages, as well as compose new

ones. These emails are then sent from the user's email account to the recipient.

7.4. Email-to-MS Engine

The Email-to-MS Engine converts regular email messages into MMS or SMS formats so that email messages

can be delivered to even the simplest handsets. Conversion is based on device capabilities to ensure the

best possible user experience. Email to SMS extends mobile push email to the entire device landscape,

offering a valuable data service even on low-end handsets.



7.5. Functionality Provided by the Email Engine

Because of the Email Engine modules described above, Mobile Gateway is able to provide a range of

functionality to users in addition to standard IMAP email. This includes email to SMS / MMS, social

networking, and web feeds.

7.5.1. Email to SMS

Email without conversion technologies is limited to phones that have a built-in email application. However,

built-in SMS and MMS clients provide a very good platform to send and receive emails using any handset.

The technologies that underpin the architecture of Synchronica Mobile Gateway are all based on widely used

industry standards, such as SMPP for email to SMS, MM7 for email to MMS, and SMTP for emails.

Synchronica Mobile Gateway provides a channel between email back-ends, essentially corporate and ISP

email accounts, and mobile phone users in operators' networks. For email to SMS and MMS to work, it uses

the MS-to-Email Engine to extract text from an email and convert it into an SMS message and converts and

resizes pictures and attachments so they can be sent as MMS.

The chart below provides a schematic overview of the Mobile Gateway architecture and its components that

take part in the email-to-SMS and email-to-MMS conversion. The Observation Engine identifies new

messages in users' mailboxes. The SMS-to-Email Engine converts emails to text and text to emails. The

MMS-to-Email Engine and transcoder convert emails and attachments to MMS messages and back.

Figure 8 - Synchronica Mobile Gateway email-to-SMS architecture

The Observation Engine identifies and collects the new email in the user's email box. The Email-to-SMS

Engine extracts the text content from the email message and converts it to standard SMS messages. Five of

these SMS messages are bundled and forwarded to the recipient with an SMS shortcode, basically a unique

phone number.

If users want to read more of the message, they reply to the SMS to request more of the message, and

Mobile Gateway identifies the message based on the SMS shortcode and the users' MSISDN. It then delivers

the next set of text content to the user's phone.

The flow diagram below summarizes in basic steps how an email message is identified, converted, and then

sent as SMS to the mobile phone.



Figure 9 - Receiving email to SMS

When the user replies to an email to SMS, Mobile Gateway identifies the original message based on the

user's MSISDN and the SMS shortcode, fetches the original email message, and appends the response from

the SMS to it. Using the SMTP protocol, this message is then sent to the recipient as a reply email.

The flowchart below shows how a mobile user can reply to an email message in an SMS.

When creating a new SMS-to-email message on a phone that has no email client, the SMS message which

contains the email address of the recipient is sent to a dedicated number. The Email-to-SMS Engine

interprets the SMS and converts it into an email address, a subject line, and the body text of an email.

Based on the user's MSISDN, Mobile Gateway logs into the user's email account and sends the SMS-to-email

message to the recipient. The addressee then receives it as a bona fide email sent from the senders email

account.

Figure 10 - Synchronica Mobile Gateway replying to an email to SMS

7.5.2. Email to MMS

After the Observation Engine of Synchronica Mobile Gateway has identified and collected a new email

message from the user's mailbox, the MMS-to-Email Engine extracts the text, images, and attachments and

assembles an email-to-MMS message from the contents. Images and attachments are optimized by the

Transcoding Engine which converts and resizes them so they can be displayed on the mobile handset.



When the transcoding is complete, Mobile Gateway assembles the MMS messages and sends them to the

mobile phone from a unique phone number, the MMS shortcode. The Email-to-MMS message is displayed in

the MMS client of the phone as a standard MMS message with pictures, text, and sound if the attachments

contain any.

The following chart shows how email messages and attachments are converted into an MMS message and

how the MMS is sent to the mobile handset.

Figure 11 - Receiving an email to MMS

When the user replies to an email-to-MMS message, they can add images as attachments to the response.

When the reply is sent, Mobile Gateway identifies the original email message, using a combination of the

user's phone number and the MMS shortcode. The MMS reply is added to the original email, and the reply is

sent to the sender of the original message as an email.

The following diagram explains what happens when the user responds to an email-to-MMS message and how

an MMS containing images is converted into an email.

