Push mail to iPhone/iPad (iOS 5b3) Confirmed Working

After much fiddle farting around and 15 clean installations and about 64 hours later, I can confirm that push mail DOES indeed work to the iPhone/iPad from Mac OS X Lion Server.

I still have configuration errors to resolve, but this is a down and dirty brief:

Clean install of Lion (Forget the fact Apple says it is an easy upgrade from SLS. You will shoot yourself...)

Install Server essentials and then download Server Admin Tools. (Or Server.app - depends on your preference)

Open Server.app - ensure that your hostname is correct.

Open ServerAdmin.

Set up DNS. (Note: Do yourself a favor and look at the Server.app help file and follow Apple's recommendation for related DNS entries, including all the SRV recommendations)

Ensure DNS is working properly.

Server.app Hardware, settings - turn it all on. Edit SSL first and make sure you have your self generated SSL cert selected.

Tick the enable push notifications option and hit edit.

Apply for / Download your push cert using the AppleID of the system (or yours if your don't have one for your server)

Restart

ServerAdmin - setup OD as master.

Open WGM - set up your user accounts and enable the basic services.

Configure Mail thru ServerAdmin (not Server.app)

Edit main.cf in postfix and remove the greylisting entry

I then went down the list starting with Address Book and enabled/configured the services and tested them out using client apps on another Mac. (Skip Profile Manager)

In the Web area, be prepared to beat your head against a wall.

Make sure you follow the various recommendations in other discussions - I had a few:

• NameVirtualHost *:80
• NameVirtualHost *:443

Must be in your httpd.conf file (Or the 00000.any.conf file suggestion if you prefer. The httpd.conf is centralized and much easier.)

In your web site setup area, Any, is the easiest setting versus a specific IP address (if you are only hosting one web server or have one IP this is the only way anyway)

Edit your indv site .conf files in /private/etc/apache2/sites

I use just the host name in DNS, such as example.com

in DNS make sure you have a correct Alias such as www.example.com

Edit your indvidual site file and under ServerName example.com make an entry on a new line: ServerAlias www.example.com

I moved my custom sites to /Library/WebServer/Documents by the way. (Strictly your preference here, but make sure your httpd.conf file states where your default directory is)

You can't change the server's default site in /Library/Server/Web/Data/Sites/Default

After all the services are configured/enabled configure/enable profile manager.

Sign the configuration profiles with your SSL cert

You can then open the Profile Manager and enable a few Profiles for you or whomever.

Just as in a few other posts, the https://server.example.com/mydevices is a blank page on iOS devices.

This is the workaround on an iPad:

On your device go to https//server.example.com

The server's main page will open (not your custom sites with any luck. If the custom sites open, start troubleshooting)

On the Server's page, click on the Profile Manager hyperlink on the bottom right of the page.

Then sign in when prompted

Then on the upper right of the page you should see Your Name with a menu arrow next to it.

Click your name/arrow

Down will pop a contextual menu.

Click Download Trust Profile

Install on your iOS device

Then navigate to your Name in the user pane (on left)

If you had previously set up your profile (on a desktop because that iPhone screen will make your eyes bleed) click Download under the profile Section.

Install on your device.

The usual trust this, enable this and that boxes will pop up. Just make sure you allow your server's SSL cert to be trusted.

After all this -

BOOM

Push mail works like a fkn champ!

I must say it's really **** fast. I have an Exchange account on my iPad as well and the mail from my Lion Server beats the Exchange mail account every time.

One caveat - I do have iOS 5b4 on my devices as a registered Apple Developer. And, the Team Profile is installed from apple. If these factors have any play in this - I don't know. Try it and report back. I am curious to see if this works on 4.3

It is 3:12 am and I tried to cover most of the steps in setting up push mail. I may have missed some due to my fatigue, but if I am more than willing to help anyone get their server setup. Just be kind and a) don't spam me and b) don't email me at o'dark thirty and expect a response. I am eastern standard time in Florida (USA).

iCal and Contacts work with push and are pretty **** fast as well.

To get around the blank mydevices page problem on an iPhone, you have to generate an Enrollment configuration profile and email it to your device (which is stupid because that means you have to have email on your device - which is why you are setting up mydevices to begin with)

First, however, you must download the Trust Profile and email it to the iphone. Install.

Then the enrollment profile

Install.

You should be in business after this. I still have a few bugs to work out, but at least I can confirm that the pushmail works. And well at that.

I will report more in the morning -

Good Luck

Scott