Connection Manager Application Development
4/8/2010
Connection Manager, which you can implement by using the Connection Manager API, centralizes and automates the establishment and management of network connections for applications that connect to the Internet or to the corporate network using a Windows Mobile device. Device applications use Connection Manager to establish or schedule a network connection, and Connection Manager handles the details of the connection. An application simply informs Connection Manager of the network type to use for the connection (the Internet, for example).
When one or more applications request a connection, Connection Manager establishes the connection using the optimal connection type and notifies all the applications that the connection is active.
Note
Connection options and properties are typically preconfigured by the mobile operator or by the corporate Information Technology (IT) department.
Connection Manager tracks which connections are in use or are requested by applications. It closes unused connections, automatically disconnects connections when they are idle for a specified period of time, and closes low-priority connections to open high-priority connections. For example, voice connections are typically given a higher priority than data connections.
Connection Manager can also provide automatic connections for an application. After an automatic connection has been established, an icon in the shell user interface (UI) of a Windows Mobile device indicates to the user that the device is using a data connection.
When connection errors occur, the error is reported back to the shell for display to the user. If multiple errors occur during a connection attempt — for example, if several different RAS numbers are tried and different errors occur for each one — only the most recent error is shown to the user.
Typically the mobile operator or corporate Information Technology (IT) department preconfigures the available connection options and their properties. If the information is preconfigured, users do not need to enter or understand any of this information.
Connection Manager exposes an application programming interface (API) that enables you to integrate the Connection Manager functionality into a Windows Mobile application.
Connection Manager supports multiple Access Point Names (APN). To support the use of multiple APNs simultaneously, you need to use a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) server that is running on the device to handle multiple connections at the same time.
In This Section
- Connection Manager Architecture
Discusses the high-level architecture of Connection Manager.
- Making a Voice Call Using Connection Manager
Describes the process of making a voice call.
- Making a Data Call Using Connection Manager
Describes the process of making a data call.
- Using Connection Manager URL Mapping
Lists the functions that support URL mapping and illustrates the URL mapping tables.
- Making an AlwaysOn Data Connection
Describes the situations when an AlwaysOn connection is attempted or established, and the recovery attempts taken if connection fails.
- Making a WakeOnIncoming Data Connection
Direct push technology requires a data connection specifically provisioned to wake the device when new messages arrive. This topic describes the method of establishing data connections using the WakeOnIncoming flag, which is used to support direct push
- Making Suspend and Resume Connections During Voice Calls
Describes the structures and registry settings used when implementing suspend and resume connections.
- Configuring an Application to Use a Specific Network
Describes how to bypass the Connection Planner if necessary.
- Connecting to a Corporate Network or the Internet
Describes the supported network connection scenarios.
- Querying Network Settings
Describes how to query network settings for any type of connection.
- Establishing a Priority-based Connection
Describes the supported priority-based connection establishment scenarios.
- Establishing a WWAN-based GPRS Connection
Describes the data flow that occurs when the connection is establshed.
- Multiple APN Support
Provides general Multiple APN (mAPN) Concepts, information about configuring and enabling mAPN support in a Windows Mobile Device.