Apple Push Notification Service

Sybase Unwired Platform provides support for Apple Push Notification Service by pushing notifications to Mobile Workflow applications when the Mobile Workflow application is offline.

With APNS, each device establishes encrypted IP connections to the service and receives notifications about availability of new items awaiting retrieval on Unwired Server. This feature overcomes network issues with always-on connectivity and battery life consumption on 3G networks.

For more information on end-to-end iPhone application development and provisioning, see System Administration for Sybase Unwired Platform > Systems Administration > Device and User Management > Device Provisioning > Apple Provisioning for iPhone.

Note: APNS cannot be used on either a simulator or iTouch.

Examples of cases when notifications are sent include:

The server identifies that a new message needs to be sent to the device. This could include:
- A new row being inserted, updated, or deleted in the backend and identified by a scheduled refresh of the cache
- A data change notification request inserting, updating, or deleting rows in the cache
- Device does not receive notifications when it is online.
- When the device is online, the new messages are sent immediately to the device through the connection open by device.
- When the device is offline, notifications about new messages are sent to the device through APNS.
The device is offline (not accessible).

If you want to use APNs for the Mobile Workflow application, you can either:

Use the MobileWorkflowPushDistCert.p12 located in <Unwired_Platform_InstallDir>\UnwiredPlatform\Servers\MessagingServer\bin\ with the pre-built Workflow application that is available from the App Store, or
Use the Apple Provisioning Portal to create your own .p12 certificatef if you build your own Mobile Workflow application using the source code included in <UnwiredPlatform_InstallDir>\UnwiredPlatform\ClientAPI\Workflow\ios\.

After creating the .p12 certificate, you must configure the APNs settings in Sybase Control Center.

Provisioning iOS Devices
Use this procedure to provision your iOS device for APNs if you build your own Mobile Workflow application using the source code provided in <UnwiredPlatform_InstallDir>\UnwiredPlatform\ClientAPI\Workflow\ios\MobileWorkflow-2.0.0.tar.gz.
Configuring Apple Push Settings for the Mobile Workflow Application
In Sybase Control Center, create a new Apple Push Notification Service (APNs) configuration that specifies the application, security certificate, and ports that the service uses.
Messaging Device Apple Push Notification Properties
Apple push notification properties allow iPhone users to install messaging client software on their devices. This process requires you to create a different e-mail activation message using the appropriate push notification properties.

Parent topic: Preparing iOS Devices for the Mobile Workflow Package