[SOLVED] Installing BES: Is Active Directory required?

[dpmchris]

I already had one failed install (I am actually trying to install BPS on a Windows 2003 Server VM).

I am following the BPS documentation very closely this time and see these instructions: "You create and configure a Microsoft® Windows® account and mailbox in the Microsoft® Active Directory® service to run the BlackBerry® Professional Software."

We don't have an AD environment, and wondering if that is why my first install failed. Any insight would be immensely helpful.


Chris, Purohit Navigation

[wagazarm]

Can you post the steps you took here?

The BES is actually meant to talk with Exchange, which does use Active Directory ... so you may be right.

Did you receive a failure message? If so, can you post it?

[travisb]

Originally Posted by dpmchris

"You create and configure a Microsoft® Windows® account and mailbox in the Microsoft® Active Directory® service to run the BlackBerry® Professional Software."

Basically that means create a besadmin account (aka service account) on your windows box. This can be a local account and set all the BES services to run under it. Log out and log back in as the besadmin user so you can configure your zimbra profile. Then on your zimbra mail server create a besadmin user and make them an administrator. They have to be that so they can update all the mailboxes.

We run a stand alone windows box running bes professional without AD.

[dpmchris]

I redid the whole server. The thing I did differently with this install was not to use Remote Desktop, instead installing BPS directly at the computer. This negated the previous report that it was a "Terminal Server" and the BlackBerry software installer went as desired start to finish this time.

This allowed the installer to do all the account and registration steps, turned up the server and created the BlackBerryServer account. I was able to move forward.

No Active Directory was needed.