The Spok Notification Framework
Understanding the Spok Notification Framework
The Spok Notification Framework (SNF) provides two key benefits for Spok Mobile:
- It allows Android devices that do not support Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) to receive push notifications.
- It allows non-GCM Android devices without internet connections to receive message notifications. Note that Spok Mobile devices still need to be registered over the internet before being used at the site.
Requirements for the Spok Notification Framework
These items are required in order for the Spok Notification Framework to operate.
This table is not exhaustive and represents a high-level overview.
|
Component |
Description |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
|
Servers |
Spok Mobile Server 4.5.0 and Contact Center / Console at Care Connect version 1.9. |
Each should be fully redundant, so 2x inventory. |
|
Apps |
Spok Mobile for Android 4.5.1 or higher. |
The SNF does not work on iOS devices. |
|
Certificates |
Spok Mobile Server certificate installed in RabbitMQ application on the server. |
Installed as .PEM format. |
|
Ports |
TCP 8883 open on wireless networks. |
Delivers the SNF notification. |
|
Additional Software |
RabbitMQ, an MQTT message broker. |
RabbitMQ is installed during Spok Mobile deployment and runs as a service. |
Additional Behaviors of the Spok Notification Framework
- Non-GCM Android devices will automatically detect whether the Spok Notification Framework is configured at the customer site and connect to it.
- Customer sites that use the Spok Notification Framework can support both non-GCM and GCM Android devices. At customer sites with both GCM and non-GCM Android device users, the GCM-capable devices will use GCM and the non-GCM devices will use the Spok Notification Framework.
- When a site activates or deactivates the Spok Notification Framework, the non-GCM devices will automatically update to use or not use the service.