Connecting to the Autodiscover Service

NotifySync uses two different methods of connecting to the Autodiscover service. The Direct Connection method is attempted first and the Indirect Connection method is used if the Direct Connection method is unsuccessful. User authentication credentials entered during the first step of the NotifySync registration process are used when querying the Autodiscover service for the ActiveSync server address.

 

Direct (Single) Connection Method

The direct connection method is used in a single-server environment where all ActiveSync users use the same URL to connect to the ActiveSync server. If the email domain matches the external address of the server (see example 1) no additional network configuration is required. If the email domain does not match the external address of the server (see example 2) you need to configure your network so that NotifySync can properly find the Autodiscover service. A domain or subdomain must be configured to match one of the URLs that the device generates from the email address domain (identified in section 2.1.1).

NotifySync connects to the Autodiscover service sending the query for the ActiveSync server address and expects the Autodiscover query response in return. The connection is over HTTPS using an HTTP POST request to the generated Autodiscover service URLs (identified in section 2.1.1).

 

Example 1: Exchange Server Address Matches Email Domain

Exchange Server Address: notify.net

ActiveSync User Email Address: user@notify.net

No network configuration is required in order for NotifySync to find the Autodiscover service using the URLs generated from the email domain (identified in section 2.1.1).

 

Example 2: Exchange Server Address Does Not Match Email Domain

Exchange Server Address: eas.notify.net

ActiveSync User Email Address: user@notify.net

Network configuration is required so that “autodiscover.notify.net” resolves to the same location as “eas.notify.net”. This will make it possible for NotifySync to find the Autodiscover service using the URLs generated from the email domain (identified in section 2.1.1).

 

Indirect (Multiple) Connection Method

The indirect connection method can be used in environments with multiple Exchange servers. An independent web service is used to redirect Autodiscover requests to the appropriate Autodiscover service, usually based on the user credentials. The address of the independent web service must match one of the URLs generated from the email address entered in the first step of the NotifySync registration process (identified in section 2.1.2).

Two transactions are required to locate the Autodiscover service using this method. NotifySync connects over HTTP using an HTTP GET request to the generated Autodiscover service URLs expecting an HTTP redirect response. The location specified in the redirect response is assumed to be the Autodiscover service. NotifySync uses the Direct Connection method for the second transaction using the location specified in the redirect response. See section 2.2.1 for details on the Direct Connection method.

 

Example: Multiple Users and Multiple Exchange Servers

Independent Web Service Address: autodiscover.notify.net

Exchange Server 1 Address: eas1.notify.net

Exchange Server 2 Address: eas2.notify.net

ActiveSync User 1 Email Address: user1@notify.net

ActiveSync User 2 Email Address: user2@notify.net

The independent web service returns a redirect response, redirecting NotifySync to one of the Autodiscover services to allow NotifySync to complete the Autodiscover query.