When creating a new MMS-to-email message on a phone that only has a built-in MMS client, users enter the

email address of the recipient, the subject line, and body text and add any graphics or voice messages to

the MMS. This message is sent to a unique MMS phone number where the Email-to-MMS Engine interprets

the various components of the message and creates a standard email with an addressee, a subject line,

body text, and image and sound attachments. Mobile Gateway then uses the user's phone number to identify

the email account, logs into the account, and sends the email message to the recipient.



Figure 12 - Replying to an email to MMS

7.5.3. Social Networking

Social networking content is delivered as email, MMS, or SMS, using the Email Engine. This content is

delivered directly into the inbox of standard clients for email, MMS, or SMS on a user's mobile handset.

Where a social networking site offers instant messaging, for example, Facebook Chat, this is provided to the

standard instant messaging client on a user's handset, using Mobile Gateway's IMPS \ XMPP Engine.

Because email and instant messaging are both delivered to standard clients on users' handsets, users do not

have to learn new interfaces to use social networking with Mobile Gateway.

Because Mobile Gateway makes use of its existing email and instant messaging functionality, it uses the

same setup and configuration processes as described earlier. That is, users register their social networking

account, and with the user's phone details, Mobile Gateway uses its client provisioning module to send a

provisioning message (email or instant messaging) to the user's handset. The provisioning message

configures the built-in clients on the handset. If the user's handset does not have a built-in email client,

Mobile Gateway can deliver social networking content via email to SMS or email to MMS.

Mobile Gateway's Observation and Notification Engine then monitors the user's server, and if new content is

found, this is pushed to the user's handset.

At the back-end, Mobile Gateway connects to social networking servers, using UDC-JCR connectors; these

use a combination of protocols to obtain user content, for example, RSS for news feeds, XMPP for instant

messaging, or APIs for other content.

While each UDC-JCR connector is written for a specific instant messaging service, they all plug into the

Mobile Gateway UDC to maintain a uniform interface for Mobile Gateway to interact with the different service

types.

Mobile Gateway is currently configured to access the most popular social networking sites, Facebook,

Twitter, and LinkedIn, as described in the following sections.

Facebook

Mobile Gateway allows users to update their Facebook status from their mobile phones, as well as read

status updates from their friends. They can receive instant notification for new wall posts or when the user is

poked. Mobile notification for friend requests allows users to quickly grow their network, comment on, and

like friends' photographs, status updates, and wall posts. Mobile Gateway also allows users to leave posts on

their Facebook walls and instantly upload and share photographs taken from their mobile phone's camera.

Any activity on the user's social networking account, such as status updates, comments, or posts on the wall,

are incorporated into the user's feeds which in turn are detected by Mobile Gateway. Using the API for

Facebook, Synchronica Mobile Gateway checks for new feeds, these updates are then sent over to the user's

phone either as email messages or as MMS or SMS.

For example, if someone from a user's social network adds a new comment to the user's wall, Mobile

Gateway collects the feed and delivers it to the email account on the user's mobile phone. The message

includes who posted the comment, as well as the comment itself. When the user replies to this feed from his



includes who posted the comment, as well as the comment itself. When the user replies to this feed from his

phone, Mobile Gateway converts the reply message into a comment and posts it on the user's wall.

A diagram showing content flow from Facebook through Mobile Gateway to a user handset is shown in Figure

13 - Facebook content flow.

Figure 13 - Facebook content flow

Twitter

Twitter users can read tweets from those they are following. They receive instant notification whenever

someone follows them or whenever personal @-messages are received. Mobile Gateway receives tweets as

an RSS feed using its built-in UDC-JCR (RSS) connector, it then converts them to email, MMS, or SMS and

sends them to the user's phone.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn users receive network updates posted on their LinkedIn user homepage. Mobile Gateway receives

these updates as an RSS feed using its built-in UDC-JCR (RSS) connector, it then converts them to email,

MMS, or SMS and sends them to the user's phone.

7.5.4. Web Feeds

Web feed content is delivered to user handsets as email, MMS, or SMS, using the Email Engine. Content is

delivered directly into an email, MMS, or SMS inbox and accessed by the user using the standard email /

MMS / SMS client on his handset.

