[goosey]

Hello All,

I'm looking into an issue with a customer who has BES 4.15 and about 100 blackberry devices.

They want all devices to be upgraded automatically or in a similar was to how WSUS works, ie patch management.

I can't seem to find out if this is possible on BES4.15 or on any newer versions.

I can see how to manually check and apply an update to a device however this is not practical when there are a number of devices,

I have a feeling this is fully possible and that I'm just overlooking something.

Can someone shed some light on this for me please?

Regards
Goose

[penguin3107]

It's not possible to do what you want to do. You're not overlooking anything.

Upgrading the OS on a BlackBerry device will require some type of user intervention by the end-user and/or the BES admin.
It can't be fully automated.

What model(s) are the devices, and what OS are they currently running?

Some models support OTA updates, but most will require USB cable and a connection to Desktop Manager or Web Desktop Manager.

[goosey]

Oh, that's a bit disappointing. Thanks for the speedy reply though.

Let me put it this way then, my customer is in an enterprise environment where it's required to have the latest patches on mobile devices, what would be the best way to achieve this?

[goosey]

I'll have to double check what devices and OS versions they are running and I'll post back tomorrow.

[penguin3107]

Originally Posted by goosey

Oh, that's a bit disappointing. Thanks for the speedy reply though.

Let me put it this way then, my customer is in an enterprise environment where it's required to have the latest patches on mobile devices, what would be the best way to achieve this?

It depends on what model devices you have, and how your environment is configured.
There's no right/wrong/best way to address this.

[skyman84]

With the version of BES you have it's not possible, but it is with newer versions.

Requires OS 4.5 and above and can all be done OTA without user needing to do anything.

[penguin3107]

Originally Posted by skyman84

With the version of BES you have it's not possible, but it is with newer versions.

Requires OS 4.5 and above and can all be done OTA without user needing to do anything.

Not true at all.
For starters... OTASL is not available for every carrier, every device, and every OS version.
In fact, OTASL is still quite limited in its availability.

Taking a step further, even if OTASL is an option for a particular carrier and device, there is still end-user intervention required.
The BES admin can request the upgrade, but has no ability to force it on the device.
The end user still needs to accept the upgrade and initiate it on their own schedule.

[skyman84]

Please check out the Wireless Software Upgrade guide from RIM http://docs.blackberry.com/en/admin/...tion_Guide.pdf telling you how to process Wireless Software Upgrades.

I'll be cheeky and even point you to section 3, which tells you that you can assign an update with the severity level or manditory, which means 72 hours after it's applied to the device config, it automatically installs.

[penguin3107]

Originally Posted by skyman84

you can assign an update with the severity level or manditory, which means 72 hours after it's applied to the device config, it automatically installs.

Just out of sheer curiosity... have you gotten this to work?

[skyman84]

Originally Posted by penguin3107

Just out of sheer curiosity... have you gotten this to work?

I have! But then again I'm on Vodafone UK and they support it!!