Hello Everyone
First off, I'm not sure if what I am attempting to do is even possible. I am going to try to be very specific so you all know exactly what I am trying to do.
The Setup:
Our company uses a custom ERP application for primary business applications. For field use, users have Intermac 730s and Symbol MC9090s handheld devices which sync into our primary database using a separate custom sync application. This program was developed with .NET 2.0 and uses ActiveSync4.5 to communicate with the handhelds which are connected through USB. This sync application requires a direct connection to our SQL server. For current operations in the field, users must make use of a VPN for the sync application to work. We recently have deployed a Citrix XenApp5 framework to our infrastructure. The primary components of the farm are running on Windows Server 2008 SP2.
What I'm Trying to Do:
I would like to be able to use this sync application through XenApp to remove the need for a standard VPN. I would like to find a way to make this sync application running on XenApp to see the locally attached USB device on the client machine. I have noticed there is a virtual COM port mapping feature in XenApp that can be enabled via policy which can be used for "USB tethered PDA devices"?
Complications:
This sync application runs fine on XenApp as a published application, however, I have found out that ActiveSync4.5 does not run on Server 2008. This sync application requires integration with ActiveSync to interact with the USB handheld device.
Additional Questions:
I noticed Microsoft has changed ActiveSync to Windows Mobile Device Center in Windows Vista so I am assuming that is what I would need for Windows Server 2008? Or does this not need to be on the server at all and only the client?
How does COM port emulation actually work? Do I need a special driver for each handheld device? And what kind of settings do I need to configure on the client to make this work?
Any input/suggestions on this issue would be greatly appreciated!
