explain to me how BES works please
 

i dont know if im in the rite forum but BES is something i need to familiarize myself really quick because its something we need to bring in house to shave the outsourced BES cost. Does the service go thru the RIM network or does the phone go over gprs like the windows mobile devices and pulll and syncs with the email server.? thanks for the help in advance.

While I am not the best person to answer your question, as I am new to BB myself and don't use BES, I will tell you what I know.

BES stands for Blackberry Enterprise Server, it allows Blackberry(s) to sync with a corporate server running exchange, lotus notes, groupwise, etc. If you are on BES you still need to be on a cellular network as that is how the BB communicates with the BES. With a BB there is no syncing or pulling. Email is automatically sent to the device instantly (Think of this like SMS, it just shows up--I love it). To run a BES at your location you must have a server to run one of the said programs and then you install BES onto that sever. A BES license must be purchased from RIM. That is about all I know, I wish I could be of more help.

Oh, by the way the difference between BES and BIS:

BIS=Blackberry Internet Service, allows BB to download up to 10 pop email accounts some accounts take up to 15 minutes to download messages, most instant

BES=Blackberry Enterprise Server, allows the BB to sync calendar and PIM over the network, all email is pushed instantly to the device. (I am sure there are a bunch more cool features, I just don't know about them.) I wish I had BES.

It goes through the RIM network... Your BES installation taps into Exchange mailboxes (for example, if you're using Exchange) and sends the message to the RIM NOC which then pushes it to the phone via the carrier network. The phone itself doesn't directly communicate with the e-mail server.

A bit deeper explanation:

BlackBerry devices sends data through a carrier provided data network that is typically GPRS or EDGE. RIM's infrastructure keeps track of the device's data network location through the device's PIN. The RIM infrastructure provides a gateway between the carrier data network and the BES. If the device tries to contact an internet end point, the call (i.e. HTTP) originating from the device travels through the data network, into the RIM infrastructure, out to the BES and then from the BES out to the end point. The BES acts as a proxy for the BlackBerry device. Data coming back from the network end point goes back to the BES. The BES forwards the data back to your device. From a J2ME standpoint, you write the code as if you were talking directly to the external web service.

When you install the BES, the BES registers with the RIM infrastructure. That is how the RIM infrastructure communicates with your BES. I believe the BES must maintain a persistent connection with the RIM infrastructure to get around any corporate firewall issues. The BES communicates with your corporate mail server. When a new message is received, the BES pulls the message from the mail server and sends it to the RIM infrastructure. The RIM infrastructure then locates your device via the PIN and forwards (pushes) the message to the device.

Hope this helps (and is not TMI :) )

good work fellas..i am a bes admin as well i would say that is all pretty accurate

thanks a bunch, i cant believe how detail and concise those answers were. Im an Exchange admin and will be bringing BES in house very very soon. Is it hard to administer or install and will it support a two node cluster between two exchange servers, if it does im guess i will need two copies of BES?

You may also want to register and visit here:
BlackBerry Resource Center - Main

They really do have some decent webcasts on there, that will give you a further understanding of it all.

Its a pice of cake once you get everything setup and settled down.
I have left my BES alone for a year. I log onto it every now and then just to make sure its there.
When this DST thing hit I was logged onto everyday until the DST thing passed. For the most part once you learn what it needs which isnt much of anything except power its easy.

I have a couple more questions. I know the current BES doesnt support cluster and automatic fail over. If i ran a two node exchange cluster in an active-passive mode and if a node goes down shouldnt the next exchange and bes automatically come up, or is there another IDEAL WAY to accomplish this?

next, we already have 10 blackberrys thats were are using with a hosted exchange, will i have to pay the activation fee with rim again or can this be a simple migration?

we're spending 65k today to bring all this inhouse, i wanna have my ducks in a row once this stuff gets here. thanks a bunch !

As we know RIM always upgrade their BIS system include IMAP and OWA module, does anyone know how's RIM infrastructure? Does it also often upgrade?

Great diagram. However, shouldn't the BlackBerry infrastructure box reside between the internet and the wireless network? Traffic from the BES in the enterprise travels via the internet to the BlackBerry infrastructure. However, the BlackBerry infrastructure maintains a mapping of the device PIN and its localtion in the wireless networks (if GPRS, the device has its own GPRS dynamic network address). The data travels through an APN that connects the internet to the wireless data networks. This APN could be provided by teh carrier or the actual BlackBerry infrastructure. I believe the APN used to be hosted by RIM. I am not sure if this has changed in the BES scenario (obviously it has for devices not associated to a BES).