Troubleshooting Calendar Connectivity

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The synchronization of free/busy information between Exchange 2003 and Novell GroupWise relies on hidden free/busy system folders in the Exchange store. Exchange 2003 maintains a separate free/busy folder for each administrative group in an organization. As Exchange users create appointments in their calendars, their Outlook clients update the users' free/busy information in the free/busy folder, so that other Exchange users who are scheduling meetings with a user can check that user's availability. When you add recipient objects for Novell GroupWise users to Active Directory by way of directory synchronization, their free/busy information can also be stored in the free/busy system folder.

Note

It is a good idea to increase the level of event logging for Calendar Connector in Exchange System Manager if you are interested in examining the individual processes involved in free/busy updates. Select MSExchangeCalCon from the Services list on the Diagnostics Logging tab, and then select Request from Partner, Request to Partner, Response from Partner, Response to Partner, Connection, General, and Housekeeping from the Categories list. Set the logging level to Maximum to obtain the most detailed information. Remember to reapply the default setting of None after you finish testing the connector.

Important

For more information about troubleshooting guidance for interoperability between Lotus Notes R5/R6, Exchange Server 2003, and Windows Server 2003 Active Directory, see Resources for Moving to the Microsoft Collaboration Platform.

Troubleshooting Free/Busy Lookups to and from Exchange 2003

Calendar Connector updates the free/busy information for non-Exchange users when an Exchange user requests the information. First, Calendar Connector intercepts the request and checks for existing free/busy records in the system folder. If the record has been updated within the time frame you specify under Maximum age in minutes of foreign free/busy data in Exchange that can be used without querying the foreign calendar in the Calendar Connector configuration, Calendar Connector returns this data to the Outlook client immediately. Otherwise, Calendar Connector uses the NOTESCAL or GWISECAL component to send a request for free/busy data to the non-Exchange system (Figure 1).

If the non-Exchange system responds within the period of time specified under Maximum number of seconds to wait for response from foreign calendars in the Calendar Connector configuration, the data is written to the target user's free/busy record in the Exchange free/busy folder. Exchange 2003 then returns this information to the Outlook client. However, if the non-Exchange system does not respond within the allowed time frame (or if Calendar Connector is not running), Exchange 2003 returns the existing data from the free/busy record to the client without performing an update operation first.

Sometimes responses from the non-Exchange system come in late. For example, the non-Exchange system might not respond quickly enough due to a performance problem. When responses come in late, Exchange 2003 returns the existing data to the Outlook client, and when the new data is finally received, Calendar Connector updates the free/busy public record for the user. The updated information is not returned to the Outlook client.

Figure 1   Performing free/busy lookups for Novell GroupWise users

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The following are typical Calendar Connector issues related to Exchange 2003:

  • **Recipient objects for non-Exchange users are not in Active Directory   ** The Connector for Novell GroupWise must be installed in the same administrative group as Calendar Connector and should be configured before Calendar Connector. It is important that directory synchronization between Active Directory and the partner directory functions correctly.

    For detailed instructions about how to configure Calendar Connector in a Novell GroupWise organization, see How to Install and Configure Calendar Connector in a Novell GroupWise Environment.

  • **Calendar Connector is unable to access the SCHEDULE+ FREE BUSY folder   **You must install Calendar Connector on an Exchange server that contains a replica of the free/busy system folder for the administrative group. To check whether an Exchange server contains a replica of the free/busy system folder for the administrative group, in Exchange System Manager, open the Folders container, right-click Public Folders, and then select View System Folders. Free/busy folders are named according to their administrative group and reside in the SCHEDULE+ FREE BUSY container. Display the properties of the system folder for your local administrative group, and switch to the Replication tab. Ensure that the public store of the Exchange server that is running Calendar Connector is listed in the list of stores.

    Also ensure that Calendar Connector has permissions to read and create items in the free/busy system folder. To do this, switch to the Permissions tab and click Client Permissions. In the Client Permissions dialog box, verify that the Default account is assigned the Editor role.

Note

You can verify that Calendar Connector is able to access the free/busy system folder when you start Calendar Connector in console mode. Ensure that the Calendar Connector service is not running, and then double-click Calcon.exe, which resides in the \Program Files\Exchsrvr\Bin directory. If Calendar Connector is able to access the free/busy system folder in console mode, the following message will appear: The Calendar Connector has logged onto the "Schedule+ Free Busy Information - first administrative group" system folder on SERVER01 to submit calendar query responses. To stop Calendar Connector, press CTRL+BREAK.