Mobile Gateway uses the same setup and configuration processes as seen with email for web feeds. Users

select from a list of operator pre-configured web feeds or register new web feeds. Using user phone details,

Mobile Gateway sends an email provisioning message to the user's handset with its client provisioning

module. The provisioning message configures the built-in email client on the user's handset. If the user's

handset does not have a built-in email client, Mobile Gateway will deliver web feed content to the user's

device via email to SMS or email to MMS. Mobile Gateway's observation and Notification Engine then

monitors the web feed server, and if new content is found, this is pushed to the user's handset.

At the back-end, Mobile Gateway connects to web feed servers, using a built-in UDC-JCR (RSS) web feed

connector. This connector provides users with live updates from any website that supports RSS feeds.

8. Synchronization Engine

With Synchronica Mobile Gateway 5, there are two ways to initiate the synchronization process. The user can

trigger it manually by selecting the appropriate menu item in his phone's synchronization client. Or the

server can initiate the process (DS Push). As defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA), in DS Push, the

server sends a notification message to a phone, causing it to connect back to the server which then

transmits the changes to the phone. To the end-user, this process is completely transparent.



During the synchronization session, Mobile Gateway receives either an XML byte array or a compressed

format WAP Binary XML (WBXML) which it then converts to XML. The XML or WBXML document is interpreted

as a SyncML request that is part of the SyncML session. The sync core takes the SyncML requests and sends

the client modifications to the back-end via the Universal Data Connector. It collects any server

modifications, and after matching all modifications, any server modifications are sent back to the client.

Figure 14 - Synchronica Mobile Gateway Synchronization Engine overview

Once the synchronization process has started, there are two types of synchronization: Fast sync (normal

synchronization) in which only items modified since the previous synchronization session are updated. Slow

sync in which all items are synchronized; this is normally only required for the initial synchronization session.

8.1. Client Mapping and Conflict Resolution (Slow Sync)

During a slow sync, the client sends all its data to the Mobile Gateway, and the server sends all its data to

the device. The server maintains a client mapping database, associating each client data entry with its

corresponding server entry.

Figure 15 - Slow synchronization overview



8.2. Client Mapping and Conflict Resolution (Fast Sync)

Fast sync relies on the client / server mapping in the database which contains the client and server keys.

Only modifications are compared and synchronized between the server and client, resulting in short

synchronization sessions. A conflict is detected when the same item is modified on the client or server side.

In automatic conflict resolution mode, the server modification wins and is sent to the client, overriding client

changes.

Figure 16 - Fast synchronization overview

8.3. Serializers and Deserializers

Serializers and deserializers convert a phone's byte array into a Java object (normally a Java Bean) and

back again. The deserializer converts the incoming byte array from a phone into a Java object to be used by

Mobile Gateway. The serializer converts the Java object back into a byte array to be sent out to the phone.

Communication between Mobile Gateway and back-ends is performed via a Universal Data Connector.

The content of device items, such as an iCalendar event or a vCard contact, differ between manufacturers

and models. For example, field lengths may differ, the event may use Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) only, or

local time only. To handle these differences, serializers and deserializers are device-specific.

8.4. Device-specific Content Serializers

Serializers modify the synchronization data to best accommodate data incompatibility. For example, if the

back-end repository has several different types of contact phone numbers and the mobile has only one, then

the serializer selects the phone number to send to the mobile device.

8.5. Request Queue

The request queue collects all the information from the client for an actual package. A request can contain:

Alert for each data store which the client wants to synchronize (Package #1)

Put command for the client's device information (Package #1 or #3)

Get command for the server's device information (Package #1 and #3)

Status command for the server's response (Package #3 and #5)

Add, replace, or delete command for data items (Package #3)

8.6. Response Queue

The response queue collects all information from the server for the actual package. A response can contain:

Alert for each data store which the server wants to synchronize (Package #2)

Status command for the client's request (Package #2 and #4)

Put command for the server's device information (Package #2 and #4)

Get command for the client's device information (Package #2 and #4)

Add, replace, or delete command for data items (Package #4)

Final acknowledgement (Package #6) - optional

8.7. Incoming Client Changes

The incoming client changes are usually lazy-loaded to optimize performance. First, the identifying properties

of all the items are requested, then if needed, the whole content is requested.

8.8. Outgoing Server Changes

Outgoing server changes are distributed over multiple SyncML responses. If one item is bigger than what fits

into a single SyncML response, then the item is split up over multiple SyncML responses. It means that there

is large object support if supported by the device.

