Understanding Interoperability Between Exchange Server 2003 and Novell GroupWise

Exchange Server 2003 includes four tools for interoperability and migration between Novell GroupWise and Exchange 2003:

• Connector for Novell GroupWise   Connector for Novell GroupWise supports bidirectional message transfer and directory synchronization. When you deploy Connector for Novell GroupWise, users of both messaging systems can interact with each other as if they are members of the same messaging system. This interoperability might be temporary (for example, the systems might need to coexist only while you migrate users from Novell GroupWise to Exchange 2003). In other cases, long-term coexistence might be required (for example, the messaging system of a department that is not moving to Exchange 2003 might require a permanent connection).

• Calendar Connector   Calendar Connector, in conjunction with Connector for Novell GroupWise, provides Exchange 2003 and Novell GroupWise users with almost real-time access to free/busy calendar information. Calendar Connector runs as a service on an Exchange server.

• Exchange Migration Wizard   The Exchange Migration Wizard is a tool that you can use to migrate users from Novell GroupWise to Exchange 2003. The Exchange Migration Wizard supports migration from Novell GroupWise to Exchange 2003 by copying existing mailboxes, messages, and other data, and importing that information into Exchange 2003, as explained in Understanding Interoperability and Migration in Exchange Server 2003.

• Active Directory Cleanup Wizard   The Active Directory Cleanup Wizard is a tool that you can use to merge duplicate Active Directory user accounts and contact objects into a single user account. This is not strictly a migration tool, but it can be useful during a migration from Novell GroupWise. Duplicate user accounts might be created, for example, if you use Microsoft Directory Synchronization Services (MSDSS) to replicate NDS with Active Directory and then use Connector for Novell GroupWise or the Exchange Migration Wizard to import directory information from Novell GroupWise into Exchange 2003/Active Directory. In this situation, the creation of duplicate accounts is intentional, because MSDSS operates independently of Connector for Novell GroupWise and the Exchange Migration Wizard. MSDSS is included in Microsoft Windows® Services for NetWare 5.0 Service Pack 1 to facilitate the introduction of Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 and Active Directory into a Novell NetWare network environment with NDS or Novell eDirectory.

Message Conversion and Transfer

To transfer messages between Novell GroupWise and Exchange 2003 using Connector for Novell GroupWise, consider installing the connector on a dedicated bridgehead server (Figure 1). A specific bridgehead server can run exactly one connector instance. One connector can service one direct Novell GroupWise domain and an entire Exchange 2003 organization. A GroupWise Message Transfer Agent (GWMTA) is required in the Novell GroupWise domain to route messages within the Novell GroupWise environment to post offices, other domains, or external foreign domains.

Figure 1   Connecting Novell GroupWise and Exchange 2003 using Connector for Novell GroupWise

The most fundamental element of a Novell GroupWise domain is the post office. Post offices are serviced by post office agents (POAs). POAs are the communication partners of GWMTAs, which deliver messages between GroupWise post offices within a domain, between post offices and gateways within a domain, and between domains within a Novell GroupWise organization. One GWMTA is required for each domain.

For communication between a Novell GroupWise organization and other mail systems, such as Exchange 2003, you must deploy a gateway. For example, Connector for Novell GroupWise requires the Novell GroupWise API Gateway version 4.1 to connect to the Novell GroupWise domain. The connector uses the Novell GroupWise API Gateway version 4.1 to send and receive messages and to synchronize recipient information. To download Novell GroupWise API Gateway version 4.1, and for installation instructions, see the Novell Support Web site (https://support.novell.com).

Figure 2 shows the process for sending messages from Exchange 2003 to Novell GroupWise.

Figure 2   Sending messages from Exchange 2003 to Novell GroupWise

The process for message transfer between Exchange 2003 and Novell GroupWise can be divided into four steps:

1. Exchange 2003 determines that the recipient is a Novell GroupWise user (based on the target address of the user) and sends the message to the Exchange message transfer agent (MTA).

2. The MTA delivers the message to the MTS-OUT directory, from which the LSMEXOUT process retrieves it, looks up Active Directory to replace target recipient information with corresponding GroupWise addresses, and delivers the message to the READYOUT folder.

3. The MEX2GW process converts the message to Novell GroupWise format before writing it as header and body files into the connector store on the Exchange server.

