[elkabong]

Got my shiny new Torch yesterday, & activated on BES 5.0 SP1 MR2.

I then discovered that I couldnxxx8217;t access internal sites with the browser and could literally go anywhere from the BB. Something was definitely new and different WRT the way browsing controls and protocols worked in the BB OS 6.0.

After some research, I discovered that there was a xxx8216;Policy Pack 6.0xxx8217; available from RIM, which included additional settings that are specific to 6.0 devices. I quickly & easily added it to the BES yesterday to allow it to manage these settings.

KB23515-How to import BlackBerry Enterprise Server IT policy rules definitions for Java Apps 6.0.0

Below is a link to the RIM KB describing the new policy settings in the policy pack.

KB23701-IT policies introduced in BlackBerry Device Software 6.0

However, even though I had the new settings, I didn't really know what was where. After putting in a call to RIM I was able to find the setting in the new policy to force the BB Browser to go through the BES/MDS/Proxy path rather than directly out to the internet (or so I thought). I can now get to our intranet sites, but I can still get to literally any site on the web, which indicates I'm bypassing our Proxy security settings/restrictions somehow.

Oddly enough, the setting to control browser behavior is in the 'Wi Fi' Policy Group, NOT the 'Browser' policy group. It's all the way at the bottom <AFTER you update the policy definitions>. Don't ask me why it's there...

It seems as though OS 6.0 has made some changes with how the browser accesses the web, and I'm still looking for controls that will enable me to force all traffic through the BES MDS Connection service.

This link describes the new xxx8216;simplifiedxxx8217; browser protocol selection with 6.0 OS.
KB23699-Simplified browser selection in BlackBerry Device Software 6.0

Has anyone had this issue and resolved it? I've also posted this in the OS 6.0 Forum but since this is also a BES issue I wanted to see what the Uber-BES people had to say about it.

[JavaJunkee]

Interesting.

I had applied the IT Policy, but left 'Wi-Fi > Wi-Fi Internet Access Path' at its default, which is "Access through Wi-Fi will be used."

Without actually testing both settings, I'm not quite sure I completely understand the policy:

Specify how a BlackBerry device must access the Internet for Wi-Fi profiles More... that are not configured for your organization. If you set this rule to Access through Wi-Fi, the device must access the Internet over a Wi-Fi connection. If you set this rule to Access through BlackBerry MDS Connection Service, the device must access the Internet through the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service.

If you do not set this rule, a default value of "Access through Wi-Fi" will be used.

This rule applies only to Java-based BlackBerry devices version 6.0.0 and higher

Nevertheless, our Intranet sites are accessible from our 9800 devices, so go figure. ?

[elkabong]

For you corporate BES Admins, I think I've got this figured out. I worked with RIM and via a combination of the new policy settings (WiFi - force to MDS described above) and the KB Below, we were able to sort of reverse-engineer my desired solution.

KB20457-How to configure an IT Policy on the BlackBerry Enterprise Server to allow only the Internet Browser on the BlackBerry smartphone

Using the settings described in this KB, we configured the policy to get the exact OPPOSITE of the goal: Disable/Hide the IBS and enable/force the BB Browser to be the only available browser.

Specifically:

• On the Global Tab, set the Allow Browser to YES.

• On the Browser tab, set Allow IBS Browser to NO, set MDS Browser Use Seperate Icon to YES, and set Allow hotspot Browser to DISALLOW.

So, for now all of my browser traffic is being routed through the MDS, I can get to all of my intranet sites, and the web security filters are being tripped when they're supposed to. Pretty weird that I had to reverse-configure from a KB that was designed to do just the opposite of what I was wanting, but that's the way RIM presented it to me.

AFAIK, there isn't a corresponding RIM KB to get these results, so hopefully they will create one. Until then, I hope this helps other Torch early-adopters!