There are five billion mobile phones worldwide, consisting of thousands of models from dozens of companies. Other new types of mobile devices are hitting the market, software updates are becoming more common, and wireless broadband is pushing new limits.
Smartphones and other data-centric devices are rapidly growing that use multiple IP-enabled or all-IP networks. This exponentially increases the number of configuration touch points compared with voice-centric devices.
These devices must be remotely activated, configured, updated and troubleshooted, as it is virtually impossible for users to perform these tasks. Avoidable issues stemming from bad configuration result in exorbitant support costs.
The Funambol Open Source Device Management (DM) solution addresses this situation by providing end-to-end DM capabilities for a broad range of devices. The solution consists of a DM server that resides in a wireless network that controls DM data and that alerts devices, and client software on devices to remotely perform DM functions
Funambol DM implements the full Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) DM 1.2 standard, plus extensions to manage aspects of the device life cycle such as FUMO (firmware upgrade over the air) and LAWMO (lock and wipe device data in case of loss or theft). Other extensions, such as SCOMO (to manage device software applications) are possible. Funambol DM has been designed expressly for 4G and 3G networks and devices, and in particular, for 4G WiMAX. It implements WiMAX DRMD (device reported metrics & diagnostics) by collecting diagnostic data for QoS purposes.
Funambol DM is based on open source, which provides numerous benefits. Funambol:
Funambol DM enables bootstrap, configuration, control, update and monitoring of mobile devices. Thanks to standardization, it can initiate and control these actions on any device with OMA DM functionality, in addition to collecting QoS statistics from devices with the Funambol DM client. The solution's capabilities include:
The Funambol DM Server architecture is shown below. It handles connections with mobile devices and connects with network nodes in the operator infrastructure via standard interfaces. These include the AAA system, management apps through its HTTP-based, RESTful web services API, and an SMS gateway if notifications to 3G devices are required (notifications to WiMAX devices are delivered over UDP).
The server is easy to integrate within mobile networks by configuring its interfaces. It has a device database to configure a DM session with each device depending on device type and ID. When interacting with 3G networks, the device ID is sufficient to reach the device with a notification - typically a WAP push message carried over SMS. While in a 4G environment, the server queries the AAA system for the IP address of the device via the device ID and uses an all-IP method to notify the device. Examples of devices that benefit from the Funambol DM solution include feature phones and smartphones, residential gateways, USB data devices attached to laptops (e.g. dongles), mobile data enabled video cameras and smart power meters.
The Funambol DM Client was designed explicitly for 4G network devices - initially WiMAX, evolving to LTE. It supports the most common laptop operating systems for use with 4G data devices (dongles): all versions of Windows, Mac OS and Linux. It initially supports Android for use with 4G smartphones. The Funambol DM Client has a modular and open architecture, allowing quick porting to new devices and chipsets through software abstraction layers. The client supports multiple profiles in its management objects tree, which allows it to seamlessly implement DM while roaming in a 3G network.
Below is the architecture of the client. When running, the client acts as a daemon to service requests from the server, coming in as push messages, and from device-based applications, for instance, a custom DM GUI or a connection manager. The client manages its own version of the DM MOs, using a flexible database that can be easily expanded to include new management objects and sub-trees. The client saves suitable parameters in the native repositories of the device and communicates with the native driver(s) to manage device configuration.
Funambol DM is available in two editions. DM Community Edition is free open source that can be downloaded from the Funambol website. It includes core device management functionality and supports open source infrastructure. It is for developers and enterprises who want to deploy Funambol DM inside their organization.
DM Carrier Edition is commercial software for organizations that need to deploy device management to hundreds of thousands or millions of users. It provides advanced DM capabilities beyond Community Edition DM, as well as scalability and high availability. The following table compares the editions.
© 2012 Funambol, Inc. All rights reserved.
Follow Us On Twitter
Subscribe to Our RSS Feed