Planning your network topology

Where to place your IBM Traveler server in your network depends on the types of devices used and sync types. This section includes a list of possible scenarios and why one might be selected over another.

Windows Mobile, Nokia, and Android devices

The IBM Traveler client running on Microsoft Windows Mobile, Nokia, and Android devices uses a single communication channel for data syncing and push messages along with an optional SMS channel. The data sync channel uses HTTP or HTTPS to communicate with the server. This channel is always initiated from the mobile device. The channel should be secured either through a Virtual Private Network (VPN) or by using HTTPS so that all data sent is encrypted. The optional SMS channel is used to notify the mobile device of pending server changes. This short message is delivered to the device SMS mailbox and read by the IBM Traveler client. The IBM® Traveler client then carries out the command or begins a data sync.

Other devices

Apple, Windows Phone, Windows Tablet, and BlackBerry 10 devices use either HTTP or HTTPS communication channels to sync with the IBM Traveler server. These devices do not support the SMS push channel.

Connection types and ports

The following table provides a summary of the connection types used by the mobile devices and the ports they use by default. Only one data sync channel is used but the mobile devices can support either HTTP or HTTPS.

Table 1. Connection types and default port numbers
Used for	Connection type	Default port	Notes
Data syncing	HTTPS	443	This connection type is best for data syncing. The port uses a secure channel for data transfer between the device and the server.
Data syncing	HTTP	80	The port uses an unsecured channel for data transfer between the device and the server.

Note: TCP Port 8642 was previously used by Windows Mobile or Nokia IBM Traveler clients, version 8.5.1 or earlier. This port is not supported for IBM Traveler High Availability. Upgrade the IBM Traveler client code to the latest version to use it with the IBM Traveler server.

These topics describe different network topologies and give more specific information about why each might be used:

Server types and ports

The following table provides a summary of the connection types used by the IBM Traveler Server and the ports used by default.

Table 2. Server ports
Used for	Connection type	Default port	Notes®
Inter-process communication	TCP	50125	Port used for servlet to server task communication as well as server task to server task communication (HA pool). Secure socket (SSL) is used if configured.
Inter-process communication	TCP	50126	Port used for server task to servlet communication. Secure socket (SSL) is used if configured.
Database communication	TCP	50000 (DB2®) 1433 (MS SQL)	Database server port used for server task to database server jdbc communication. The port for the DB2 Database instance can vary based on the number of instances on the database server. Port 1433 for the SQL Server communication is standard.
Mail server communication	RPC/TCP	1352	Port used by the IBM Traveler server to communicate with each mail server.

Network interfaces

During initialization, the IBM Traveler server automatically scans the available network interfaces and uses the first active, non-loopback option. In most cases, this automatic selection will be adequate. If the server has multiple network interfaces, however, the wrong interface may be selected during initialization. If this happens, the notes.ini setting named NTS_HOST_IP_ADDR can be used to manually select the correct interface. See Notes.ini settings for more details about configuring the interface and port settings.