How Does Push E-Mail Work?
When utilizing a service like push e-mail I think it’s nice to have some level of understanding of what’s going on behind the scenes. Sadly, a lot of people who use it every day don’t really understand how push e-mail (via Exchange ActiveSync) works. I remember attending 3GSM about two years ago and trying to explain to people what RoadSync is and how it works. The idea of having your e-mail ‘pushed’ to your phone without the use of a middleware server or a desktop redirector was a bit foreign back then. People are much more accepting of the idea of Exchange ActiveSync now (thanks, Microsoft!) but there are still plenty who don’t get it.
Microsoft MVP Clinton Fitch wrote a post recently about how Exchange ActiveSync push e-mail works. This type of post has been written before; the difference is Clinton doesn’t get overly technical and still manages to get the idea across quite well. His article, How Microsoft “Push” Mail Really Works, gives a great, top level overview of how ActiveSync connects to your phone and ‘pushes’ e-mail and other PIM data to it. I definitely recommend taking a look at this if you use push e-mail; it might help you use it more efficiently or troubleshoot if something goes awry (or, at the very least, it’ll make you sound smart around your friends and coworkers).