The Good Control server is a Good Dynamics infrastructure and management component.
This page explains how the Good Control (GC) console is used to set up a Good Dynamics application for use at an enterprise. This page also provides an overview of the Good Control server, and the surrounding infrastructure, for the benefit of application developers.
More explanation of the general use of GC, as a management tool, is available in the GC console and in other documentation.
This section describes the necessary steps to set up a Good Dynamics application for use at an enterprise. In outline, the steps are as follows:
When all these steps are complete, the application can be utilised by enterprise users.
Before starting to set up an application, the following conditions must be met:
In order to register a Good Dynamics application at the enterprise, it is necessary to:
These can be obtained from enterprise I.T. or LAN administration.
The following information will be required in the course of registering an application:
GDAndroid.authorize
call in the client application code.appVersion
parameter in the GDAndroid.authorize
call in the client code.Except for the additional application server details, all the above is entered in the Applications section of the GC console. Open Add Application and specify the initial details, then add the server details on the Manage Application screen.
Any additional servers' details must be added in the Settings section, under Additional Servers, if they are not already configured on the GC.
Server details are entered in the GC console, but will then be provisioned to other infrastructure elements, such as the Good Proxy (GP). The GC, in effect, centralises the configuration user interface. See also the Overview, at the end of this page.
Entering the above information registers the application at the enterprise. After registering the application, users can be granted access to the application.
Note that registration is implicitly version-specific. Every version of the application must be individually registered.
Users can be given entitlement to applications that have been registered in the GC. This can be done for individual users, or for groups of users. Note that there is a special group,"EVERYONE", to which all users automatically belong.
In the early stages of Good Dynamics software development at an enterprise, the easiest approach may be to entitle the EVERYONE group to every newly registered application. Using this approach means that a user becomes entitled to all applications, as soon as the user is added. This approach may also be used long-term in a deployment that is pre-production.
Entitlements can be added to an individual user in the User Accounts section of the GC console. Entitlements can be added to a group of users in the Applications Groups section.
Enterprise users that have not been added to the GC are implicitly not entitled to any GD applications.
Enterprise users need to be added to the GC in order to access GD applications. To add a user, open Add User in the User Accounts section of the GC console and proceed as follows.
This causes the user to be recognised by the GC, and adds them to the EVERYONE group. If the EVERYONE group is entitled to any GD applications, the newly recognised user is now entitled to those applications. Otherwise, the new user must be added to a group that is entitled to use the required application, or must be given an individual entitlement.
Users that are entitled to applications can be activated.
Users that have been added to the GC, and who are entitled to one or more applications, can be activated. Activation is the last step in an individual roll-out that takes place at the GC.
When a user is activated, an activation key is issued. The key can be used once, by that user. Activation keys are not specific to an application. For example, a user that had been sent four activation keys could use them to activate any four applications to which they are entitled.
Note that activation keys do not support re-activation, as such. If the client software is uninstalled and re-installed on the same device, then a new activation key is required. This is also true if a new or factory-reset device is in use, or if a device emulator is in use and its state is not persisted. (Note that a user who has been issued multiple keys could use them to activate the same application multiple times.)
To activate a user, first open Manage User in the User Accounts section of the GC console and proceed as follows:
Activation keys will then be sent to the user's enterprise e-mail address. There will be one e-mail message per key. Hashes of the activation keys are also copied to the Good Technology Network Operation Centre (NOC), to enable validation.
To finalise the activation, the user needs to install and run a GD client application. At start-up, the Good Dynamics user activation interface will open. The user enters the activation key in the interface in the client. The library then sends the activation key to the NOC.
Assuming the correct key was entered, user activation is then finalised, and the key consumed. The application is then useable on the device.
The section gives a high-level explanation of the Good Dynamics (GD) infrastructure, including the following components:
The following diagram shows these components, their communications links, and where they are installed. The diagram also shows enterprise components, including Application Servers, highlighted in italic.
A Good Control server is installed at every enterprise that is making use of the Good Dynamics platform. The GC server maintains various information about users and applications, see under Good Control console, below. The GC also provisions this data to the GP, NOC, and other infrastructure components.
The GC console is the user interface (UI) of the GC server. The GC console takes the form of a website, usually only accessible from the enterprise intranet. The following functions can be accessed through the GC console.
At least one Good Proxy server is installed at every enterprise that is making use of the Good Dynamics platform. The GP handles the routing of traffic behind the enterprise firewall. This includes the following:
The GP has no user interface. Configuration of the GP is done from the GC console.
The NOC is the central mediation point for the Good Dynamics platform and its proxy infrastructure. The NOC is hosted by Good Technology, in a data centre facility.
From an architectural point-of-view, there is a single NOC for all Good Dynamics enterprises, users and services. For practical reasons, however, there may actually be a number of NOC deployments. For example, there may be separate production and development deployments.
The NOC has the following functions:
(In this context, the "activated device" is sometimes referred to as a "container". Conceptually, a Good Dynamics application and its data are within a secure container on the device. The container is owned by the enterprise, even if the device is not.)
The NOC has other functions, but these are beyond the scope of this overview.
Installation of Good Dynamics at an enterprise is usually complete before application development begins. Installation includes the following: