The Sametime Mobile Experience
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The document details the deployment of instant messaging for mobile devices, focusing on integration with IBM's Sametime systems, including server setup, configuration, and management using the Sametime System Console (SSC). Key topics covered include proxy servers, database configurations, security settings, mobile access, and troubleshooting common issues related to trusted IPs and media traffic. Several technical instructions and best practices for SSL certificate deployment and system clustering are also outlined.
The Sametime Mobile Experience
- 1. Deploying Instant Messaging For Mobile Devices Gabriella Davis Technical Director The Turtle Partnership [email protected]
- 3. Architecture
- 4. DB2 ❖ Licensed as part of Sametime Communicate or Complete ❖ Used to store data for the Apple push notification activity ❖ If you aren’t using iOS devices then the DB2 database for STProxy isn’t being used ❖ In default mode when coming out of the IM or Meeting application on iOS it is remains backgrounded and you remain logged in and available to other users ❖ Backgrounding can be disabled as a server setting
- 5. Sametime System Console ❖ The SSC is used to manage all the Sametime components ❖ It must be aware of all servers in order to integrate their services ❖ It also manages all policies ❖ A Sametime Proxy server doesn’t have to be installed as part of the SSC Cell
- 6. Domino ❖ Sametime 9.0.1 still requires Domino and is still a 32bit application ❖ You must first install Domino before you can install the 32bit Community Server using it
- 7. Community Server ❖ Installs on top of Domino ❖ Is a subtask of the HTTP server ❖ load staddin ❖ Create a deployment plan in the SSC and install using that so it’s federated ❖ All the other servers need to know about it ❖ Using Domino’s proprietary directory standard is no longer supported for any components, you must use LDAP ❖ Using Domino as LDAP is supported
- 8. Sametime Proxy Server ❖ The Sametime Proxy server is a HTTP proxy which connects to the Sametime Community Server ❖ By default it will attempt to consume any server in the domain ❖ Any server document with “Is Sametime Server” set to “yes” ❖ The Sametime Proxy server is used by ❖ Web clients ❖ Web meetings ❖ Mobile applications ❖ Awareness in applications ❖ Connections integration
- 9. Sametime System Console Deployment Plan Sametime Server Server Configuration Server Policies DB2 SSC Policies (STSC) STProxy for iOS push Sametime Proxy Server Web Proxy Sametime Community Server Client Mobile Request Request access for chat or meetings over port 443 Request is passed to the Community server for validation LDAP Server Community server authenticates credentials Policies are applied Policies are read Mobile Access Architecture
- 10. Client Mobile Request InternalMobile DMZ DB2 SSC Policies (STSC) STProxy for iOS push Sametime System Console Deployment Plan Sametime Server Server Configuration Server Policies LDAP Server Sametime Community Server Sametime Proxy Server Request is passed to the Community server for validation Community server authenticates credentials 443 1516 Mobile Access and Security
- 11. Configuration
- 12. Create A Proxy Database ❖ Create a DB2 database to be used by iOS applications ❖ createProxyDb STPROXY db2admin script to create the database database schema
- 13. It can take a few minutes to run but when complete you should see this message
- 14. Add It To The SSC db2 server hostname & port Newly created db name stdb.turtlehost.net
- 15. Create A Deployment Plan Only visible to administrators not users
- 16. Create A Deployment Plan Each cluster can only have one primary node Each cell can only have one cluster of each server type
- 17. Adding A Primary Node To The SSC Add the new node to the existing Cell (the System Console)
- 18. Create A Deployment Plan One option is to install additional Sametime Proxy Servers in their own cells
- 19. Hostname for the install WebSphere credentials for the install. If the server is federated into an existing cell these are removed
- 22. Verifying SSC-Proxy host and credentials the SSC uses to open the proxy server
- 23. If this page opens successfully you have confirmed the routing from SSC to Proxy
- 24. Installing Standalone ❖ The Sametime Proxy server can only be federated into the SSC as a single cluster ❖ When WAS servers are clustered horizontally with a primary and several secondary nodes , they are all considered “equal” ❖ Horizontal clusters are not suitable if you want to manage access by location
