BlackBerry messaging and collaboration services

Feature and Technical Overview

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The BlackBerry® messaging and collaboration services provide a wireless extension of your organization's messaging environment. These services include the BlackBerry Messaging Agent, BlackBerry Collaboration Service, BlackBerry Synchronization Service, and BlackBerry Attachment Service.

BlackBerry Messaging Agent

The BlackBerry® Messaging Agent connects to your organization's messaging server and provides messaging services, calendar management, address lookups, attachment viewing, attachment downloading, and encryption key generation. The BlackBerry Messaging Agent acts as a gateway for the BlackBerry Synchronization Service to access organizer data on the messaging server. The BlackBerry Messaging Agent synchronizes configuration data between the BlackBerry Configuration Database and user mailboxes.

The BlackBerry Messaging Agent integrates with existing email accounts in your organization. The BlackBerry Messaging Agent redirects messages from users’ email applications to their BlackBerry devices automatically. If users configure identical signatures on their BlackBerry devices and in their email accounts, recipients cannot distinguish between messages that users send from BlackBerry devices and messages that they send from email applications.

When users move or delete messages or mark messages as read or unread on their BlackBerry devices or in their email applications, the BlackBerry Messaging Agent reconciles changes over the wireless network between BlackBerry devices and email applications. By default, BlackBerry devices and the BlackBerry® Enterprise Server reconcile email messages over the wireless network.

Wireless messaging features

BlackBerry® device users can use many of the same messaging features that are available in the email applications on their computers.

Feature	Description
email reconciliation	The BlackBerry® Enterprise Server reconciles the status of messages between users' BlackBerry devices and their email applications. If users delete, archive, or move messages to personal folders in their email applications, the messages are deleted from the message list on the users' BlackBerry devices. If users mark messages as read or unread in their email applications, the messages appear with the same status on their BlackBerry devices. You can turn off wireless email reconciliation.
email message filters	You or users can create and change email message filters. Email message filters determine the actions that the BlackBerry Enterprise Server takes if incoming messages match specific criteria: forward, forward with priority, or do not forward to BlackBerry devices. For example, users can create email message filters to forward messages from specific senders to their BlackBerry devices with high priority.
message forwarding	Users can turn off message forwarding to their BlackBerry devices (for example, if users are outside of a wireless coverage area). You can also turn off message forwarding to users' BlackBerry devices.
signature	Users can add a signature to all messages that they send from their BlackBerry devices. You can add a signature and disclaimers to all messages that the members of a user group send or a specific user sends.
out-of-office reply	Users can set and change their out-of-office replies using their BlackBerry devices.
contact lookup	Users can search for a contact’s first name, last name, or both in their organization's directory. The BlackBerry Enterprise Server returns results for a maximum of 20 of the closest matches.
contact list updates	When users select contacts from the contact lookup results, they can add the contacts to the contact lists on their BlackBerry devices.
custom fields in the contact list	If your organization maintains custom fields in users’ personal contact lists, you can map these fields to corresponding fields that appear in the contact list on BlackBerry devices. Users can use these custom fields to search for contacts on their BlackBerry devices.
attachments	Users can send messages that contain attachments from their BlackBerry devices. The BlackBerry Attachment Service does not convert these messages; the BlackBerry Messaging Agent processes them only. Attachments must meet the following requirements: If a user sends one attachment in a message, the file size of the attachment cannot exceed 3 MB. If a user sends multiple attachments in a message, the total file size of the attachments cannot exceed 5 MB. If an attachment exceeds 64 KB, the BlackBerry device sends the attachment in multiple data packets. Users can send messages with attachments only from supported BlackBerry devices that are running BlackBerry® Device Software version 4.2 or later. If you want to manage the system resources that the BlackBerry Messaging Agent uses to upload and send attachments, you can limit the file size of attachments or prevent users from attaching files to messages. For example, if too many users are sending large attachments, such as pictures or videos, you might want to limit the file size of supported attachments or turn off support for message attachments.
downloading attachments	Users with BlackBerry devices that are running BlackBerry Device Software version 4.5 or later can download attachments and store them on their BlackBerry devices. Users can open and make changes to the downloaded attachments using an appropriate third-party application on their BlackBerry devices. Users can open supported attachment file formats using the media application on their BlackBerry devices. To manage network resources in your organization's environment, you can change the maximum file size of attachments that users can download to their BlackBerry devices.
save sent messages	Users can configure their BlackBerry devices to save copies of messages that they send from their BlackBerry devices in the sent items folder in their email applications.
personal distribution lists	Users with BlackBerry Device Software version 5.0 or later can view personal distribution lists in their contact lists. Users can send messages to the personal distribution lists and delete personal distribution lists from their BlackBerry devices.
public folders	Users with BlackBerry Device Software version 5.0 or later can view and use contacts in public folders from their BlackBerry devices, and copy the contacts to their contact lists. Users can only view the public folders that they have the appropriate permissions for. Users can specify which public folders they want to synchronize to their BlackBerry devices using the BlackBerry® Desktop Manager or BlackBerry® Web Desktop Manager. You can limit the number of public folders that users can synchronize to their BlackBerry devices.
personal folders	Users with BlackBerry devices that are running BlackBerry Device Software version 5.0 or later can add, delete, move, and rename personal folders from their BlackBerry devices.
follow up flag	Users with BlackBerry devices that are running BlackBerry Device Software version 5.0 or later can flag messages from their BlackBerry devices and set reminder times.
personal contact subfolders	Users with BlackBerry devices that are running BlackBerry Device Software version 5.0 or later can view personal contact subfolders on their BlackBerry devices and change contact information. Users can specify which contact subfolders that they want to synchronize to their BlackBerry devices using BlackBerry Desktop Manager or BlackBerry Web Desktop Manager. You can limit the number of contact subfolders that a user can synchronize to their BlackBerry devices.
forwarding calendar entries	Users with BlackBerry devices that are running BlackBerry Device Software version 5.0 or later can forward meeting invitations and calendar entries from their BlackBerry devices.
availability of meeting participants	Users with BlackBerry devices that are running BlackBerry Device Software version 4.5 or later can view the availability of meeting invitees on their BlackBerry devices. You can turn off this feature using the BlackBerry Administration Service.
remote search for email messages	Users with BlackBerry devices that are running BlackBerry Device Software version 4.5 or later can search for email messages that are located on the messaging server from their BlackBerry devices. You can turn off this feature using the BlackBerry Administration Service.
rich content email messages	Users with BlackBerry devices that are running BlackBerry Device Software version 4.5 or later can view HTML and rich content email messages. You can turn off this feature using the BlackBerry Administration Service.

