BlackBerry Mds Test

The BlackBerry MDS receives push requests from applications; these requests typically contain the data to be delivered. The MDS then pushes the data to the BlackBerry devices. Using this test, you can monitor the data received by the MDS (from applications) and the connections established by the MDS with BlackBerry devices for transmitting data to them. With the help of the metrics reported by this test, you can ascertain the following:

  • Whether any data packets were refused or declared invalid by the MDS;
  • Whether any connectivity issues exist between the MDS and the devices; if so, you can also figure out whether it is owing to failed SRP (Server Routing Protocol) connections

Target of the test : A BlackBerry Enterprise Server

Agent deploying the test : An internal/remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for the BES being monitored.

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameter Description

Test Period

How often should the test be executed

Host

The IP address of the host for which this test is to be configured.

SNMPPort

The port at which the monitored target exposes its SNMP MIB; The default value is 161.

SNMPVersion

By default, the eG agent supports SNMP version 1. Accordingly, the default selection in the SNMPversion list is v1. However, if a different SNMP framework is in use in your environment, say SNMP v2 or v3, then select the corresponding option from this list.

SNMPCommunity

The SNMP community name that the test uses to communicate with the firewall. This parameter is specific to SNMP v1 and v2 only. Therefore, if the SNMPVersion chosen is v3, then this parameter will not appear.

Username

This parameter appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPversion. SNMP version 3 (SNMPv3) is an extensible SNMP Framework which supplements the SNMPv2 Framework, by additionally supporting message security, access control, and remote SNMP configuration capabilities. To extract performance statistics from the MIB using the highly secure SNMP v3 protocol, the eG agent has to be configured with the required access privileges – in other words, the eG agent should connect to the MIB using the credentials of a user with access permissions to be MIB. Therefore, specify the name of such a user against this parameter. 

Context

This parameter appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPVersion. An SNMP context is a collection of management information accessible by an SNMP entity. An item of management information may exist in more than one context and an SNMP entity potentially has access to many contexts. A context is identified by the SNMPEngineID value of the entity hosting the management information (also called a contextEngineID) and a context name that identifies the specific context (also called a contextName). If the Username provided is associated with a context name, then the eG agent will be able to poll the MIB and collect metrics only if it is configured with the context name as well. In such cases therefore, specify the context name of the Username in the Context text box.  By default, this parameter is set to none.

AuthPass

Specify the password that corresponds to the above-mentioned Username. This parameter once again appears only if the SNMPversion selected is v3.

Confirm Password

Confirm the AuthPass by retyping it here.

AuthType

This parameter too appears only if v3 is selected as the SNMPversion. From the AuthType list box, choose the authentication algorithm using which SNMP v3 converts the specified username and password into a 32-bit format to ensure security of SNMP transactions. You can choose between the following options:

  • MD5 - Message Digest Algorithm
  • SHA - Secure Hash Algorithm
  • SHA224 - Secure Hash Algorithm 224 bit
  • SHA256 - Secure Hash Algorithm 256 bit
  • SHA384 - Secure Hash Algorithm 384 bit
  • SHA512 - Secure Hash Algorithm 512 bit

EncryptFlag

This flag appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPversion. By default, the eG agent does not encrypt SNMP requests. Accordingly, the this flag is set to No by default. To ensure that SNMP requests sent by the eG agent are encrypted, select the Yes option. 

EncryptType

If the EncryptFlag is set to Yes, then you will have to mention the encryption type by selecting an option from the EncryptType list. SNMP v3 supports the following encryption types:

  • DES - Data Encryption Standard
  • 3DES - Triple Data Encryption Standard
  • AES - Advanced Encryption Standard
  • AES128 - Advanced Encryption Standard 128 bit
  • AES192 - Advanced Encryption Standard 192 bit
  • AES256 - Advanced Encryption Standard 256 bit

EncryptPassword

Specify the encryption password here.

Confirm Password

Confirm the encryption password by retyping it here.