- 25. Virtual Hosts ❖ Create a specific virtual host for all the hostname:port combinations your Sametime Proxy Server will use ❖ These should be unique within your cell as they tell WebSphere how to route traffic to the application ❖ avoid using wildcard hostnames application ports
- 26. Mapping Virtual Hosts ❖ Once our virtual host is created we need to map the modules associated with the application to use it instead of “default_host”
- 27. Proxy Server Configuration how a web meeting is started. Servers should share a LtpaToken specific community clusters by name to use or specific community servers
- 28. Mobile Configuration server -wide settings to determine client behaviour
- 30. Server-Wide Mobile Security Settings
- 31. Meeting Server Configuration ❖ There are additional settings that can be force users to upgrade their mobile clients if they are using versions older than X ❖ That’s a very specific, and potentially painful, admin use case ❖ mobile.Android.currentVersion / mobile.Android.minVersion ❖ mobile.iOS.currentVersion / mobile.iOS.minVersion
- 32. Clustering ❖ Each cluster must be managed by a deployment manager ❖ That deployment manager can be, but does not have to be, the SSC ❖ There can be only one primary node in a cluster ❖ Deployment plans can only be created for one cluster of Sametime Proxy Servers ❖ but a different cluster can be added manually ❖ Servers in the same cluster are considered the same for serving user requests and users could be directed to any available member
- 33. Security
- 34. Reverse Proxies ❖ A reverse or authenticating proxy can provide secure access through a DMZ to your meeting servers ❖ For larger deployments you may want to keep the Sametime Proxy and Meeting Servers on the internal network and use a reverse proxy in the DMZ ❖ These proxies will authenticate with the LDAP servers directly before passing the authorisation through to the application servers
- 35. Deploying A SSL Certificate ❖ Never deploy to mobile clients without SSL ❖ A trusted SSL certificate is particularly important when deploying mobile clients ❖ Both the Chat and Meeting applications allow users to accept untrusted SSL certificates ❖ You can turn that off in the server configuration ❖ Replace the installed internal SSL certificate with one you have purchased
- 36. Adding A New SSL Certificate ❖ Under Security - SSL Certificates and Key Management ❖ We want to import the trusted roots of the CA into the Trust Store ❖ In this example GoDaddy suppled a CRT bundle that I simply “Added”
- 37. Adding A New SSL Certificate ❖ I then had the IBM signer created during install and the GoDaddy signer that will be used to create my certificate
- 38. Creating A CSR ❖ The simplest method of getting a certificate into WebSphere is to create the CSR there ❖ Then you can simple “receive” the new certificate into the DefaultKeyStore BEWARE!!
- 39. Adding A Personal Certificate ❖ If you can’t do that, then a P12 works well ❖ You must have the private key component of the certificate you want to add
- 40. Replacing The Default Certificate ❖ In my environment I have purchased a wildcard turtlehost.net certificate I want each server to use ❖ Rather than individually change each server, I can replace the default certificate with my new wildcard once it’s imported ❖ Select the “default” certificate and choose “Replace”
- 41. Or..Apply To EndPoints ❖ If I want to apply different certificates to different servers I can do this by mapping the server endpoints to each one
- 42. You MUST map both the inbound and outbound endpoints , sync and restart the servers
- 43. Beware! 4096 Certificates ❖ WebSphere Application Server does not support 4096 certificates out of the box ❖ Previously if you attempted to add one you would get an error “RSA Premaster Secret” and it would refuse to add ❖ Now you don’t get the error, it does add ❖ It just doesn’t work ❖ There’s an easy fix
- 44. Unrestricted Java Policy Files ❖ Downloaded the unrestricted java policy files from IBM Fix Central ❖ There are two files local_policy.jar and US_export_policy.jar that overwrite those in ❖ <websphere install directory>/java/jre/lib/security ❖ Shutdown your servers ❖ Replace the files ❖ Start the servers ❖ Not doing this and deploying 4096 certificates will lead to ❖ servers being unable to talk to each other ❖ you being unable to stop your servers cleanly ❖ audio and video not working
- 45. Chat Policies
- 46. Meeting Policies ❖ There are no specific policy settings for mobile users in Meeting Rooms ❖ Mobile specific settings are in the Meeting server configuration itself as they apply to all users ❖ Meeting policies apply to a user whether they are on a mobile device or not