   Note

   The connector store is a file structure in the \Program Files\Exchsrvr\Conndata directory with subdirectories, such as \Dxagwise and \Gwrouter. Header and body files are keyword-based text files that the GroupWise API Gateway uses to communicate with Connector for Novell GroupWise. You can use a text editor, such as Microsoft Notepad, to read and write keyword-based text files in the API Gateway directory structure.

4. The Exchange Router for Novell GroupWise service (GWROUTER) places the message in the directory of the Novell GroupWise API Gateway. The gateway works in conjunction with the GWMTA for delivery in the GroupWise organization.

Figure 3 shows the process for sending messages from Novell GroupWise to Exchange 2003.

Figure 3   Sending messages from Novell GroupWise to Exchange 2003

The process for message transfer from Novell GroupWise to Exchange 2003 can also be divided into four steps:

1. The Router for Novell GroupWise service obtains the message from the API Gateway in the form of header and body files and places them in the connector store.

2. The GW2MEX process converts the header and body files to a message in Exchange 2003 format before it places the message into the READYIN folder.

3. The LSMEXIN process obtains the converted message from the READYIN folder, verifies the validity of the recipient (converting the address into X.400 format, if necessary), and delivers the message to the MTS-IN folder.

4. The Exchange store then processes the message from the MTS-IN folder and places it in the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) service's MTS-OUT folder, from which it is then routed to its destination in the Exchange organization.

Message Conversion

Novell GroupWise supports several specific types of messages, such as e-mail messages, appointments, notes, tasks, forms, presentations, and documents. MAPI message types are mapped to corresponding message types in Novell GroupWise, when possible. In other words, e-mail messages appear as e-mail messages, meeting requests as appointments, and so on. Message types that are not supported in Exchange 2003, such as Novell GroupWise phone messages, are converted to regular e-mail items. Connector for Novell GroupWise is able to track delivery confirmation reports, read receipts, and non-delivery reports (NDRs).

Connector for Novell GroupWise does not process free/busy information when creating meeting requests or appointments that are transferred between Novell GroupWise and Exchange 2003. To perform a free/busy query between the two systems to show attendee availability before scheduling an appointment, you must deploy Calendar Connector in addition to Connector for Novell GroupWise, as discussed later in this topic.

Table 1   Message conversion between Novell GroupWise and Exchange 2003

E-Mail Message Type Conversion

E-mail messages that originate in either Exchange or Novell GroupWise are converted to the format of the target system. Connector for Novell GroupWise also tracks message delivery by using delivery confirmation reports, read receipts, and non-delivery reports.

Connector for Novell GroupWise handles meeting requests and phone messages as follows:

• Meeting Requests and Appointments   Exchange meeting requests and Novell GroupWise appointments are exchanged through Connector for Novell GroupWise. Updated meeting requests are identified as "Updated" in their subject lines. Because of a limitation of the GroupWise API Gateway, meeting requests sent from Exchange 2003 users to GroupWise users cannot be updated automatically in Novell GroupWise and must be updated manually by the user.

  Note

  The API Gateway does not support recurring meeting requests from GroupWise that use the AutoDate feature. These recurring meeting requests are not transferred to Exchange 2003. Recurring meetings transferred from Exchange 2003 to Novell GroupWise are added to the Novell GroupWise calendar once, and recurring information is then displayed at the top of the message body. It is the user's responsibility to remember when the meetings take place or to enter multiple meeting occurrences individually in the calendar.

• All Day Meeting Requests   All day meeting requests generated in Exchange 2003 appear as meeting requests in Novell GroupWise. However, if the meeting is stretched over multiple days, the connector creates a single instance on the first day with the date range in the message field.

• Phone Messages   Novell GroupWise phone messages appear as e-mail messages in Exchange 2003.

E-Mail Message Property Conversion

Objects embedded in messages sent by Exchange 2003 clients (Microsoft Office Outlook®) are converted to attachments. These attachments, if embedded more than one level deep, appear as attachments of the primary message. If a Novell GroupWise user sends a message including an attached message that contains additional attachments, all attachments appear in Exchange 2003 as single attachments to the primary message.