8.9. Device-specific Settings

The Sync core includes the content serializers and deserializers (see section 9.3). Both use device-specific

configurations according to phone manufacturer and model. Dynamic device configuration enables Mobile



Gateway via a live update mechanism to stay constantly up to date with changes to these configurations.

Most of the native clients follow the SyncML standard, with only a few device-specific deviations. Most of

these deviations relate to content representation, for example, not all vCard properties of a contact are

known by a device, or these deviations may relate to the synchronization process.

9. Universal Data Connector

The Universal Data Connector of Synchronica Mobile Gateway 5 provides a data modeling – data access

component that handles communications between Mobile Gateway and back-end data stores. The UDC is a

plugable connector that enables distributive deployment, providing Mobile Gateway with the capability to

access any data repository. The UDC layer in the Mobile Gateway uses JAX-WS web services interfaces to

UDC adaptors. JCR 170 is a well defined protocol and provides generic methods for accessing hierarchical

and structured data.

The UDC is highly flexible, allowing new links to be provided to access a wide range of back-ends and

existing built-in connectors which link to the most popular services.

Figure 17 - Universal Data Connector overview

UDC adaptors are dynamically loaded by Mobile Gateway at runtime and do not need to be linked to the

application. Providing additional scalability, the UDC adaptors can even run on a separate server and may

be load-balanced for horizontal scalability and failover on the data access layer.

DCs are individually developed, mapping one native protocol to the data schema. Multiple adapters can be

grouped to provide customized access where needed. Since each data repository is often considerably

different and accessing each one requires consideration of these differences, the UDC provides a means to

encapsulate the nuances of various data repositories, providing a consistent data view to the Gateway and in

effect bridging the divide. This provides a number of benefits:

Scalability. There are no realistic limitations to the number of connectors associated with a Gateway

installation

Maintainability. Sun Java System Mobile Communications gateway requires no modification for any

new data repository; the UDC communicates a defined syntax that provides the gateway with a

consistent data view, regardless of the underlying data structure

Deployment. Due to the distributive nature of the UDC through the use of JAX-WS, the connectors can

be deployed in multiple situations; they are not dependent on either the Gateway or their respective data

repository

Modularity. Due to the modular approach used for the connector development, external organization

can develop customized UDCs

9.1. Back-End Server Protocols

The architecture of Synchronica Mobile Gateway is based on open protocols in order to ensure the largest

possible support for all standards-based back-ends and guarantee interoperability. In addition to these open

protocols, whenever there are open APIs available, Mobile Gateway utilizes those to extend coverage.

Back-end servers offer access to multiple content platforms, such as email, social networking services,

personal information, news, and sport feeds. Email and PIM servers can range from enterprise servers like

Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Domino, or Sun Java Communications Suite to popular ISP services like Yahoo or

Gmail, providing business users, as well as consumers, with mobile access to push email, address book, and

calendar. IM back-ends either have an open standards-based access or feature an API that enables those IM

communities to chat with mobile devices. Similarly, SNS back-ends provide an open standards-based



access, such as RSS, or an API so Mobile Gateway can check the account for updates.

Back-End Protocols

Email

IMAP(S) Between UDC (JCR) and IMAP email servers

IMAP IDLE Between Mobile Gateway and device

POP3 Between Mobile Gateway and device

SMTP(S) Between UDC (JCR) and SMTP email servers

WebDAV Between UDC (JCR) and Microsoft Exchange

CORBA Between UDC (JCR) and Lotus Domino

PIM

LDAP(S) Between UDC (JCR) and Sun Java Communications Suite contacts

WCAP(S) Between UDC (JCR) and Sun Java Communications Suite calendar

WebDAV Between UDC (JCR) and Microsoft Exchange

IM XMPP (Jabber)For an XMPP-based community including Google Talk, Facebook Chat and the

Mobile Gateway built-in XMPP server

Proprietary APIs Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, AIM, and ICQ

Table 6 - Mobile Gateway back-end protocols

10. Front-End Connections

This section describes architecture components used by Synchronica Mobile Gateway 5 to interact with user

handsets. These components include:

Front-end protocols

Dynamic device configuration

Content model

Synchronica email and IM clients

10.1. Front-End Protocols

The architecture of Synchronica Mobile Gateway is based on open protocols in order to ensure the largest

possible handset coverage and guarantee interoperability.