- 47. Media Policies ❖ The line rate will affect how much video data is broadcast to the mobile client
- 48. Client Behaviour
- 49. Apple Push Notification Service ❖ To enable push notifications for iOS devices you must allow traffic outbound ❖ gateway.push.apple.com 2195 ❖ feedback.push.apple.com 2196 ❖ find the file apns-prod.pkcs12 which is on the Proxy server node ❖ <websphere profile>/config/cells/cellName/nodes/ stproxyPNNodename/apns-prod.pkcs12 ❖ Copy it to the Node directory for any Sametime Proxy server under the Deployment manager e.g. ❖ /STSCDMgrProfile/config/cells/balticcell/nodes/stproxynodename ❖ Always check fix central for an updated version of this certificate which needs to be deployed
- 50. Google Cloud Messaging ❖ Used for Sametime notifications on Android devices ❖ Use “Retrieve from port” in the Trust Store to bring the Google certificate into your deployment manager
- 52. Tablet Phone
- 53. Tablet Phone
- 54. Tablet Contact list audio & video if you are both able Recent audio and video calls
- 55. iOS Meetings Phone - add files Phone
- 56. Tablet Screen sharing with pointer activity Conference dial in
- 58. Creating A Meeting ❖ Shared files are commonly URLs or Photos ❖ The mobile application can’t access the mobile file system
- 59. Whiteboard Meeting on the iPad
- 60. Video Meeting on the iPad click to call via phone (not my number :-))
- 61. Pre-Configuring Clients ❖ Create a custom URL for users that will provision their mobile chat client ❖ sametime://@stproxy.turtlehost.net:443/? AddCommunity&ssl=true ❖ creates a new community for the server stproxy.turtlehost.net using the secure 443 port and prompts the user for their name ❖ Other optional parameters include ❖ savePassword (true/false) ❖ communityName (if you want to give it a specific name)
- 62. Sharing Meeting Server Configuration Sharing options also available on Android devices
- 63. Troubleshooting
- 64. Trusted IPs Long time bug. When WAS writes the Trusted IPs as a string rather than a list Until this is fixed by saving the document in stconfig.nsf nothing will work
- 65. Trusted IPs ❖ This has been a recurring problem since 8.5.2 ❖ With this bug if you change the Trusted IPs in WebSphere the next time the Community server is restarted, they will be broken ❖ On 9.0.1 I’ve also seen an error where a single trusted ip is listed with a “.” at the end, causing it to fail
- 66. Routing To The Correct Server ❖ Regardless which Community server you configure the Sametime Proxy server to use in its deployment plan ❖ It can and will connect to any server in the Domino domain configured as a “Sametime” server ❖ Edit the Sametime Proxy configuration to force routing to a specific server, servers or cluster ❖ Check the SystemOut.log on the Sametime Proxy server to determine which server it is trying to connect to ❖ Check the sametimexxx.log in the DominoTrace directory to verify if connections are being refused and why
- 67. This is left empty on install so by default all domain Sametime servers can be consumed
- 68. Re-Mapped Virtual Host ❖ During fix updates or patches it’s common for the Virtual Hosts of each application to be reset to “default_host” instead of the specific one we created ❖ If you get an error 500 or “SRVE0255E: A WebGroup/ Virtual Host to handle /mapping has not been defined” these are commonly associated with an incorrect virtual host
- 69. Bandwidth ❖ The largest consumption of resource for a Sametime Proxy Server is the network ❖ If the server is virtualised, make sure the network card assigned isn’t shared ❖ Monitor the network traffic to the server ❖ Audio and Video streams on mobile services are sent via the Sometime Proxy server which was probably not designed for media traffic
- 70. Mobile Bandwidth ❖ There is a maximum number of video feeds that are supported for a Meeting on mobile devices ❖ the setting (which can’t be changed) is 4 + you ❖ This can be further limited if bandwidth goes beyond the configured allowable amount
- 71. Media Using The Wrong Server ❖ Random media errors can be the result of the Conference Manager attempting to connect to the wrong Community Server ❖ If everything else appears started with no errors, verify the SystemOut.log of the Conference Manager for any errors relating to other servers ❖ If a server exists in the domain (Domino Directory) and has “Is This A Sametime Server?” field marked as “yes” it will be consumed by the servers in the SSC
- 72. Questions?