Timeout

Specify the duration (in seconds) within which the SNMP query executed by this test should time out in this text box. The default is 10 seconds.

Data Over TCP

By default, in an IT environment, all data transmission occurs over UDP. Some environments however, may be specifically configured to offload a fraction of the data traffic – for instance, certain types of data traffic or traffic pertaining to specific components – to other protocols like TCP, so as to prevent UDP overloads. In such environments, you can instruct the eG agent to conduct the SNMP data traffic related to the monitored target over TCP (and not UDP). For this, set this flag to Yes. By default, this flag is set to No.

EngineID

This parameter appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPVersion. Sometimes, the test may not report metrics when AES192 or AES256 is chosen as the Encryption type. To ensure that the test report metrics consistently, administrators need to set this flag to Yes. By default, this parameter is set to No.

Measurements made by the test
Measurement Description Measurement Unit Interpretation

Refused packets

Indicates the number of data packets that were refused by the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service during the last measurement period.

Number

The BlackBerry MDS may reject a data packet if it does not recognize the format of a data packet or does not recognize the device transport key that protects the data packet.

 

Invalid packets

Indicates the total number of invalid data packets that were received by this BlackBerry MDS Connection service during the last measurement period.

Number

One of the reasons why a push request may have been declared invalid by the MDS is if the request contains a reliability specification, but does not include a notification URL.

In your push request, you can specify that you want the BlackBerry device to return a result notification when the pushed data is successfully delivered. The BlackBerry MDS Connection Service receives notifications from each destination BlackBerry device that successfully receives the pushed data and forwards those notifications to the push originator. Similarly, the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service sends a notification to the push originator if a push request is not successfully delivered to one or more destination BlackBerry devices within the allotted time. If you do not specify a reliability level for your push method, the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service does not provide the push originator with any notification regarding the outcome of the push request. You must also specify a notification URL to which the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service will send result notifications, with every push request that specifies a reliability option. A push request that requests some level of reliability but does not provide a notification URL is considered invalid and is rejected by the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service.

Truncated connections

Indicates the number of truncated connections that were encountered by the BlackBerry MDS Connection service during the last measurement period.

Number

Ideally, the value of this measure should be low.

Invalid connections

Indicates the number of invalid connections encountered by this Blackberry MDS Connection Service during the last measurement period.

Number

 

Successful SRP connections

Indicates the number of successful SRP connections to the BlackBerry Infrastructure.

Number

The BlackBerry Dispatcher handles traffic to the BlackBerry Infrastructure. It compresses/decompresses and encrypts/decrypts wireless data. The BlackBerry Dispatcher handles all Server Routing Protocol (SRP) connections from the BlackBerry MDS Connection Service and many other components of the BlackBerry Infrastructure. The MDS Connection Service (on the BlackBerry Enterprise Server) connects to the BlackBerry Dispatcher through specific ports and communicates with the BlackBerry Infrastructure through the BlackBerry Router using a unique SRP identifier that the BlackBerry Dispatcher establishes.

Once the SRP identifier is established, the BlackBerry MDS sends a basic information packet to the BlackBerry Infrastructure via the BlackBerry Router; this packet includes version information, the SRP identifier established by the BlackBerry dispatcher, and other information that is required to open an SRP connection. If the packets so received are valid, then the BlackBerry infrastructure will send basic information packets to the BlackBerry MDS, therey successfully opening the SRP connection.

On the other hand, if the BlackBerry Infrastructure receives unrecognized packets from the BlackBerry MDS, then the SRP is connection is closed.  Also, if a BlackBerry MDS uses the same SRP authentication key and SRP identifier to connect to (and then disconnect from) the BlackBerry Infrastructure 5 times in 1 minute, the BlackBerry Infrastructure deactivates the SRP identifier to help prevent a potentially malicious user from using the SRP identifier to create conditions for a DoS attack.

Failed SRP connections

Indicates the number of failed SRP connections to the BlackBerry Infrastructure.

Number