MapPoint Location Server Overview

Location-based services are services that are provided to a user based on his or her location. They can range from a simple service, such as listing nearby restaurants, to more complex features, such as analyzing real-time traffic conditions and finding the least-congested route to a destination. For location-based services to work, a wireless mobile device is usually necessary to identify the geographical location of the user. In summary, location-based services are about identifying the best and nearest possible service based on where the user is, in real time.

With MapPoint Location Server, you can develop powerful location-based service applications that target mobile devices such as Pocket PCs and wireless-enabled mobile computers. You use the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework version 1.0 with Service Pack 2 to develop applications for the Pocket PC platform. You use the Microsoft .NET Framework to build applications for conventional Microsoft Windows® XP-based applications.

Before you start developing applications with MapPoint Location Server Web Service and Management API, read the Glossary to familiarize yourself with  MapPoint Location Server terminology.

Microsoft® MapPoint® Location Server works in conjunction with MapPoint Web Service technology. The main role of MapPoint Location Server is to connect wireless mobile devices, location service providers, and MapPoint Web Service to provide powerful location-based services to end users. As shown in the following illustration, MapPoint Location Server acts as a middle-tier service between client devices, the location service of a mobile operator, and MapPoint Web Service to bring together mapping and routing services, and a service that finds nearby points of business or personal interest based on the location of the user.

MapPoint Location Server provides the following  functionalities :

• MapPoint Location Server Web Service Access
• Provisioning and contact management
• Find Nearby category management

MapPoint Location Server Web Service Access

MapPoint Location Server extends the services provided by MapPoint Web Service (Common, Find, Route, and Render)  with the following location-based services:

Locate (find the geographic location) a provisioned user (mobile device) in real time.

Locate nearby places and services (points of interest).

Locate and manage user contacts.

Location based applications can be implemented by consuming the Location Web Service published from the Microsoft MapPoint Location Server.

Provisioning and Contact Management

Provisioning is the process of adding users to the Microsoft MapPoint Location Server system so they can use location-based services. Use provision management to do the following:

Add enterprise users to or remove them from the MapPoint Location Server.

Add, remove, and maintain contact lists for provisioned users.

Add, remove, and maintain location and notification provider services.

You can provision and manage users either through the MapPoint Location Server management console or programmatically through the MapPoint Location Server management API.

Find-Nearby Category Management

In MapPoint Location server, a point-of-interest category is called a Find Nearby category. You can add, remove, and maintain Find Nearby categories that are specific to your business either through the MapPoint Location Server management console or through the Location Server Management API .