BlackBerry System Messages Test

The BlackBerry Messaging Agent is a BlackBerry Enterprise Server component that connects to your organization's messaging server to provide messaging services, calendar management, contact lookups, attachment viewing, and attachment downloading. The BlackBerry Messaging Agent also generates device transport keys and acts as a gateway for the BlackBerry Synchronization Service to access organizer data on the messaging server.

A good indicator of the health of the messaging agent is its ability to process and deliver all messages it receives to user handhelds promptly. If too many messages remain undelivered, then, you may want to investigate the reasons for the same and plug the holes quickly, so that the messages are delivered to the device without delay. With the help of this test, you can not only determine the message load on the messaging agent at any given point in time, but can also assess how well the messaging agent handles this load.

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 BlackBerry Messaging Agent 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

Pending messages

Indicates the number of messages that have been recognized for delivery to the BlackBerry handheld devices from the BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

Number

When the BlackBerry Enterprise Server is unable to deliver a message to a BlackBerry handheld device, the pending count on the BlackBerry Enterprise Server for that BlackBerry handheld device user will increase by one.

Messages cannot be delivered to the BlackBerry handheld device if it is outside an area of wireless network coverage or is turned off. Once the BlackBerry handheld device is turned on, or returns to an area with wireless network coverage, the pending messages will be delivered. The pending count on the server will then decrease on the BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

Sent messages

Indicates the number of messages that were sent from the BlackBerry Enterprise Server to the BlackBerry handheld device during the last measurement period.

Number

 

Received messages

Indicates the number of messages that were received from the BlackBerry handheld device by the BlackBerry Enterprise Server during the last measurement period.

Number

 

Expired messages

Indicates the number of messages that were not delivered to the BlackBerry handheld device and are subsequently purged by the Blackberry Enterprise Server during the last measurement period.

Number

Ten minutes after the connection between the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and the BlackBerry Infrastructure closes, the BlackBerry Infrastructure notifies the sender’s BlackBerry handheld device and deletes the message that is not delivered.

The wireless network can queue up to 5 undelivered messages for up to 7 days. If more than 5 undelivered messages exist in the queue, the BlackBerry Enterprise Server stores the messages in the BlackBerry Configuration Database.

The BlackBerry Infrastructure does not store data to send to BlackBerry devices.

If the BlackBerry Infrastructure is not responding and the connection closes unexpectedly, the wireless network deletes the undelivered messages. The BlackBerry device does not receive the messages and it does not send acknowledgment packets to the BlackBerry Enterprise Server. When the BlackBerry Infrastructure becomes available again, the BlackBerry Enterprise Server resends messages that it did not receive acknowledgment packets for.

Filtered messages

Indicates the number of messages that have been received by the BlackBerry Enterprise Server but not delivered to the BlackBerry handheld device during the last measurement period.

Number

These type of messages occur when you have set certain specification for messages that needs to be delivered to your BlackBerry device. Once you choose to set a filter, the messages will not be delivered to your BlackBerry device.

Used licenses

Indicates the number of users who possess valid licenses to access this BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

Number