The hub of all enterprise BlackBerry operations is getting an update soon with version 5.0, codenamed Argon. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the improvements admins and end-users can look forward to…
Key product enhancements:
- Unified application management and deployment for Java and MDS Runtime applications
- More robust application deployment and management tools, simplified application control
- Active Directory integration for user management
- Scheduled deployments and updates
- Remote Option Setting
- Capability for administrators to “Brand” a device (i.e. have the options set as per one or several corporate standards) – Reduction in support calls
- User Self-Provisioning
- Simplifying Enterprise Activation even further – user initiated
- Allows more deployment options
- Centralized in one server
- Dispersed across servers
- New BlackBerry Administration Service
- BlackBerry support for device linked to multiple BES
- Primary BES for Policy and Administration
- Secondary BES(s) for specific application
- High-Availability: Active / Passive automatic failover design
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- Shared SRP key
- Opens up technique for limited downtime upgrades
- Upgrade standby
- Fail over users to it
- Upgrade primary
- Fail users back
- Multi-faceted strategy:
- Fault Tolerance via Controller Service
- Automated and Manual Failover modes between Primary and Standby servers
- Administrator configurable failover thresholds
- Additional features
- SRP Lockout Avoidance
- Service Prioritization
- Prevention of failover looping
- No single point of failure when running High Availability configuration
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A lot of that will be Greek to your average user, but extra failover mechanisms are a nice touch for keeping things up and running, but I’m not sure how well user-initiated enterprise activations will go – it may just result in more help desk calls, but we’ll see.
[via BerryReview]