[commits] [Wiki] changed: ActiveSync

[Michael Rubinsky]

mrubinsk  Sat, 31 Mar 2012 19:15:39 +0000

Modified page: http://wiki.horde.org/ActiveSync
New Revision:  134
Change log:  Some feature updates

@@ -9,9 +9,9 @@
  [MichaelRubinsky Michael Rubinsky]

  ++ Description

-The Horde !ActiveSync implementation provides over the air  
synchronization of contacts, calendar, task, and Email (Horde 5) data  
to devices such as the iPhone/iPod Touch, Android and any other system  
supporting !ActiveSync. This implementation supports Microsoft  
!ActiveSync protocol versions up to 2.5 - the version implemented by  
Microsoft Exchange 2003.
+The Horde !ActiveSync implementation provides over the air  
synchronization of contacts, calendar, task, and Email (Horde 5) data  
to devices such as the iPhone/iPod Touch, Android and any other system  
supporting !ActiveSync. Horde 4's implementation supports Microsoft  
!ActiveSync protocol versions up to 2.5 -the version implemented by  
Microsoft Exchange 2003 while Horde 5 will support up to 12.0/12.1 -  
the version implemented by Microsoft Exchange 2007sp1.

  ++ Server Setup

  !ActiveSync support is stable, but there are still devices on which  
it has not been tested yet. If you have used a device with Horde's  
!ActiveSync support that is not listed below, please feel free to let  
us know how it went.
@@ -155,9 +155,9 @@
  * A !SearchLdap backend that - from what I can tell - is used as a  
Global Address Book source for searching for individual contacts (not  
for syncing the entire address book).

  As of the time Horde_ActiveSync was written, you could only use  
//one// backend at a time - so, unless you were using Zarafa (or maybe  
Kolab) you could sync email //or// contacts. Since then they have  
started a "combined" backend that is supposed to wrap any number of  
backends. Last I checked it wasn't complete yet.

-The main differences between 1.5.x and 2 are the versions of EAS that  
are supported. 1.5.x supports only up to Exchange 2003sp1 (same as  
Horde). Version 2 is supposedly going to support up to EAS 14  
(Exchange 2010) - though I believe only up to 12.1 (Exchange 2007) is  
currently working.
+The main differences between 1.5.x and 2 are the versions of EAS that  
are supported. 1.5.x supports only up to Exchange 2003sp1 (same as  
Horde 4). Version 2 is supposedly going to support up to EAS 14  
(Exchange 2010) - though I believe only up to 12.1 (Exchange 2007) is  
currently working.

  +++The main differences

  Some of these are specific to using Horde data as a backend to  
Horde_ActiveSync:
@@ -167,14 +167,15 @@
  # Unless using Zarafa, Z-Push contained no message-specific logic.  
For example, no code for dealing with appointment related issues such  
as timezones, recurrence series etc. Horde_ActiveSync contains support  
for these things out of the box.
  # At least at the time of writing, Horde allowed better  
configuration of things such as heartbeat/timeout intervals. We also  
actually allow configuring available security policies. Z-Push had  
basic support for provisioning and for turning on or off the  
requirement for a device PIN - but contained no facility for  
configuring any of the other options.  Also, if using Horde_ActiveSync  
as part of a typical Horde install you get all the ease of  
configuration that our administration interface provides. I think some  
of this has improved as part of implementing more recent EAS versions  
in Z-Push.
  # I don't have hard data on device compatibility as it compares to  
Z-Push, but I do know that we have fixed some device specific issues  
in the past that - at least at the time - were not working with  
Z-Push. Certain Nokia devices come to mind that use !MfE. Z-Push lists  
these as "unknown" compatibility but they work, at least for  
contacts/calendar with Horde.
  # Email sync with Horde_ActiveSync uses the vastly more efficient  
Horde_Imap_Client library, Z-Push uses the c-client PHP extension.
-# Horde_ActiveSync currently only supports up to Exchange 2003sp1 -  
Z-Push has code in development that works to some extent with 2007 and  
plans to look at supporting up to 2010.
+# Horde's email support is more complete than Z-Push's IMAP based  
implementation - with support for version 12.0 style email store  
searching, follow-up flag synchronization, and more.
+# Horde_ActiveSync currently supports up to Exchange 2007 - Z-Push  
has code in development that works to some extent with 2007 and plans  
to look at supporting up to 2010.
  # Horde_ActiveSync supports multiple users per device - when the  
device supports it. AFAIK, Z-Push only supports a single user account  
per device.

  ++ Todo

-* Implement more recent protocol version support - EAS 12.0 (Exchange  
2007) or EAS 12.1 (Exchange 2007sp1).
+* Implement EAS 12.1 (Exchange 2007sp1).

  EAS 12.1 adds binary encoded request variables (reduced bandwidth),  
additional security policies, and a revamped SYNC command that does  
away with the need for an additional PING request (reduced bandwidth  
as well as reduced battery usage).

  ++ Resources