4.5 Managing Mobile Devices

4.5.1 Adding and Configuring the Android App in MobileIron

To add the Android Messenger app to MobileIron, you need to upload the .apk file and then apply the Android label to the application. Once that is done, you need to add an AppConnect Container Policy and An AppConnect Configuration.

  1. Download the .apk file for the Messenger mobile app from the Novell downloads site.

  2. Upload the file to MobileIron:

    1. In the MobileIron Admin Portal, click the Apps tab.

    2. On the App Distribution Library tab, in the Select Platform drop-down list, select Android.

    3. Click Add App.

    4. Follow the steps in the wizard to upload the app. Note the following:

      • Distribution Type is In-house App

      • Silent Install is not supported

      • App Name, Display Version, and Code Version cannot be changed.

  3. Apply the Android label to your app:

    1. From the App Distribution Library tab on the Apps tab, select the Messenger App that you just created, then click Actions > Apply To Label.

    2. Select Android.

  4. Create the AppConnect Container Policy:

    1. In the MobileIron Admin Portal, click the Policies & Configs tab.

    2. On the Configurations tab, select Add New > AppConnect > Container Policy.

    3. Specify a Name and enter the Package Name for the Application. Fill in the rest of the information as desired.

  5. Create the AppConnect Configuration:

    1. In the MobileIron Admin Portal, click the Policies & Configs tab.

    2. On the Configuration tab, select Add New > AppConnect > Configuration.

    3. Specify a Name and enter the Package Name for the Application. Fill in the rest of the information as desired.

      In the App-specific Configurations table, you can specify the following as Key-Value Pairs:

      • server: Specify the URL of your Messenger site. For example, messenger.acme.com.

      • port: Specify the port for your Messenger site.

      • username: Specify $USERID$ to cause MobileIron to automatically populate the app with the user’s MobileIron user ID.

      • password: Specify $PASSWORD$ to cause MobileIron to automatically populate the app with the user’s MobileIron password.

4.5.2 Adding and Configure the iOS App in MobileIron

To add the iOS Messenger app to MobileIron, you need to import the app from the Apple Appstore and then apply the iOS label to the application. Once that is done, you need to add an AppConnect Container Policy and An AppConnect Configuration.

  1. Import the app from the Apple Appstore.

    1. In the MobileIron Admin Portal, click the Apps tab.

    2. On the App Distribution Library tab, in the Select Platform drop-down list, select iOS.

    3. Click App Store Import.

    4. In the App Store Search dialog box, enter Novell Messenger, select the correct country for the App Store, and click Search.

    5. Click Import next to the Novell Messenger app, then click OK.

  2. Apply the iOS label to your application:

    1. From the App Distribution Library tab on the Apps tab, select the Novell Messenger app that you just created, then click Actions > Apply To Label.

    2. Select iOS.

    Once this is done, click the Edit icon next to Novell Messenger and note the iTunes Store Id or the Bundle Identifier.

  3. Create the AppConnect Container Policy:

    1. In the MobileIron Admin Portal, click the Policies & Configs tab.

    2. On the Configurations tab, select Add New > AppConnect > Container Policy.

    3. Specify a Name and enter the iTunes Store ID or the Bundle Identifier for the Application. Fill in the rest of the information as desired.

  4. Create the AppConnect Configuration:

    1. In the MobileIron Admin Portal, click the Policies & Configs tab.

    2. On the Configuration tab, select Add New > AppConnect > Configuration.

    3. Specify a Name and enter the iTunes Store ID or the Bundle Identifier for the Application. Fill in the rest of the information as desired.

      In the App-specific Configurations table, you can specify the following as Key-Value Pairs:

      • server: Specify the URL of your Messenger site. For example, messenger.acme.com.

      • port: Specify the port for your Messenger site.

      • username: Specify $USERID$ to cause MobileIron to automatically populate the app with the user’s MobileIron user ID.

4.5.3 Distributing the Messenger App to Devices

You need to distribute the Messenger app to devices in your organization via MobileIron if this is the first time your organization is using MobileIron with Messenger, or any time a new device enters the organization.

It is possible that some users independently download the Messenger app from the app store before their device is managed by MobileIron. In this case, you still need to push the app to their device via MobileIron. These devices will loose any history within the Messenger app after their device becomes managed and the Messenger app is pushed to their device.