Access to documents on a network from BlackBerry devices

Users with BlackBerry® devices that are running BlackBerry® Device Software version 5.0 or later can use a file browser on their BlackBerry devices to access documents that are located in a shared location such as a network drive. Users can view document information such as the file name, file type, file size, author, and date the file was last changed. Users must have access to the shared location using their network credentials, or you must configure the BlackBerry® Enterprise Server to access the documents for the users.

Users can send the documents as attachments in messages or instant messages, view supported document types using the attachment viewer, download copies of the documents, or open and make changes to the documents using an appropriate third-party application on their BlackBerry devices. They can also add attachments from messages or documents that they access using the BlackBerry® Browser to the network drive.

BlackBerry Collaboration Service

The BlackBerry® Collaboration Service provides a connection between your organization's instant messaging server and the collaboration client on BlackBerry devices. The BlackBerry Collaboration Service integrates with existing instant messaging applications. The BlackBerry® Enterprise Server supports the following collaboration clients:

BlackBerry® Client for use with Microsoft® Office Live Communications Server 2005
BlackBerry® Client for use with Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007
BlackBerry® Client for use with Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007 R2
BlackBerry® Client for use with Microsoft® Lync™ Server 2010
BlackBerry® Client for IBM® Lotus® Sametime®
BlackBerry® Client for Novell® GroupWise® Messenger

The BlackBerry Collaboration Service sends instant messages between your organization's instant messaging server, BlackBerry Enterprise Server, and devices using public APIs, a Research In Motion proprietary protocol, and protocols that IBM, Microsoft, and Novell specify.

Instant messaging features

Using the collaboration clients on their BlackBerry® devices, users can use many of the same features that are available in the instant messaging applications on their computers.

