The BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express Edition offers businesses the ability to enable their staff to use BlackBerry devices to receive push-based email, contact and calendar data from an existing Lotus Domino installation, version 8.0.2 or later.
A free download from the BlackBerry web site, the solution is not limited to any set number of users and requires only that users have a BlackBerry data tariff on their SIM card with their network operator.
A 10,000 user CAL is supplied with the download by default.
BES Express is based on the full BES 5.0.1 MR1 product code, and as such offers much (but not all) of the same functionality:
The following features are NOT available in BES Express:
Operating System
IBM Lotus Domino environment
All Domino installations must be 32-bit even if they are running on a 64-bit operating system
Hardware
(Up to 500 users)
(Up to 1000 users)
Database
Any of the following database management systems are supported:
Miscellaneous
In order to provide support for audio attachments, Windows Media Player 9 or later is required on the BES.
Internet Explorer 6 or later is required to access the web administration console.
Firewall
The BES requires outbound-initiated, bi-directional access to the Internet on TCP port 3101 as well as access to DNS.
Prior to installing the BES Express software onto the Domino server, an administrative group must be created called "BlackBerry Admins" within the Domino Administrator console.
This group should contain the LocalDomainServers group as well as any other users that you may wish to grant administrative access to the BES.
Launch the Domino Administrator and browse to People & Groups --> Groups:
Select the option to Add Group and assign the following permissions:
Save group, which will now be listed:
Now browse to the Configuration tab and edit the Server Document. On the Basics tab edit the field named "Sign or run unrestricted methods and operations". Set the membership of the field to the LocalDomainServers group:
Your Domino environment is now prepared.
Log into the server using an account with administrative rights on the server - the user account used to install the BES software is the account that the BlackBerry services will run as.
Launch the BES Express installer, you will be prompted to confirm your installation language:
Click OK, you will be prompted to confirm that you have logged in using a suitable user account:
Click Continue. If the Domino server is running, you will be prompted to stop it for the duration of the BES installation:
The installer will then launch:
Read the license agreement for your region and select the option to accept if you agree to the terms and conditions. Click Next:
Select the option to Create a configuration database. Click Next:
Select the components you wish to install and click Next:
Verify that all prerequisite checks pass and click Next:
Unless you are using a separate Microsoft SQL server, select the option to install SQL Server Express Edition locally. NOTE if you are using a separate SQL server, read the documentation for instructions on how to create and configure the database.
Click Next:
Enter in the password for the administrative user account and enter in a friendly name for the BES server to identify it. Click Next:
Verify your installation selections and click Install to begin the installation process.
This process may take a few minutes to complete depending on the spec of your hardware. Once complete, you will be prompted to restart the server:
Once rebooted, the installation process will resume automatically (there is no need to stop the Domino server at this stage if it has restarted automatically):
Click Next:
You will be prompted to create the configuration database, click Yes. Once complete, click OK:
The following screen will be displayed:
Enter in your CAL and SRP key information. You will have received these via email when you registered for the BES Express software download.
Verify that the server has outbound Internet access on TCP port 3101:
Click OK and then Next:
Enter in a name for the BlackBerry Administration Service web application pool as well as a password for the certificate that will be generated automatically. Click Next:
Enter in a password for the default BlackBerry Administration Service admin account, this will be used to log into the web administration console. Click Next:
Enter in the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) of the server. Click Next:
Click on the Start Services button and ensure that all services start successfully:
Click Next:
Click Finish. The BES Express software is now installed and running.
Launch the BlackBerry Administration Service from the start menu. NOTE Internet Explorer 6 or later is required:
Log in using the administrative password you specified earlier:
Select the option to Manage Users:
Locate the user you wish to add to the BES, or just click Search to display a list of all users.
Select the user you wish to add:
If you are activating devices wirelessly, you will require a SIM card with the BES tariff enabled on the account. It is not possible at the time of writing to perform a wireless enterprise activation with a BIS-only SIM. This does not apply to WiFi activations over the LAN.
Select the option to create the user with an activation password. This will enable you to manually specify a password, alternately you can have a password generated automatically which will be emailed to the user.
If you chose to enter a password manually, enter in the desired password. Click Create User. The user account has now been added to the BES:
The user can now activate their device. Once activated the device PIN will be listed in the administration console:
For details on how the wireless activation process works, and how to troubleshoot activation issues, read this article - http://ukblog.im-mobility.com/how-does-bes-wireless-activation-process-work [1]
It is also possible to activate devices via USB from PCs on the same local network as the BES server, using the BlackBerry Web Desktop feature. For more information on this, read this article - http://ukblog.im-mobility.com/activating-blackberries-remotely-blackberr... [2]
To activate devices via WiFi, read this article - http://ukblog.im-mobility.com/activating-blackberries-wifi [3]
Links:
[1] http://ukblog.im-mobility.com/how-does-bes-wireless-activation-process-work
[2] http://ukblog.im-mobility.com/activating-blackberries-remotely-blackberry-web-desktop-bes-express
[3] http://ukblog.im-mobility.com/activating-blackberries-wifi
[4] http://ukblog.im-mobility.com/category/blog/bes-express
[5] http://ukblog.im-mobility.com/category/blog/bis
[6] http://ukblog.im-mobility.com/taxonomy/term/2
[7] http://ukblog.im-mobility.com/category/blog/lotus-domino
[8] http://ukblog.im-mobility.com/taxonomy/term/7