The Google Apps Connector for BES is a free application that enables you to integrate a BES server with the Premier or Education Google Apps services, enabling push-based bi-directional synchronisation of Email, Contacts and Calendar data between your Google mailbox and a BlackBerry smartphone.

NOTE this article was written using version 2 of the Google Apps Connector. For information on version 3 of the Apps Connector read this article - http://blog.brightpointuk.co.uk/installing-google-apps-connector-blackbe...

Features

• Push email delivery
• Read / delete synchronisation
• Folder / label synchronisation
• Global Address lookup
• Calendar synchronisation
• Contacts synchronisation
• Hosting support - support multiple Google Apps domains on a single BES

Requirements

Currently only BES 4.1.6 Maintenance Release 8 or later (NOT BES 5) or BlackBerry Professional Software (BPS) 4.1 SP4B (NOT BES Express) are supported.

The BES software itself requires Server 2003 to run on (either 32 or 64 bit).

Outlook 2007 needs to be installed onto the BES server as well as the Microsoft Exchange MAPI CDO component package.

Approximately 500MB of disk space should be available on the server per BlackBerry user account.

More information can be found on the Google web site - http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=154346

It is important to note that Google already offer a number of ways of accessing the data stored in your Google account from your BlackBerry handheld, so deploying a BES to access your account from a BlackBerry handheld may not be necessary depending on your requirements.
If you are a BIS BlackBerry user (the BlackBerry Internet Service), then it is already possible to add your GMail account to your existing BIS profile as an additional IMAP email account, and the Google Sync for BlackBerry application enables the synchronisation of contacts and calendar information over the air.
BES users can also use the Google Sync application for contacts and calendar synchronisation - which provides 2-way synchronisation rather than the 1-way synchronisation offered by the BES Connector.
BES users can also configure GMail access on handhelds by installing the Gmail for Mobile application onto the device, which provides a separate email client rather than the default BlackBerry Inbox. The Gmail for Mobile client provides additional functionality over the default Inbox application, such as the ability to view mail by label and by conversation, the ability to archive mail and the ability to access mail older than 30 days.
The BES (and BES Connector) would be suitable if you require a central device management capability, wish to use the native BlackBerry device client software and require push-based email synchronisation. The BES Connector could be used to provide email synchronisation functionality, and the Google Sync application could be used concurrently to provide bi-directional synchronisation of contacts and calendar information. NOTE - if you choose to use this deployment scenario then contact and calendar sync should be DISABLED on the BES Connector otherwise you may end up with duplicate information.

Architecture

The Google Apps Connector works by storing a copy of the user's Google mailbox locally on the BES server in a PST file, or Personal STore file - the same format used by Outlook Archive files. By default, the last 1000 emails are downloaded per user as well as all contacts and calendar information. The Google documentation therefore advises to allow 500MB of disk space per user on the BES. This behaviour is deliberate and has been written this way to ensure that users handheld still 'believe' they are synchronising successfully in the event that the connector between the BES and the Google Apps service fails.
This architecture therefore requires that a number of additional applications be installed on the BES, before the Google Connector software is installed, including:

• Microsoft Outlook 2007
• Microsoft Exchange Server MAPI and Collaboration Data Objects 1.2.1

Depending on the number of users you will be deploying on the BES, you may require a separate database server. By default, the BES installation will install a copy of MSDE locally, the Microsoft SQL Desktop Engine. This is sufficient for up to approximately 500 users, for larger deployments a separate SQL Server 2000 or 2005 installation should be considered.

Unlike the typical BES deployment, where the mail server is stored locally and the BES only requires outbound Internet access on port 3101 (to access RIM's network infrastructure), the BES also requires outbound access to Google's servers on port 443.

Installation

As with a normal BES installation, you must create a user account in the Google Domain to act as a service account. This should not be an administrator account, just a regular user.

