Microsoft Sync Services for Occasionally Connected Applications

Occasionally connected system (OCS) is not a new word for technical jargon. But with the availability of new technologies and tools, it's becoming easier to rollout OCSs than earlier.

These days I am working on a field force automation solution with Windows Mobile 6 based devices for my company, Kandysoft. When I saw Microsoft Synchronization Services introduction in a web site for the first time, I thought to dig in to it. The technology was promising, but there were lot of dead ends for me at that time.

Recently, I had another look at Microsoft Synchronization Services and found Adam Salvo(z) blog, which had a good overview about how to dig in to the technology.

To summarize my finding about the technology, I will list the sequence of articles, a beginner should follow (as I feel):

Introduction to Microsoft Synchronization Service:
Synchronization Runtime, OCS with sync services

Synchronization Services for ADO.NET - documentation
Architecture and classes, How to do common tasks for sync

Database changes to facilitate synchronization
Changes tracking, How to track changes, Setup script

Coding required for synchronization
Getting started, Design and deployment considerations

I was trying to use Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) to expose server side synchronization data provider. "An Introduction to WCF for Device Developers" article helped me to get rid of several unclear areas in mobile WCF.