.KEYWORD lansync
.FLYINGHEAD HANDHELD NETWORKING
.TITLE The keys to performing a Network HotSync
.FEATURE
.SUMMARY Palm supplies an excellent means of synchronizing your data over a network through a mechanism called Network HotSync, or LANSync. At first glance, making the whole thing work may appear to be a complex and daunting task. However, in this article Stephen Vance will walk you easily through the steps, from setting up the primary and secondary computers to configuring the Palm handheld itself.
.AUTHOR Stephen Vance
The minute I had both a Palm handheld and multiple computers on my SOHO network, I wanted to consolidate the PC side of my Palm OS data. Companies encounter the same situation when they want to provide infrastructure support for PDAs. Such support ranges from enabling HotSync operations from anywhere on the corporate LAN to centralized configuration and backup of handheld data.
You may feel that multiple copies of your HotSync data can give you a better sense of security through redundant backups. To some extent, you’re correct. However, it can also scatter your data to the four corners of the earth and vex your corporate security officers.
Palm recognized this situation and supplied a way to synchronize your data to a single machine from over a network. Palm introduced this mechanism with Palm Desktop 3.0 and called it Network HotSync (or sometimes LANSync) for reasons that will become apparent. By the way, you also need a Palm III or later, or an earlier model with the 2MB upgrade.
.H1 Setting up the primary computer
If your company has set up centralized support for performing HotSync operations with your Palm handheld, you can skip this section. If they simply support or condone your Palm handheld habit or you’re your own systems administrator, you need this information.
The first step, obvious though it may sound, is to set up a successful HotSync between your primary computer and your Palm handheld. You’ve probably already done this, but if you haven’t, now is the time. The other obvious step is to set up a working network between your computer and at least one other.
Once you have a successful HotSync in place, the next step is to prepare your primary computer to be the HotSync server. If HotSync Manager isn’t running, start it. Next, click on the HotSync Manager icon in the system tray and make sure the Network item is checked, as shown in Figure A.
.FIGPAIR A You must check the Network item on the HotSync menu.
Choosing it toggles the checked status. When you select Network, you may get a dialog telling you to do the next step.
Next, click on the HotSync Manager icon again and choose Setup from the menu. On the Network tab, check your user name as in Figure B. This tells the HotSync Manager that this is your primary computer.
.FIGPAIR B Checking my user name indicates that this is my Primary PC.
While you’re here, it can’t hurt to check your network settings by clicking on the TCP/IP Settings button, as in Figure C.
.FIGPAIR C The TCP/IP Settings dialog provides the network information for LANSync.
Assuming networking is set up, it should show you your computer’s name and IP address. You can optionally put in the subnet mask. You really only need it if your network has multiple subnets and you expect to try to HotSync across subnets. If all of this is Greek to you, leave it alone and only worry about it if you have problems, at which point you should ask your network administrators for assistance.
After performing these configurations, click on the OK buttons until you’re out of the dialog boxes. One OK will get you out of the TCP/IP Settings dialog if you were there. One more will get you out of the Setup dialog.
Whenever you want to HotSync remotely, be sure to leave your computer logged in. If you log out, HotSync Manager shuts off and can’t respond to the Network HotSync attempt. You can leave the screen saver on with password protection.
.H1 Setting up the secondary computer
You use the secondary computer to physically connect your handheld. Configuring the secondary computer is very simple. The first requirement is that HotSync Manager and a cradle or cable be installed. If the computer you want to use as secondary doesn’t have dedicated or compatible cradles, Palm’s HotSync cables serve well.
Unfortunately, the only response I’ve gotten trying to combine Network HotSync with Infrared HotSync is a fatal error. I find this unfortunate, as it could provide the ultimate in HotSync portability, although it’d be a little slow.
The software configuration closely resembles that of the primary computer. You need to ensure that the Network item is checked on the HotSync Manager menu, and you need to make sure that the user name on the Setup dialogs Network tab is not checked.
.H1 Configuring the handheld
The final piece of the puzzle is the configuration of the handheld. The entire configuration takes place within the HotSync application. Palm has done a good job of packing a large amount of functionality with significant flexibility into a very small package. The key lies with the Options menu.
First choose the Primary PC Setup item from the Options menu, and you’ll see the screen shown in Figure D.
.FIG D The Primary PC Setup dialog tells your Palm where to find its Primary PC.
This information is identical to that from the TCP/IP Settings dialog from the HotSync Manager. If you’ve performed a HotSync on the primary computer since you configured those settings, they should be exactly reflected here. If not, enter them here. Don’t worry if you have an IP address entered but your computer uses DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). As long as the computer name is entered, the HotSync Manager knows how to find your PC.
Next choose the LANSync Prefs item from the Options menu, revealing the dialog in Figure E.
.FIG E The LANSync Prefs dialog turns on Network HotSync.
Choose the LANSync button. The pictures provide a good guide to the meaning of the two options.
.H1 Performing a LANSync
Now you test your new configuration. Attach your handheld to the cradle or cable on the secondary computer and press the HotSync button on the cradle or handheld. If all goes well, the secondary computer will show a HotSync Progress dialog that says "Forwarding to <primary PC name>" as shown in Figure F.