Feature	Description
session management	You can specify the number of simultaneous instant messaging sessions that the BlackBerry Collaboration Service supports. You can also specify a timeout threshold, after which the BlackBerry Collaboration Service ends inactive sessions automatically and permits new sessions to start. You can control whether users of specific versions of the BlackBerry® Client for IBM® Lotus® Sametime® or the BlackBerry® Client for Novell® GroupWise® Messenger can see an icon on their BlackBerry devices when contacts in their contact lists are using the same collaboration clients. By default, the icon appears.
conversations with multiple contacts	Users can start and manage conversations with multiple instant messaging contacts on their BlackBerry devices.
availability status	Users can change their availability status when they are logged in to their collaboration clients. For example, users can set their availability status to away or busy.
presence updates	Using the latest versions of the collaboration clients, users can set their availability status to display as away if they do not use their BlackBerry devices for a specified period of time.
access levels	Using the latest version of the BlackBerry® Client for use with Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007, users can set the access level of contacts in their contact lists. Each access level consists of rules that define how contacts can interact with a user through the instant messaging application. For example, users can assign the Personal access level to their contacts.
contact pictures	Using the latest versions of the collaboration clients, users can add pictures to the contacts in their contact lists. The pictures that users add using the collaboration clients on their BlackBerry devices are not synchronized with the instant messaging applications on users' computers.
synchronized contact lists	The instant messaging contact lists on users' BlackBerry devices are synchronized with the contact lists in their organization's instant messaging application.
contact alerts	Users can request alerts when specific contacts become available.
file transfer	Using the latest version of the BlackBerry Client for IBM Lotus Sametime, users can send files to contacts in their contact lists. Recipients can open supported file formats on their BlackBerry devices.
link instant messaging contacts to the contact list on BlackBerry devices	Using the latest versions of the collaboration clients, users can link instant messaging contacts to existing contact list entries on their BlackBerry devices. They can also create new contact list entries for instant messaging contacts and populate them with information from their organization's messaging server.
send email messages from contact list	Using the latest versions of the collaboration clients, users can send email messages to contacts directly from their contact lists.
call contacts	Using the latest versions of the collaboration clients, users can call instant messaging contacts directly from their contact lists. After a user starts an instant messaging conversation with a contact, the user can make a call to that contact from the conversation window. Phone numbers for contacts are retrieved from the messaging server or from the contact list on the BlackBerry device if the user is linked to an existing contact list entry.
email conversation history	Using the latest versions of the collaboration clients, users who participate in an instant messaging conversation can send the history of the conversation as an email message to other participants of the conversation and to additional contacts from their contact lists on their BlackBerry devices.
embedded links	Users can click phone numbers in instant messages to make calls. They can also click links in instant messages to view web pages.
public groups	Using the latest version of the BlackBerry Client for IBM Lotus Sametime, users can add public groups to their instant messaging contact lists.
location information	Using the latest version of the BlackBerry Client for IBM Lotus Sametime or the BlackBerry Client for use with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, users can set their current location to display in their contact information. For example, users can set their current location to "In the office". This feature is not available if your organization's environment uses IBM Lotus Sametime version 6.5.1.
announcements	Using the latest version of the BlackBerry Client for IBM Lotus Sametime or BlackBerry Client for Novell GroupWise Messenger, users can send announcements to groups or multiple contacts in their contact lists.
send messages to contacts who are not included in a contact list	Using the latest version of the BlackBerry Client for IBM Lotus Sametime, BlackBerry® Client for use with Microsoft® Office Live Communications Server 2005, or BlackBerry Client for use with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, users can send instant messages to contacts that are not included in their contact lists.
dormant mode	The collaboration clients enter dormant mode after five minutes of inactivity. In dormant mode, the applications do not receive presence updates for contacts. Dormant mode is designed to reduce wireless network traffic in an organization's messaging environment. The collaboration clients turn off dormant mode when users open or use the applications, or receive conference requests, alerts, or messages from contacts.

BlackBerry Synchronization Service

The BlackBerry® Synchronization Service synchronizes organizer data such as tasks, memos, and contacts over the wireless network so that the entries on BlackBerry devices are consistent with the entries in the email applications. With wireless data synchronization and wireless email reconciliation, users are not required to connect their BlackBerry devices to the BlackBerry® Desktop Software to synchronize organizer data and reconcile email messages.

