The Impact of Direct Push on Networks and Exchange Servers
6/2/2010
The algorithm that sets the heartbeat also minimizes bytes sent over the air and maximizes battery life.
The average size of a heartbeat roundtrip is about 600 bytes. Assuming a heartbeat interval between 15 and 30 minutes, and if no E-mail arrives, then direct push would consume 0.53 to 1.06 MB per month. Since this value assumes that no E-mail arrives, it is not realistic, but can be used as a baseline. This value does not reflect any optimization and does not reflect the bandwidth used by other features, such as downloading large attachments or Web browsing. The bandwidth used by this service will also depend on what the user has chosen to synchronize.
Implementing data compression will reduce the packet sizes sent between the front end server and the client. However, the amount of bandwidth that is consumed and whether it will impact the user’s data plan greatly depends on the following factors:
- What the user chooses to synchronize, such as more than the default folders.
- How much data is changed in the mailbox and on the mobile device.