MapPoint Location Server System Architecture

Implementing MapPoint Location Server (MLS) requires a number of components. The server software runs on a corporate or hosted Windows server located on a firewall-protected network and running SQL Server 2000 and the .NET Framework. MLS uses a software component called a “provider” to communicate with each cellular carrier serving the organization’s mobile users. Providers offer a consistent way for MLS to retrieve the current locations of authorized Windows Mobile 2003-enabled cell phones from carriers. The organization must also have a subscription to Microsoft’s MapPoint Web Service (MWS), from which MLS retrieves maps, routes, and points of interest.

MLS exposes a Web service API that eases creation of two types of location-enabled applications. The first is a tracking application that runs on a server or desktop inside the firewall and can, for example, display the position of all cell phone-equipped couriers and the locations of the points on each courier’s pickup and delivery route on a map for a courier service company. The second type of application runs on a tracked mobile phone device and requests from the MLS both its current geographical coordinates and a map centered on that location and formatted for the display characteristics of the device. For both types of application, MLS proxies the requests to the MWS and the carrier’s location service, then combines and returns the results back to the application (the photo shows a Windows Mobile 2003 Pocket PC phone running the .NET Compact Framework displaying a map centered on the phone’s location). All Internet communications are encrypted for confidentiality using the Secure Sockets Layer protocol.