The protocols on the front-end enable seamless communication among the several parties. These protocols

also make it possible for all users to enjoy and benefit from the best user experience that their handset can

provide. Business users with smartphones can enjoy an almost PC-like experience with the built-in email,

calendar, and address book applications, using HTTP. Mid-tier feature phones can also make the most of the

built-in applications; emails (IMAP, POP3, and SMTP), contacts, and calendar items (SyncML) are managed

with the native clients on the phone. With IM clients available for several mobile platforms including Java,

iPhone, Windows Mobile, and Android, if the phone does not have a built-in IM application, instant messaging

can be added to any of these phones. Even low-end basic phones can send and receive emails with the

email-to-SMS and email-to-MMS technologies and also receive updates from their social networking accounts

or favorite news, sports, or entertainment sites.

The secure SSL version of each protocol makes sure that data is encrypted during transport, adding

industry-standard security to next-generation mobile messaging.

Front-End Protocols

Email

HTTP(S) Between Mobile Gateway and device

IMAP(S) Between Mobile Gateway and device

IMAP IDLE Between Mobile Gateway and device

POP3 Between Mobile Gateway and device

SMTP(S) Between Mobile Gateway and device

SMS, MMS Between entry-level mobile phones and Mobile Gateway

WAP Between mid-tier feature phones and Mobile Gateway

PIM OMA DS (SyncML) Between SyncML PIM back-ends and Mobile Gateway

IM

XMPP / Jabber Between XMPP desktop clients

OMA IMPS Between IM clients on mobile phones

OMA CSP Between Mobile Gateway server and mobile client

SMS, MMS Between entry-level mobile phones and Mobile Gateway

WAP Between mid-tier feature phones and Mobile Gateway

OTA OMA CP Between mobile phones and Mobile Gateway

10.1.1. Dynamic Device Configuration

Although Mobile Gateway is based on IMAP / SMTP / OMA DS/ OMA IMPS industry standards, individual

device implementations of the standards vary. Dynamic device configuration allows different device

implementations to be managed correctly within Mobile Gateway.

To support the regular launch of new devices and platform versions in the market, Mobile Gateway operates

an automatic update process for handsets and device configurations, allowing new handsets to be added to

the service simply and easily without upgrades to the core Mobile Gateway server.



10.2. Content Model

The content model defines the internal representation of each content type (email, IM, contacts, calendar,

contacts, tasks, and notes) and maps them to JCR nodes and properties in the Universal Data Connector.

10.3. Synchronica Email and IM Clients

While a large percentage of mobile handsets offer built-in synchronization and email clients, not all

manufacturers have committed to OMA DS support. Synchronica offers a complete and homogenized end-to-

end solution, providing support for the most important device platforms that are not shipping with built-in

synchronization clients:

Palm OS. Synchronica offers a synchronization client for Palm OS-based PDAs and smartphones,

enabling synchronization of emails, contacts, appointments, and tasks via Mobile Gateway

Windows Mobile. Synchronica offers a synchronization client for Windows Pocket PCs and Windows

smartphones to enable wireless synchronization of emails, contacts, appointments, and tasks including

support for Windows Mobile 5 and Windows Mobile 6

In addition, a desktop client is available for Windows (Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail) for users

who do not have a direct connection to their PIM server, but require PIM data on their PC.

The range of Synchronica Mobile Gateway clients is shown in the following diagram:

Figure 18 - Synchronica Mobile Gateway clients overview

11. Database

This sections describes architecture components used with the Synchronica Mobile Gateway 5 database.

These components include:

Preferences and data mappings

Java Persistence API (JPA)

Database schemas

11.1. Preferences and Data Mappings

Preferences define how user preferences are handled by the service. They include account and device

information, as well as user-defined settings and filters for the service. Data mappings define how data is

mapped between front- and back-ends. They enable fast-synchronization sessions where only changes since

the last synchronization session are made.

11.2. Java Persistence API

The JPA interface provides an abstraction over the persistence layer, allowing JPA-compliant persistence

frameworks, such as Hibernate or TopLink Essentials, to be used to enable seamless deployment to a large

range of databases.

11.3. Database Schemas

Synchronica Mobile Gateway uses the GWDB database to store and access data that is both subscriber-

related (for example, user preferences), synchronization-related (for example, synchronization mappings),

as well as data-related to the general configuration of Mobile Gateway.

