MSDN Magazine - February 2009 - (Page 115)

RaMon aRjona GoinG PLaces Mobile Device Provisioning With SyncML In the April 2008 issue of MSDN Magazine, Mike Calligaro wrote a Going Places column about provisioning a Windows Mobile device using XML files and the DMProcessConfigXML API (see msdn.microsoft.com/magazine/cc500581). The XML files Mike used were based on the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) Client Provisioning (OMA-CP) standard for device management, formerly known as Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). OMA-CP works fine for managing a few devices, and in his column Mike has suggestions for ways to push provisioning information to multiple devices at once. But what if you need to provision thousands of devices in a systematic way over a long period of time? And what if you need to know what software and registry settings are already set on the devices you’re trying to manage? This sort of large, coordinated provisioning effort is the domain of OMA Device Management (OMA-DM). The OMA-DM protocol is based on a dialect of XML called SyncML, and it can be used to provision and manage devices in an enterprise scenario. This column will discuss the structure of a SyncML document used in the OMA-DM protocol. I will cover specific usage scenarios for the Windows Mobile platform, including remotely wiping the device. I will also demonstrate how you can set a browser favorite on the device using the XML from Mike’s column in conjunction with OMA-DM. Figure 1 SyncHdr 1.2 DM/1.2 1 1 https://mgmt.contoso.com/ urn:uuid:6D67E196-D082-4c91-A0DD-DEB3D1D58EB5 MyDeviceName b64 syncml:auth-md5 ODZlMDNiYmM1MjA1YTI3MDc5MDk2MDcwYTA4OGM2Zjg= SyncML: XML for Synchronization What Is OMA? OMA is an industry group comprising more than 200 mobile operators, mobile device manufacturers, and software vendors (including Microsoft). OMA was formed in 2002 to create a single group to manage the burgeoning number of mobile device standards that were appearing in the marketplace, including WAP, Device Management, and SyncML (see openmobilealliance.org for details). This multiplicity of groups was creating duplication of work, so the concerned industry partners got together and brought all of these important initiatives together under a single umbrella group. OMA standards help make it easier to work with mobile devices and networks by creating a nonproprietary way to communicate between technologies. SyncML and OMA-DM are two aspects of this open protocol family. Like all protocols, they are subject to a certain amount of interpretation, and every vendor is free to supply its own value-added extensions. But working with them is easier and more straightforward than trying to negotiate a proprietary, vendor-specific format. SyncML is an XML-based markup that is used as the basis for most protocols defined by OMA. A SyncML document is called a message. The message must be well-formed XML but not necessarily valid XML. That is, it must have matching open and close tags for all elements, must have quotes around all attributes, and otherwise conform to the basic definition of well-formedness that is essential to any document calling itself XML. While there is a SyncML document type definition (DTD), there is no requirement that the sender or receiver validate against it. One of the reasons for this is that validation requires extra memory and processor time, and mobile devices tend to be short on both of these resources. The message, in turn, contains command elements that do the heavy lifting of specific OMA protocols. SyncML and OMA-DM are transport independent. There are transport bindings defined for HTTP and Object Exchange (OBEX), and it would be possible for other bindings to be defined. This makes SyncML and OMA-DM useful for provisioning devices over the air. Using SyncML and OMA-DM with a compliant device-management server, you can push configurations to a device without using a memory card, without tethering the device, and without asking the end user for interaction, such as visiting a Web site. One or more messages is contained, conceptually, in a SyncML Send your questions and comments to goplaces@microsoft.com. February 2009 115 http://msdn.microsoft.com/magazine/cc500581 http://www.openmobilealliance.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of MSDN Magazine - February 2009

MSDN Magazine - February 2009 Contents Toolbox CLR Inside Out Data Points Cutting Edge Patterns In Practice Best Practices .Net Interop "Oslo" Basics Patterns Silverlight Under The Table Foundations Windows With C++ .NET Matters Going Places { End Bracket }

MSDN Magazine - February 2009

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