Install the Exchange MAPI CDO 1.2.1 package

On the server that is to host the BES software, log in with an administrative account. NOTE - unlike a BES for Exchange installation, the server does not necessarily need to be part of a domain.
Install the MAPI CDO package, this is available for download HERE

Install BlackBerry Enterprise Server 4.1.6

Launch the BES installer:

Select your region and read the license agreement. Select the option to accept if you agree to the terms and conditions. Click Next:

Select the option to install the BlackBerry Enterprise Server. Select None for the Collaboration service option. Click Next:

Accept the license agreement for the Apache license agreement. Click Next:

Verify that no errors are listed in the preinstallation checklist. Click Next:

Enter in the password for the administrative account. Click Next:

Depending on whether or not you are using a separate SQL database server, select the appropriate option. In this example I am allowing the wizard to install a local copy of SQL automatically. Click Next:

Verify your installation selections and click Next. The required program files will now be copied to the PC. Once complete you will be prompted to restart the server.

Once restarted, the installer will resume automatically:

Verify the database server details - if using a local SQL installation these fields will be completed already. Click Next:

Enter in your BES Client Access License (CAL). Click Next:

Verify that the BES server has outbound access to the Internet on TCP port 3101. Click Next:

Enter your SRP ID and authentication key. Click Next:

You will be prompted to enter in the details of the Exchange server (as this is a BES for Exchange installation wizard), ignore this step by simply entering in NA in the Exchange server field. Click OK:

Click Next:

Click Next again:

Click Next:

If your BES requires a proxy server to access the Internet, enter in the required settings and click Next:

Select the option to Start Services and click Next. Verify that all services start successfully and click Finish when complete.

Now update the BES installation to the latest Maintenance Release.

Install Outlook 2007

Now install Microsoft Outlook 2007, including any available updates.

Configure the Google Domain

Before you can install the Google Apps Connector, there are a number of settings that need to be applied to the Google domain within the web administration dashboard.

• Enable the OAuth Consumer Key
• Generate an OAuth Consumer Secret
• Enable Two-Legged OAuth access control

Enable the Provisioning API within the Users & Groups settings (required for GAL generation):

Finally enable the Google Apps Sync in the email settings:

Install the Google Apps Connector for BES

The Google Apps Connector for BES is a free download from the Google web site, available here - https://tools.google.com/dlpage/appsconnector

Before installing the Connector, stop the BlackBerry Controller and BlackBerry Dispatcher services on the BES server. To do this, click on Start and select Run. Type in "services.msc" and press Enter. Right click on the BlackBerry Controller and BlackBerry Dispatcher services and select Stop.

Run the Apps Connector Installer:

Select the option to define File Locations:

Adjust the locations as desired, PST files stored in the Cache may wish to be stored on a D drive rather than the C drive. Click Save:

You will be prompted to confirm the changes, click Yes:

Click OK. Click on the Profiles button:

Enter in the email address of the service account you created earlier, as well as the domain name and the OAuth Consumer Secret generated earlier in the Google Domain admin dashboard. Click Create:

You will be prompted to confirm the settings, click Yes.

Click OK.

Configure the Global Address List

On the BES server, browse to "C:\Program Files \ Google \ Google Apps Sync"
Run the file StaticGALGenerator.exe

Enter in the email address and password of an administrative account in the Google domain. Click Sign In.
An XML-based address list wil be generated automatically in the same directory, in a folder called whatever your Google domain is called.
Copy these files to whatever location you specified earlier in the File Locations settings, by default this will be "C:\Program Files \ Google \ Google Apps Sync \ GAL". Create the directory if it is not present.

Add users to the BES

Restart the BlackBerry Controller and BlackBerry Dispatcher services.
launch the BlackBerry Manager application.
Select the option to add a user. If all has gone well, you should be displayed a list of your Google Domain users:

Add the required user(s). You can now use the BlackBerry Enterprise Activation feature to provision user BlackBerry smartphones over the air.
Right click on the user account and select the option to either "Generate and Email activation password" or "Set activation password".
You can now specify a password to use, or have a randomly-generated password emailed to the user automatically.
The user can then browse to Options --> Advanced Options --> Enterprise Activation on their device, enter in their full email address as well as the activation password. After a few moments the device will be activated and mailbox data will begin to synchronise.