WM6 Newbie - Need Explanations on the Network management

Hello,
I'm a newbie to WM6. I've purchased a Samsung i780 in Europe (3G and
Wifi).

I would like some explanations to understand how the network
management is working vs. the connections.

For the moment it's a mess (both in my Smartphone and in my head):
- I'm using a 3G data package but must go through a proxy to get it
unlimited
- I'm using my ISP wifi connection (no proxy)
- I'm using my office connection but no luck VPN client is not
compatible with my company VPN server (Cisco)
- I'm using my ActiveSync connection but then it adds my company proxy
to my office network which is used at home to connect to my ISP
wifi ...

Any help will be appreciated,

Thanks,

Tom

Todd
Sun Mar 30 19:03:43 PDT 2008

At 27 Mar 2008 09:33:47 -0700 Tom wrote:
> Hello,
> I'm a newbie to WM6. I've purchased a Samsung i780 in Europe (3G and
> Wifi).
>
> I would like some explanations to understand how the network
> management is working vs. the connections.


Since no one else has jumped in, I'll give it a shot...


> For the moment it's a mess (both in my Smartphone and in my head):
> - I'm using a 3G data package but must go through a proxy to get it
> unlimited
> - I'm using my ISP wifi connection (no proxy)
> - I'm using my office connection but no luck VPN client is not
> compatible with my company VPN server (Cisco)
> - I'm using my ActiveSync connection but then it adds my company proxy
> to my office network which is used at home to connect to my ISP
> wifi ...
>
> Any help will be appreciated,


Ok, this probably makes more sense in my head than "on paper" but I'll give
it a shot...

Windows Mobile uses the "connections" applet ( Start/Settings/Connections
Tab/Connectons) to define how the system connects to the internet. In the
applet, if you go to "Advanced (Tab)" then "Select Networks" you'll see
two dialog boxes- one that says "Programs that connect to the internet..."
and "Programs that connect to a private network..."

Different programs in WinMo use one of the two boxes. Internet Explorer
Mobile, for example, uses the first box ("Internet") then falls back to the
second ("Private Network") if no "Internet" connection is available.

So, if you define a network with NO proxy and no dialup connections in it
(I use "My Work Network", some people create/define a new one) that
"network" will be WiFi only. Put that in the first box ("Internet.")

Now, find the network that has your mobile phone operator's 3G access
point. (Mine, using T-Mobile USA, is called "T-Mobile Data.") That will
(should) have the proxy settings defined in it. Set the second box
("Private Network") to show that "network."


Now, if you have WiFi active and connected to your home ISP, IE Mobile, and
Activesync (Outlook Exchange push e-mail) will use the WiFi. If WiFi is
unavailable, they both should fallback to your mobile data 3G connection.

Unfortunately, the guys at MS didn't make life as easy for the other
accounts in the messaging app. Each one has it's own connection "network"
method that can be set, and won't fall back to others. So you can define
any named "network" ("My Work Network", you mobile operator's data, etc.)
or the "Internet" (whatever is in the first box in the network settings) or
"Work" (the network defined in the "Private Networks" box which was
confusingly called the "Work Network" in older Windows Mobile versions.)
Since I'm not always connected to WiFi, and have an unlimited mobile data
plan, I just leave all of my IMAP e-mail accounts set to "Work" to use my
mobile operator data.


So, I've covered how to get the device to use your home ISP and mobile 3G
as seamlessly as possible, but not your office VPN, but it sounds like
there's a compatibility issue there anyway. If your 3G plan allows
(unlimited or a large enough "bucket") you might just use that at work, and
eschew the VPN entirely.

I hope that helps clear up what you were asking- if I missed the mark, I
apologize- give us more info and hopefully we can take another shot at it...

Tom
Mon Mar 31 06:10:47 PDT 2008

This is great information. I'll try to switch my office and internet
settings, see if this works better.

Do you know if there is a way to tell ActiveSync not to add my laptop
company proxy to the device office proxy when doing the sync via the
USB cable?

Anyhow I think this part of the OS is not very intuitive and easy to
use ...
The MS engineers should have a look to the iPhone and Symbian OS
phone(s) and check how they manage connections: is it better?

Thanks again,

Tom.

Werner
Mon Mar 31 07:29:56 PDT 2008

As far as Symbian is concerned, the separate-connection-for-each-app has
definite advantages and disadvantages. I, who know pretty much bother OS'es,
like both approaches. Symbian's approach is definitely more flexible (more
than one type of a connection at a time - a definite advantage whaen
accessing BlackBerry BIS and a traditional, high-speed connection at the
same time) and easier on the battery (the connection is ended as soon as you
exit the program, which can be a big advantage particularly if you use a 3G
connection), albeit can be a pain in the back for the user to allow for a
connection in every program that tries to access the Net - unlike in WM.

--
Werner "Menneisyys" Ruotsalainen - Microsoft MVP - Windows - Mobile Devices
Please see the Pocket PC Mag Expert Blog (including mine) at
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/blogs/ - you will definitely like it.


"Tom" <tomapi69@googlemail.com> wrote in message
news:bfce89ab-52ae-4af4-8201-b4d6a32b04d6@s8g2000prg.googlegroups.com...

> The MS engineers should have a look to the iPhone and Symbian OS
> phone(s) and check how they manage connections: is it better?
>

Todd
Mon Mar 31 08:44:55 PDT 2008

At 31 Mar 2008 06:10:47 -0700 Tom wrote:

> Do you know if there is a way to tell ActiveSync not to add my laptop
> company proxy to the device office proxy when doing the sync via the
> USB cable?


In the Activesync settings on the PC, try setting the internet passthrough
to "Internet" instead of "Work." (I'm not sure if this'll help but it's
worth a shot!)


> Anyhow I think this part of the OS is not very intuitive and easy to
> use ...


Agreed.

> The MS engineers should have a look to the iPhone and Symbian OS
> phone(s) and check how they manage connections: is it better?


I'm not sure, (my last Symbian phone didn't have WiFi) but to be fair, you
and I have complex setups due to the proxy. If your mobile phone carrier
had no proxy, you could just set everything to mobile data, and WiFi would
automatically take precedence when available, and fall back to your mobile
opeator when WiFi is unavailable.

The proxy is what upsets the proverbial apple cart- getting the device to
use it when on mobile data, but not when on WiFi. Admittedly the WinMo
model isn't intuitive, but it's certainly flexible! ;-)