.FIGPAIR F During a LANSync, the HotSync Progress dialog looks like this.
Normally you see "Synchronizing <some application>" as shown in Figure G.
.FIGPAIR G This is a normal HotSync Progress dialog.
.H1 Where do I put my software?
It all seems so simple. Okay, you had to configure hardware and software on two computers and your handheld, but it really wasn’t very difficult. As with any more sophisticated uses of technology, the under-the-hood view is more complicated and carries caveats with it.
The first question that may have occurred to you is, "Where do I install the desktop software for my favorite applications?" Applications like Documents To Go, AvantGo, Vindigo, the Adobe Acrobat Reader for PalmOS, TealPaint and MGI’s Photosuite Mobile Album all have desktop software that either sets files up for synchronization via standard methods or have their own custom conduits. The short answer here is that you install the desktop applications on your primary computer.
.CALLOUT As you would expect from a function authored by Palm, it behaved entirely as expected.
The applications listed above are some that either came with my Palm handheld or I have adopted as useful. Of the ones listed, I believe that TealPaint and Photosuite handle their HotSync needs through conversion to PDB files, allowing them to HotSync without the need for custom conduits. The others all have custom conduits.
AvantGo, Vindigo, and Acrobat Reader all performed as well over the Network HotSync as they did when directly connected. However, Documents To Go seemed to hang when checking whether the first document should be updated. I have contacted DataViz with a bug report. Unfortunately, the workaround is either to use the Custom menu to disable the Documents To Go conduit for each HotSync (which defeats the purpose of remotely synchronizing) or to disable it entirely and re-enable it when performing a local HotSync, which is awkward.
I also tested installing new applications. As you would expect from a function authored by Palm, it behaved entirely as expected. I even used it to install a system patch (not without some apprehension, I might add), and it correctly prompted to reset the handheld when the HotSync operation was finished. Installing data to the expansion card worked as well.
.H1 What goes away must come back
Another question you may ask is, "Do I have to switch my handheld back to LocalSync when I return to my primary computer?" Palm has properly handled this so that you don’t have to switch back. When you HotSync on your primary computer, it proceeds as normal. I ran into a problem in which the HotSync hangs with the message "Synchronizing psysLaunchDB" and then times out. I’ve been unable to reliably repeat the problem but have found that manually deleting the psysLaunchDB.PDB file from the <Palm Install Directory>\<User Directory>\Backup directory seems to solve the problem (although deleting a backup isn’t necessarily the best course of action).
.H1 Open questions
So what happens if you use a Handspring Visor and the rest of your co-workers use Palm handhelds? I’ve been unable to HotSync both a Palm and a Visor to the same HotSync Manager, either directly or over the network. I suspect this incompatibility extends to the other Palm OS licensees. If you know of a solution, I would love to hear it.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a Macintosh at my disposal right now. I was unable to test the configuration and operation to determine whether it’s the same on both platforms. I would also be interested in knowing whether you can HotSync from a Macintosh secondary to a Windows primary and vice versa.
.H1 Variations on a theme
Palm offers a number of variations on the recipe I’ve provided. They accommodate synchronizing over a WAN, through modem dial-up over a WAN, and through direct modem dial-up to the primary computer. For modem connections, you can specify on the Palm OS side the applications you want to synchronize.
I’ve also heard that the Xircom 802.11b Wireless Cradle offers the ability to HotSync directly to your primary computer over a wireless network. One of the promises of the Palm Bluetooth technology recently released to development is the ability to synchronize Palm OS data to other Bluetooth devices like your cell phone. With a Bluetooth access point, I would assume you could HotSync directly with your computer via Bluetooth, as well. I also understand that you can HotSync over your wireless connection with a Palm VII or Palm i705.
Regardless, ubiquitous network access, especially wireless, will only make Network HotSync and LANSync technology more relevant in our personal and professional lives.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on Network HotSync, visit http://www.palm.com/support/helpnotes/hotsync/networkhsinfo.html.
For more information on Adobe Acrobat Reader for Palm OS, visit http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/acrrmobiledevices.html.
For more information on AvantG0, visit http://www.avantgo.com.
For more information on Vindigo, visit http://www.vindigo.com.
For more information on Documents To Go, go to http://www.dataviz.com.
For more information on TealPaint, visit http://www.tealpoint.com.
For more information on MGI’s PhotoSuite Mobile Album, visit http://www.mgisoft.com/products/mobile/index.asp.
For more information on Palm handhelds, visit http://www.palm.com.
.H1 Easy, flexible article reprints
ZATZ now offers a quick, easy, flexible and inexpensive way to use article reprints in your marketing and promotion efforts. You can now get article reprints for a one-time fee of only $200. For details, visit http://mediakit.zatz.com/reprints.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO Stephen Vance is a Contributing Editor for PalmPower Magazine and PalmPower’s Enterprise Edition. His Web site is located at http://www.vance.com. He can be reached at steve@vance.com.
.DISCUSS http://powerboards.zatz.com/cgi-bin/webx?50@@.ee6fd77