The SETTINGSDB database stores all device- and operator-specific settings that are needed to perform

over-the-air client provisioning of mobile device email and synchronization applications.

During the installation and the first start of Mobile Gateway, the databases with all tables, constraints, and

indexes are created and set up with the needed data. The applied settings and parameters are part of

regular load and performance testing of Synchronica products.

The database schemas are described in more detail in the following sections.

11.3.1. GWDB Database



Figure 19 - GWBD database overview 1 of 3







Database Tables

The Mobile Gateway database consists of the following database tables:

Table Name Description

ADMINROLES 1 Holds roles of the admin users

ADMINUSERS 1 Holds details of the admin users

GW_USER 1 Holds user details

GW_DEVICE_MODEL 1 Holds device details

GW_CONNECTION 1 Links user with user's back-end connections (IMAP /

POP3, SMTP)

GW_USER_CONNECTIONS 1 Manages multiple relationships between GW_USER

and GW_CONNECTION

GW_MAILER 1 Contains mailer information like name (Gmail),

URLs, and protocols

GW_IMAPPOP3MAPPING 1 Maps email inbox items on the device with inbox

items on the back-end

FEATURE_VERSION 1 Holds the version numbers for each live update item

GW_CLIENTMAPPING 1 Maps device IDs (LUIDs) to server IDs (GUIDs)

PROPERTY 1 Holds properties set, using the administration and

user web portals

GW_LASTSYNC 1 Holds details of the last sync session organized by

user and data type synchronized

GW_PRINCIPLE 1 Holds details of the pairing between users and

devices

Table 7 - GWDB database table summarys

Unique Constraints

The unique constraint for the database is EMAIL in the gw_user table.

11.3.2. SETTINGSDB Database



Figure 22 - SETTINGSDB database overview

Database Tables

The Mobile Gateway database consists of the following database tables:

Table Name Description

CONFIG Holds configuration parameters for the settings

database

COUNTRY Holds details of each country

OPERATOR Holds information about the mobile operators

PARAM Holds settings parameters

SETTING Holds provisioning settings information

SETTING_TYPE Holds settings type information: SyncML (OMA-DS),

GPRS, etc.

Table 8 - SETTINGSDB database table overview

11.4. Supported Databases

Mobile Gateway works with all standard SQL databases through JPA and persistence frameworks like

Hibernate. However, Synchronica recommends the use of MySQL.

12. Implementation Scenarios

Synchronica Mobile Gateway 5 features a unique zero footprint architecture which results in a faster take-up

rate than competing solutions. Unlike other solutions, Mobile Gateway requires no installation of adapters

behind the corporate firewall - users simply register at a website via WAP or SMS and can instantly use push

email and synchronization, instant messaging, social networking, and web feeds.

Mobile Gateway is primarily designed to be deployed in a carrier network or service provider environment;

however, it can also be installed behind a company firewall and connected directly to a company groupware

server.

12.1. Operator Implementation

The following diagram shows the schematic overview of a Mobile Gateway deployment in an operator

environment.



Figure 23 - Synchronica Mobile Gateway operator deployment overview

12.2. Security

Mobile Gateway supports SSL and TLS for data encryption when communicating with back-end services, SSL

for connections using the HTTPS protocol, and TLS for IMAPS and SMTPS. It uses MD5 for encrypted

authentication. As such, all traffic flowing between Mobile Gateway and back-end servers through the public

internet, is secured.

SSL / TLS encryption mechanisms are widely accepted in industry as secure, and, for example, are used by

banks to secure access to user's bank accounts in the context of online banking. Since Synchronica Mobile

Gateway is based entirely on open industry standards and does not require any additional client to be

downloaded to the handset, Mobile Gateway is focused on industry standards for encryption. Mobile Gateway

currently does not implement additional proprietary encryption mechanisms or string encryption, such as

AES or Triple DES, which would require a proprietary client implementation on the device.

Mobile Gateway does not duplicate user data to a local database on the Mobile Gateway server, so a

compromized Mobile Gateway does not give immediate access to users' data. Instead, Synchronica only

stores metadata (e.g., modification date / time and unique identifiers for user data items). However, Mobile

Gateway's push functionality does require the ability to log in to a user's account and periodically poll it in

order to detect changes and then initiate a synchronization with the device.

