Action Retries settings for failed actions on devices (Exchange/Office 365)

Information about configuring Action Retries settings for actions that failed on devices against Exchange or Office 365.

The Cloud Extender® supports the following actions for retry:

Action	Description
Approve Device	Syncs email on the device.
Block Device	Blocks the device from syncing email on the device.
Remove Device	Removes the device from the mailbox.
Wipe Device	Issues a factory reset wipe on the device.
Change Policy	Changes the ActiveSync policy that is associated with the device.

Option	Description
Action Retries: Action Retry Enabled	Select this option to retry actions that previously failed on devices against Exchange or Office 365.
Action Retries: Retry duration	The maximum number of times the failed actions are retried before the action ultimately fails. Enter the number of hours (168 hours or 7 days) to retry the action. You can configure this setting during any server outage or maintenance window. By default, the retry action runs every 15 minutes. If the action succeeds, the Cloud Extender notifies the IBM® MaaS360® Portal about the successful attempt. If the action fails, the next retry occurs during the next iteration for the specified time limit. The Cloud Extender attempts a retry under the following conditions: Connection failures where the Cloud Extender cannot reach the server or cannot authenticate due to invalid credentials. Office 365 throttling lockouts PowerShell timeouts
Device deactivation settings: Waiting period before device deactivation	If a device is removed directly from the Exchange server, the Cloud Extender detects this removal. However, the device is not removed immediately from MaaS360. The Cloud Extender maintains the deleted devices in a cache on the Cloud Extender for 48 hours before the Cloud Extender signals the IBM MaaS360 Portal to remove the devices. The default setting is 48 hours. Depending on your environment, you can adjust this setting. This setting applies to all versions of Exchange, not just Office 365.

Option

Description

Action Retries: Action Retry Enabled

Select this option to retry actions that previously failed on devices against Exchange or Office 365.

Action Retries: Retry duration

The maximum number of times the failed actions are retried before the action ultimately fails. Enter the number of hours (168 hours or 7 days) to retry the action. You can configure this setting during any server outage or maintenance window.

By default, the retry action runs every 15 minutes. If the action succeeds, the Cloud Extender notifies the IBM® MaaS360® Portal about the successful attempt. If the action fails, the next retry occurs during the next iteration for the specified time limit.

The Cloud Extender attempts a retry under the following conditions:

Connection failures where the Cloud Extender cannot reach the server or cannot authenticate due to invalid credentials.
Office 365 throttling lockouts
PowerShell timeouts

Device deactivation settings: Waiting period before device deactivation

If a device is removed directly from the Exchange server, the Cloud Extender detects this removal. However, the device is not removed immediately from MaaS360.

The Cloud Extender maintains the deleted devices in a cache on the Cloud Extender for 48 hours before the Cloud Extender signals the IBM MaaS360 Portal to remove the devices.

The default setting is 48 hours. Depending on your environment, you can adjust this setting. This setting applies to all versions of Exchange, not just Office 365.

Action Retries settings available from the IBM MaaS360 Portal

The Action Retries framework is now available from the IBM MaaS360 Portal. If the IBM MaaS360 Portal is unable to successfully send an action to the Cloud Extender, the IBM MaaS360 Portal retries the action until the action is successful (up to a maximum of 3 days). The following actions are supported for retries from the IBM MaaS360 Portal:

Action	Description
Approve	Sends an approve action to Exchange that allows users to sync email. If your Exchange environment uses Auto-Quarantine (AQ) and rules to automatically approve enrolled and compliant devices, then this action is critical because the user needs access to email. The retry logic makes sure that the approve actions are always sent down to the Cloud Extenders.
Block	Sends a block action to Exchange to block users from syncing email. This action is sent if the device is out of compliance and compliance rules are configured to block the email sync. If the Cloud Extender is not reachable, the action is retried.
Remove	Sends an action to remove a device from the mailbox. This action is sent to clean up activity where a device is not reporting and needs to be cleaned up in time for accurate license reporting.