Push Service

Architecture

The architecture diagram shows a complete Push Service solution that includes the server-side library and the client-side library. The libraries work together to deliver content from the Push Initiator to a push-enabled application.

What can the Push Service offer?

Increased efficiency

You can choose where to send content. Using the Push Service, you can send content to:

• Individual users (unicast)
• Many users (multicast)
• All of your users (broadcast)

The Push Initiator sends the content when it's available so that data traffic is generated only when necessary. Additionally, with the Push Plus service level, your push solution can store push requests on a local database on the push server. If the Push Initiator receives a result notification, it can then perform status queries locally.

End-to-end message visibility

With the Push Plus service level, you can receive up to three status reports for your push request: a server-level acknowledgment, transport acknowledgment, and application-level acknowledgment. You can also query the status of a push request for a specific BlackBerry device.

Runs in the background

The Push Initiator sends content as bandwidth becomes available so that it doesn't interfere with other applications, such as phone calls.

Minimal battery drain

The Push Service minimizes the impact on device batteries because the push-enabled application listens in the background for the Push Initiator to send content to it. The application doesn't need to poll the push server for content.

Less coding

The Push Service SDK minimizes the amount of code that you need to write to create a Push Service solution. You can use the APIs in the server-side and client-side libraries to perform these common tasks:

• Send, query, or cancel push messages
• Specify listeners, acknowledgments and their notifications
• Track completed push messages
• Track the running count of push messages

Levels of service

When you use the Push Service with the BlackBerry Internet Service, you can choose from two levels of service: Push Essentials and Push Plus.

When you use the Push Service with the BlackBerry Device Service, the Push Plus level of service is included.

Push Essentials

When you use the Push Essentials level of service, you can send content to a device, but you can't query the status of the content or receive acknowledgments after you send the content. However, you can set the expiry time for content delivery for up to 30 days.

Here's how content is sent to a client application on a BlackBerry device with the Push Essentials level of service.

1. The content provider sends content in a push request.

2. The PPG authenticates and acknowledges the push request.

3. The PPG pushes the content to the specified device or devices.

4. Each BlackBerry device acknowledges the push request to the PPG.

Push Plus

The Push Plus level of service offers the following additional functionality so that you can check the status and receive notifications about delivered content:

• Results notification lets you know when messages are delivered, if they couldn't be delivered, or if they expired waiting to be delivered.
• The PPG keeps track of the current status of a push message, and you can use a status query to check the status. The status of a push message can be pending, delivered, undeliverable, or expired.
• Push cancellation can withdraw messages if they haven't been delivered already.
• You can set the expiry time for content delivery for up to 8 hours.

Here's how content is sent to a client application on a BlackBerry device with the Push Plus level of service.

1. The content provider sends content in a push request, and can request to receive a result notification.

2. The PPG authenticates and acknowledges the push request.

3. The PPG pushes the content to the specified device or devices.

4. Each BlackBerry device acknowledges the push request to the PPG.

5. If the content provider requested to receive a result notification when it sent content in step 1, the PPG sends a notification to the content provider indicating whether the push message was delivered, was undeliverable, or expired waiting to be delivered.

6. The content provider acknowledges the receipt of the result notification.

7. Alternatively, if the content provider didn't request to receive a result notification, the content provider can request the status of the content from the PPG. The status request can be for any or all of the devices that received the content.

8. If the content provider requests the status of the content, the PPG returns a single response that contains the current status for the specified devices.