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.

Note: If you use APNS, you must compile and run the mobile workflow application in Xcode in Release mode, not Debug mode.

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

Note: APNS cannot be used on a simulator.

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 Mobile Workflow is assigned to the device.
- A Mobile Workflow DCN message is sent to Unwired Server, targeting a particular user and the Mobile Workflow is not running.

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 certificate if you build your own Mobile Workflow application using the source code included in <UnwiredPlatform_InstallDir>\UnwiredPlatform\ClientAPI\Workflow\ios\.
By default, APNs is enabled in the included source code only when it is built in in Xcode release mode. Alternatively, in WorkflowAppDelegate.m, move the line [SUPPush supSetupForPush:[UIApplication sharedApplication]]; after the #endif statement as shown.
```
#if !defined( _DEBUG )
      // APNS Push is not supported in Debug mode as it uses different gateway
#endif */
   [SUPPush supSetupForPush:[UIApplication sharedApplication]];
```

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-2.1.0.tar.gz.
Configuring Apple Push Settings for the Mobile Workflow Application
The certificate that was exported from the keychain corresponding to Apple Push settings must be configured with the correct application name in SCC.
APNS Trace Files
<UnwiredPlatform_InstallDir>\Unwired Server\log\trace\APNSProvider has tracing information.
Apple Push Notification Properties
Apple push notification properties allow iOS users to install 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