[noname]

Was reading this KB04744 - How to locate and change the SRP ID and SRP Authentication Key in BlackBerry Enterprise Server 4.0 to 5.0 as I couldn't locate the keys in my BES 5.0 - arghh... and read the Additional Information section with surprise. Surprised as I feel that this important information should be written as a critical advisory or another KB article instead.

So here's what it was written:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Additional Information

WARNING: Do not change the SRP to an invalid one as service books on BlackBerry device may not update - refer to KB23779.



Note:

• Users may experience messaging delays for up to 4 hours after the SRP has been changed successfully.
• The BlackBerry Enterprise Server services must be running during the process and should not be restarted for at least 4 hours afterward to allow the process enough time to complete
• Do not change the SRP ID and Authentication key again until after the 4 hours has passed to allow the process to complete
• If the SRP is changed more than once and the process has not been completed, some devices may continue to work but the devices that are not working will have to be wiped and reactivated
• A temporary SRP ID (i.e. Txxxxxxx) should never be used in a production environment. Temporary SRP ID's should only be used in a testing environment.

If the current Server Routing Protocol Identifier (SRP ID) and SRP Authentication key for the BlackBerry Enterprise Server are invalid, the BlackBerry Enterprise Server services are unable to communicate with the BlackBerry® Infrastructure and cannot start. The SRP ID and SRP authentication key must be changed.



Common reasons of an SRP ID and SRP Authentication Key becoming invalid are listed below:

• SRP ID has expired (temporary SRP IDs are generally indicated by the SRP ID beginning with a T, i.e. Txxxxxxx)
• SRP ID or authentication key is inaccurate (often caused by a leading or trailing " " having been entered)
• The SRP ID is currently in use by another BlackBerry Enterprise Server and has become disabled

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


So, KB23779 states:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When the BlackBerry Enterprise Server administrator changes the server routing protocol (SRP) ID to an invalid ID and subsequently changes the SRP ID again to a valid ID, the BlackBerry Policy Service does not send the service books with the valid SRP ID to the BlackBerry smartphones. Instead, the BlackBerry smartphones will only receive the invalid SRP ID.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Pretty scary, isn't it? That means you will have devices that will potentially stop working with the bad service books. I see that KB23779 has a DT598250 tagged to it. Looks like a software issue for the above scenerio...

Hence folks, be careful when you want to switch SRP ID for your BES. I would suggest to call up Support and consult if all yours necessary preparations (e.g. make sure all BES services are running) + arrangements (e.g. make sure communications are sent out to ensure all devices have their wireless switched on) are in proper order; prior going ahead with the change of SRP ID.

Anybody has experience (good or bad) switching SRP ID & keys, please do post and share. Just sharing is loving....

[knottyrope]

I have heard of one person that rebooted BES after the SRP change and made a nice mess of reactivations, lucky they only had a handful of users.

[noname]

Originally Posted by knottyrope

I have heard of one person that rebooted BES after the SRP change and made a nice mess of reactivations, lucky they only had a handful of users.

He's lucky. Imagine having 2000 users... nightmare.

[knottyrope]

IIRC, BAS would not show up because they didnt see that Java was updated. They thought a magic reboot would fix it before looking at their event and BES logs.

[noname]

That's why BAS need to be distributed from the BES core! Most people don't appreciate remote installations until they encounter problems.
Posted via BlackBerryForums.com Mobile

[noname]

So I was searching through some incidents logs on this topic and found that for Domino BES, what got switched to an invalid SRP ID and not able to be reverted to the valid SRP ID are the following:-

(1) new service switch records for IT commands inserted to the ITAdminQueue table for affected users

(2) Lotus Notes' User Profile document -> RoutingInfo field where it stores the SRP ID

(3) BESMgmt UserConfig table -> RoutingInfo column where it stores the SRP ID

Even if you clear those records in (1) and patched (2) + (3) values, BES is not able to patch the device's service books like Desktop [CMIME], Desktop [IPPP] etc... There are some internal state that cannot be easily patched. As a result, these unfortunate users will have to wipe and re-activate their devices.

Here's the link again which I supposed DT598250 covers these issues.
Link: KB23779-BlackBerry Policy Service does not send service books with valid SRP ID, after the BlackBerry Enterprise Server administrator changes to an invalid SRP ID, and back again to a valid SRP ID

So this is for Domino. Let's hope we can hear some stories from the Exchange and GroupWise people.