Options for Delivering Provisioning XML Files
4/8/2010
This section discusses the options available to mobile operators for physically delivering provisioning XML documents to Windows Mobile devices. They divide, roughly, into three categories:
- Over-the-air (OTA) delivery.
- Delivery methods requiring physical access to the device, by the operator or user.
- Placing the provisioning files in device ROM either before or after deployment.
Settings provisioned over the air or those requiring physical access to the device do not persist after cold boot. Settings that are shipped in ROM or updated through Image Update persist.
The following tables list the available options by category.
OTA Pushed to device
| Delivery Method | Description |
|---|---|
OMA DM Server |
Windows Mobile devices can be provisioned OTA using an OMA DM server. For more information, see Provisioning OTA Through an OMA DM Server. |
WAP Push |
Windows Mobile Standard and Windows Mobile Professional devices can be provisioned OTA by means of WAP Push. For more information see, Provisioning OTA Through an OMA Client Provisioning Server. |
SI and SL |
Service Indication (SI) and Service Loading (SL) are two WAP Push features that can be used to provision Windows Mobile devices OTA. For more information, see SI and SL XML Files. |
OTA Pulled by device
| Delivery Method | Description |
|---|---|
HTTP or HTTPS (Internet Explorer Mobile) |
The user uses Internet Explorer Mobile to browse a Web site from which they can download the provisioning XML files. For more information, see Delivering Applications. |
SMS |
The user receives a Short Message Service (SMS) message containing a link to the Web site from which they can download the provisioning files. For more information, see Delivering Applications. |
The user receives an email message containing a link to the Web site from which they can download the provisioning files. For more information, see Delivering Applications. |
Physical access to the device
| Delivery Method | Description |
|---|---|
From the desktop |
The Remote Application Programming Interface (RAPI) in ActiveSync can be used to push the provisioning XML file. For more information, see Provisioning From a Desktop Computer Using Remote API and ActiveSync. > [!NOTE] > The Remote API Security policy is set to RESTRICTED by default. |
Memory Card |
The Autorun feature can be used to provision the Windows Mobile device using a Secure Digital Multimedia Card (SD/MMC). For more information, see Delivering Applications. |
User Interface |
The user can manually reconfigure the device by using the User Interface (UI) to change settings. For more information, see Provisioning Through the User Interface. |
Placed in ROM
| Delivery Method | Description |
|---|---|
In ROM (Image Update) |
A Windows Mobile device does not have a single firmware, but instead has ROM regions segmented into different ROM packages that can be updated. Provisioning XML files can be placed in Image Update packages in ROM to be processed either during cold boot or during Image Update. For more information, see Understanding OTA Firmware Update and Provisioning Using a ROM Configuration XML File. |
See Also
Tasks
Creating a Provisioning XML File
Concepts
General Provisioning Architecture