Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Reviews

    Apple’s Sloppy iPhone and Exchange Fix

    By
    Andrew Garcia
    -
    July 1, 2010
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      A couple days ago, Apple released a configuration change for iOS 4-equipped iPhones to help speed up synchronization actions with Exchange Servers. Apparently, the problem was not only causing slow syncs from the user’s perspective but was causing significant load on the server side as well.

      According to the article, “… users should install a configuration profile from Apple that increases the amount of time the iOS 4 device will wait for the Exchange Server to respond to its sync requests. For best results, the profile should be installed on as many iOS 4 devices at your company as possible.”

      I caught wind of the problem via a tweet linking to a blog post complaining about how Apple didn’t see fit to sign the configuration profile, which is something that they allow through their management tools. Since Apple’s fix is not signed, it’s conceivable that someone with bad intent could take Apple’s fix, modify it with some otherwise unwanted settings and redistribute it.

      It probably won’t happen, but it could.

      Given the weakness in how Apple currently recommends distributing iOS profiles (putting the onus on users to install it rather than pushing it out from a central store), I think the complaint is totally justified. If an IT staff has trained its users to only accept and install signed profiles, then Apple’s fix breaks those rules.

      I opened up the profile to look at the underlying XML in order to see whether an enterprise IT staffer would be able to re-create the profile using the iPhone Configuration Utility so they could sign it and get it out to users, post haste. It appears that the main effect of the configuration is to adjust the DefaultEASTaskTimeout value to 240, although I don’t know what the default value is.

      Unfortunately, from what I can tell after a few minutes of digging in the most recent version of the ICU (2.2) and its documentation, that particular policy is not available as a configurable option. This indicates that the settings are either reserved for Apple, or that Apple’s fix was created with an unreleased, beta version of the ICU.

      In other words, you are stuck with Apple’s sloppy fix for the time being.

      Apple’s security-unconscious patching process and the annoying advice to install “on as many iOS 4 devices at your company as possible,” only serve to highlight Apple’s lack of tools to help enterprises effectively manage those iPhones that are flooding onto the corporate network. Thankfully, the mobile device management features Apple baked into the latest iOS lay the groundwork for third parties to come to the rescue, allowing companies like MobileIron that promise to deliver middleware that will allow enterprises to securely deliver to iPhones configuration profiles as well as software, plus be able to perform some management oversight on the devices.

      7/1 Update: My mentioned in the comments below, my colleague P. J. Connolly tried to import Apple’s fix into an existing corporate profile using ICU. Below is the result:

      7/2 Update: Response to the issue from Microsoft Exchange Team blog, confirming our findings about ICU and this policy. One note about hand editing the raw XML of a profile, you wouldn’t therefore be able to sign that with the ICU. You would still have an unsigned profile, just one that you created.

      Andrew Garcia
      Andrew cut his teeth as a systems administrator at the University of California, learning the ins and outs of server migration, Windows desktop management, Unix and Novell administration. After a tour of duty as a team leader for PC Magazine's Labs, Andrew turned to system integration - providing network, server, and desktop consulting services for small businesses throughout the Bay Area. With eWEEK Labs since 2003, Andrew concentrates on wireless networking technologies while moonlighting with Microsoft Windows, mobile devices and management, and unified communications. He produces product reviews, technology analysis and opinion pieces for eWEEK.com, eWEEK magazine, and the Labs' Release Notes blog. Follow Andrew on Twitter at andrewrgarcia, or reach him by email at agarcia@eweek.com.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×