Key Concepts and Functionalities
MXPP
Messenger XML Paging Protocol (MXPP) is a messaging protocol used in Spok Mobile. This functionality is used to relay all Spok Mobile-related data between the host system and the Spok Mobile Services component.
WCTP
Wireless Communications Transfer Protocol (WCTP) is a messaging/paging protocol used in Spok Mobile. The protocol is exposed via the WCTP service that runs in Spok Mobile Enterprise environments. This can be used to deliver messages through Spok Mobile using a device that has previously been registered. This feature requires that some external interface has already registered a username or phone number into the Spok Mobile system. Specific configurations of the product (Critical Test Results Management and Spok Mobile Select (Spok Mobile with a Pager Number)) use this functionality instead of using a full MXPP implementation.
Core2Core
Core2Core is a protocol that handles messaging (both queuing and notification) as well as registration. Core2Core DAEMON (part of the BackCoreConsole solution) runs on the Hosted component on port 2001. Each Enterprise connects to Hosted using this protocol. This protocol is very similar in nature to MXPP.
Enterprise Administration
Spoke Mobile Enterprise Administration is a web interface that is used with a particular site to manage devices and create device groups.
Hosted Administration
The Spok Mobile Hosted Administration is a web user interface that is used for managing the adding of customers, tenants, and sites to the Hosted component of the product. This interface also generates licenses for the Enterprise Administration component of the product.
Databases
The Spok Mobile product contains three databases:
- AmcomAmcPremiseCore contains messages, registrations added in earlier versions, and device settings.
- Meta contains registrations added in 4.0 and later, customer data, tenants, sites, license blocks, and features.
- Core is used mainly by the “Spheres” configuration of the product. This is also used by host systems that have projections. Contact information of viral users is stored here and is used to send client-initiated messages and replies.
Message Delivery
Local Message Delivery
When Local Message delivery is used, messages are downloaded from the onsite Spok Mobile server and never leave the local site. Please note that this delivery method requires inbound firewall rules from the internet to the local server, as well as outbound firewall rules from the local server to the internet.
Technicians deploy the Spok Mobile server at the customer site, and this server acts as the message download site. When a message is sent through Spok Mobile, the Spok Mobile client queues the message for download on this server. The Spok Mobile server then sends a “push” to the device by accessing a notification service on the Hosted component. This push method is required for client-initiated messaging to function.
Push Services
Both Apple and Android provide push services on their mobile platforms for use by applications. These push services provide a fast, reliable, and battery-efficient way to deliver information to the mobile device. Spok Mobile uses these push services to prompt the client application to download its messages over an encrypted communication channel from the Spok Mobile server, located at the customer premise or at the Spok Hosted location.
Spok Mobile Failover
Spok Mobile can trigger a failover if any of the following events occur:
- Spok Mobile Services stops or fails
- Amazon servers fail.
- IIS fails.
- TCP connection fails.
- MSSQL database fails.
- A Spok Mobile server is overloaded.
Load Balancing
Spok Mobile supports load-balanced configurations. For more information on how to set up a load-balanced configuration for Spok Mobile, please refer to the Implementing Spok Mobile 4.5 guides. Please note that DNS-based load-balanced configurations are not supported.