6. Configuring Mobile Devices

This chapter describes how to configure the Z-Push software to synchronise mobile devices with Kopano Core (KC).

Z-Push is available as an open source project at http://z-push.net.

6.1. Z-Push introduction

The Z-Push software allows users with PDAs and smartphones to synchronise their email, contacts, calendar items and tasks directly from a compatible server over LTE, UMTS, GPRS, WiFi or GSM data connections. An overview of devices that are natively supported by Z-Push can be found in the Z-Push Wiki.

The devices can be synchronised because the Z-Push module emulates an MS Exchange server on the server side, allowing users to synchronise without installing specialised synchronisation software on their devices.

6.2. Setting up a mobile device

Configuring a device for Z-Push is simply a matter of adding a Microsoft Exchange or Corporate account to your connected accounts. The connection will be configured by specifiying the IP address or hostname of the server running Z-Push. Please disable SSL, unless SSL has already been setup on the web server. Apart from username and password, some clients also ask for your domain name. This is ignored inside of Z-Push, so you can either leave it empty or use a random string for it.

Once the mobile device has been setup, it should be possible to synchronise the device simply by clicking the Sync button in your client application.

6.2.1. Android based configuration

The following steps are applicable for most Android devices:

1. Go into your settings screen and scroll down to the accounts part. There you have to select Add account.

   

   Android Settings

2. Select the ActiveSync account type (in most cases, Corporate or Microsoft Exchange).

   

   Account Type Selection

3. Android wants to autodiscover your ActiveSync server, and needs your email and password for this.

   

   Account Details

4. Afterwards, you have the possibility to specify your exact username and server address if needed (it would otherwise have been m.scotfield as username, and zarafa.com as server address).

   

   Server Address

5. As soon as you have clicked Next, your device will give you a popup notification about needed policies for the server connection. You will be prompted to accept these policies later in the setup.

   

   Remote Administration

6. Before accepting the sync policies, you have to choose the frequency for checking the server (Push by default), as well as what objects to sync (for example, contacts and calendar).

   

   Sync Frequence and other settings

7. If you have multiple accounts connected to your device, you can also specify an identifying name for your connection.

   

   Optional Profile Name for the Connection

8. Finally accept the server policies.

   

   Accept Server Policies

9. After accepting the policies for the device, it will perform an initial sync.

   Your device has been configured

6.2.2. Windows Mobile based configuration

The following steps are for the Pocket PC, though still applicable for WM 5/6 or Nokia’s “Mail for Exchange”:

1. Open ActiveSync and select set up your device to sync with it.

   

   ActiveSync introduction

2. Type the server address (without http or other URL parts).

   

   Server address

3. Specify a username and password. A domain must be specified, but it is not used within Z-Push, so simply domain or some other random text can be specified. Select save password if automatic sync is preferred.

   

   Account details

4. Select which items are to be synchronised.

   

   Synchronise options

5. Press Finish and start synchronising by pressing Sync.

6.2.3. iPhone based configuration

The following steps are applicable for the iPhone:

1. Open Settings and touch Mail, Contacts, Calendars.

2. Touch Add Account... and touch Microsoft Exchange.

   

   Mail, Contacts, Calendars settings

   

   Choice Protocol/Provider

3. Enter the user credentials, and touch Next.

   

   User settings

4. The device will try to contact the server. If the server is not equal to zustomer.com in this case, the connection will fail. If the server is not configured for SSL connections, the connection will fail too. The iPhone has SSL enabled by default.

5. A new field Server will pop up. Enter the correct server hostname or IP address if necessary.

   

   Extra server field

6. If SSL is not available, establihsing the connection will fail. Touch Save in order to keep the current account settings. Go to the just created account and touch Account info and disable Use SSL.

   

   Save settings

   

   Account settings