The BlackBerry Synchronization Service backs up user settings and data over the wireless network from BlackBerry devices to the BlackBerry Configuration Database. You can restore the user settings and data to BlackBerry devices when the BlackBerry devices are activated over the wireless network. By default, the BlackBerry® Enterprise Server automatically backs up the user settings and data over the wireless network.

Synchronization features

You can change the settings for synchronization features so that users can manage the user experience and system resources in your organization's environment.

Feature	Description
initial synchronization	When the BlackBerry® Enterprise Server sends service books to BlackBerry devices to turn on wireless data synchronization, an initial data synchronization process starts. The process synchronizes the data for calendar items and messages between users' BlackBerry devices and the email applications on their computers. It also resolves conflicting or duplicate entries to prevent data loss. By default, the calendar on the BlackBerry device synchronizes up to 31 days in the past from the activation date, and up to 28 years into the future from the activation date.
synchronization settings	You can configure settings for wireless data synchronization that apply to specific users, user groups, or all users on all BlackBerry Enterprise Server instances. You can define which organizer data items the BlackBerry Synchronization Service synchronizes, how data conflicts are resolved, and whether changes are synchronized in both directions or in one direction only between BlackBerry devices and email applications. You can use IT policies to configure the settings for wireless data synchronization.
support for different types of user access	The BlackBerry Enterprise Server requires access to the organizer application databases for all users. You can define the location of the database replicas in each user’s profile, create roaming user profiles, or use web access templates in your organization's messaging environment.
synchronization of contact pictures	The BlackBerry Synchronization Service synchronizes contact pictures between users’ BlackBerry devices and the email applications on their computers. If users use their BlackBerry devices to add, change, or delete contact pictures, the contact lists in their email applications reflect the changes. The BlackBerry Synchronization Service cannot synchronize contact pictures that exceed 32 KB.

BlackBerry Attachment Service

The BlackBerry® Attachment Service converts supported message attachments into a format that users can view on their BlackBerry devices. The BlackBerry Attachment Service processes attachments and converts them into a binary format that retains most of the layout, appearance, and navigation of the original attachments. You do not have to install the applications that are associated with the attachment formats on BlackBerry devices. The attachment viewer installs automatically with the BlackBerry® Device Software.

The BlackBerry Attachment Service receives attachments that are embedded in messages from the messaging server, through the BlackBerry Messaging Agent. The BlackBerry Attachment Service also receives attachments that are accessed through links in the BlackBerry® Browser.

The BlackBerry Attachment Service enables users to play supported audio attachments on supported BlackBerry devices that are running BlackBerry Device Software version 4.2 or later. The BlackBerry Attachment Service can convert .wav files into an audio format that a BlackBerry device series supports (for example, .mp3 files on BlackBerry® 8700 Series devices).

If the BlackBerry Attachment Service is hosted on a computer that uses Windows Server® 2008, the BlackBerry Attachment Service does not support .mp3 audio files on BlackBerry devices, and the BlackBerry Attachment Service does not support any audio file formats on BlackBerry® 7100 Series devices that support CDMA networks. You must host the BlackBerry Attachment Service on a computer that uses Windows Server 2003 if you want the BlackBerry Attachment Service to support .mp3 audio files on BlackBerry devices and all audio formats on BlackBerry 7100 Series devices that support CDMA networks.

Attachment file formats that the BlackBerry Attachment Service supports

Format	Extension
Adobe® Acrobat®	.pdf
ASCII text	.txt
audio	.amr, .mp3, .wav, .wma
Corel® WordPerfect® 7-10	.wpd
HTML	.htm, .html
images	.bmp, .gif, .jpeg, .jpg, .png, .ppm, .tif, .tiff, .wmf
Microsoft® Excel® 97-2003, 2007, and XP	.xls, .xlsx
Microsoft® PowerPoint® 97-2003, 2007, and XP	.pps, .ppsx, .ppt, .pptx
Microsoft® Word 97-2003, 2007, and XP	.doc, .dot, .dotx, .docx
OpenOffice Format version 1.1	.odp, .ods, .odt, .ott
RTF	.rtf
ZIP archives	.zip

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