Therefore, it is essential that the server environment for Mobile Gateway is secure from unauthorized

access. In the case of operator hosted deployments, Mobile Gateway is typically deployed in the same

security zone as other mission critical applications and therefore secure from external access. In the case of

Synchronica hosting Mobile Gateway on behalf of a carrier, the connection between Mobile Gateway and the

operator's network is secured with an encrypted VPN tunnel established between the Synchronica hosting

center and the operator's data center. Therefore, all data transfer over the public internet targeted at an

end-user device is protected from unauthorized access.

The last leg of the communication, from the operator's data center to the end-user's device, is protected by

the standard encryption of the GSM network. In addition, Synchronica Mobile Gateway supports encrypted

communication with device clients, using the SSL / TLS encryption standards - IMAP(S) for email and

HTTP(S) and SyncML for synchronizing calendar and contacts. Encryption of the wireless leg of the

communication is available on devices where the built-in email and SyncML clients support IMAP(S) and

SyncML over HTTP(S).

12.3. Scalability and Resilience

Mobile Gateway has been designed to meet carrier-grade requirements for performance, scalability, and

stability. It has been demonstrated to support thousands of concurrent sessions per server CPU and

provides near linear scalability in a load-balanced environment. Support for clustered deployments and

automatic failover ensures continuous operation of the system in case of hardware or software failure.

13. Network Integration

The following section describes the various network elements and integration points available for

implementation of Synchronica Mobile Gateway 5.

13.1. Network Elements Overview

An overview of Mobile Gateway network integration is shown in the diagram below:



Figure 24 - Synchronica Mobile Gateway network and integration overview

The component parts of network integration are described in the following sections.

13.2. Application Server

The application server tier consists of one or many application servers running the Mobile Gateway server.

Mobile Gateway is deployable on JBoss and Sun Application Server, on Solaris, Suse and Redhat Linux

operating systems.

13.3. Database Server

The database server stores log records created during Mobile Gateway use and user records mapping a

user's accounts to their corresponding server URLs. Though the database stores some metadata, it does not

store actual user data, such as email, IM messages, pictures, contacts, or calendar entries.

It serves as a central repository and can be deployed as a standard Structured Query Language (SQL)

database, such as MySQL or Oracle, running on Solaris or Linux.

13.4. Monitoring Integration

Mobile Gateway provides monitoring integration with the Operational Support System (OSS) of a mobile

operator, using various different alerts, such as SNMP traps, email, SMS or even custom alerts, allowing

realtime monitoring of service status.

13.5. Reporting Integration

Mobile Gateway offers custom reporting integration to a mobile operator's Business Support Systems (BSS).

13.6. SMSC Integration

SMSC integration is required to allow Mobile Gateway to send client provisioning messages to mobile

handsets, as well as OMA DS SAN and OMA EMN messages for new event notifications and email-to-SMS

messages. Mobile Gateway supports the following standard SMSC protocols: SMPP, CIMD, and UCP / EMI for

integration with a wide range of SMSCs.

13.7. MMSC Integration

MMSC integration is required to allow Mobile Gateway to send email-to-MMS messages. Mobile Gateway

supports the standard MMSC protocol MM7.

13.8. Billing Integration

Mobile Gateway can be integrated with mobile operator post-paid and pre-paid billing systems to allow user

validation and billable service creation when a Mobile Gateway account is set up.

13.9. User Interface Integration

Mobile Gateway offers a web services-based API to allow the end-user interface to be fully customized by

network operators and integrated into their own portal and brand.

13.10. Device Detection Integration

To simplify the end-user registration process, Mobile Gateway offers integration into the carrier's Automatic

Device Detection (ADD) system. This allows client provisioning settings to be encrypted, using the

International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) and removes the need for users to enter a PIN code for client

provisioning settings or select the device they are using.



13.11. Back-End Integration

For mobile operators who wish to offer Mobile Gateway alongside an existing or new proprietary back-end

groupware service, Mobile Gateway offers a standard Java Content Repository-based API. This allows the

operator to easily support any proprietary groupware server.

In addition, email back-ends can be integrated, using IMAP and POP3, instant messaging back-ends

integrated, using XMPP, and web feed back-ends integrated, using RSS, allowing carrier-branded email and

instant messaging communities to be created.

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