Table 2   E-mail message conversion between Novell GroupWise and Microsoft Outlook

Directory Synchronization

Directory synchronization is the process of propagating directory information about Exchange 2003 users from Active Directory to the directory of a Novell GroupWise system, while propagating information about Novell GroupWise users to Active Directory for Exchange 2003 to use. When directory synchronization is complete, each system has a complete copy of the directory data (users, groups, and so on) for the combined messaging organization.

Directory synchronization consists of two sequential processes:

• Synchronizing recipients from Active Directory to Novell GroupWise

• Synchronizing recipients from Novell GroupWise to Active Directory

Using Connector for Novell GroupWise, you can enable automatic, scheduled directory synchronization between Exchange 2003 and Novell GroupWise. You can also begin directory synchronization on demand. The process is bidirectional during scheduled directory synchronization. User attributes are updated in both directories.

Each time directory synchronization occurs, Connector for Novell GroupWise pulls information from Active Directory. This is the task of the DXAMEX process. This component works in conjunction with the DXAGWISE process that converts the address information into administration messages. The administration messages are placed in the connector store for delivery to the API Gateway, together with a request for GroupWise directory information. Novell GroupWise receives the information through the API Gateway, updates its directory, and replies to the directory request by polling its own directory. The API Gateway returns the GroupWise directory information to Connector for Novell GroupWise. DXAGWISE converts the address information received from GroupWise and delivers it to DXAMEX to apply it to Active Directory.

Figure 4 shows the directory connection between Exchange 2003 and Novell GroupWise.

Figure 4   Directory synchronization between Novell GroupWise and Exchange 2003

Synchronizing Directory Entries from Novell GroupWise to Active Directory

When synchronizing directory entries from Novell GroupWise to Active Directory, Connector for Novell GroupWise generates a request to the GroupWise directory and puts the request into the input queue of the GroupWise API Gateway. The Novell GroupWise system generates a response after polling the GroupWise directory and Connector for Novell GroupWise updates Active Directory with new recipient objects and any changes to existing recipients that were made to GroupWise attributes, such as Telephone, Address, and so forth.

It is recommended that you create a designated organizational unit for all GroupWise users in Active Directory for use during the migration process. During synchronization, existing Novell GroupWise recipients are created as user accounts or contacts in Active Directory. You can create the following types of user accounts in Active Directory:

• Disabled Windows user accounts   Create disabled Windows user accounts if your Novell GroupWise users are not in your Active Directory environment yet, but will be after migration to Exchange 2003.

• New Windows user accounts   Create enabled Windows accounts for Novell GroupWise users who work in your Active Directory environment before migration.

• Windows contacts   Create Windows contacts for Novell GroupWise users who are not in your Active Directory environment. The Exchange Migration Wizard can convert these contact objects to user accounts during the migration process.

Synchronizing Directory Entries from Active Directory to Novell GroupWise

When synchronizing directory entries from Exchange 2003 to Novell GroupWise, Connector for Novell GroupWise polls Active Directory and creates an export message that contains the transactions necessary to update existing contacts or create new contacts in the Novell GroupWise directory.

Connector for Novell GroupWise allows you to filter addresses that you synchronize from Exchange 2003 to Novell GroupWise. You can use the address filters to:

• Define containers that hold subsets of Exchange 2003 users and select only the appropriate containers to synchronize to Novell GroupWise   For example, you might synchronize your existing Novell GroupWise users to a specific container in Active Directory. You then choose not to synchronize the Active Directory container that holds the Novell GroupWise users, because they already exist in the Novell GroupWise directory.

• Choose whether to synchronize contacts to Novell GroupWise   If your Exchange 2003 organization is connected to multiple non-Exchange messaging systems (or if you created mail-enabled contacts for recipients on the Internet), you can propagate this information to Novell GroupWise. Users on Novell GroupWise can then conveniently communicate with all users in your messaging environment. However, you must examine your directory synchronization carefully to avoid duplicating address information, which might happen if the other non-Exchange messaging system is already synchronizing its directory with Novell GroupWise.

• Choose whether to synchronize groups (distribution lists) to Novell GroupWise   Connector for Novell GroupWise supports propagation of the names of groups (distribution lists) to Exchange 2003 and Novell GroupWise. However, the tool does not synchronize group membership. The target system (either Exchange 2003 or Novell GroupWise) automatically expands the group for message delivery to the members of the distribution list. Groups can contain members from both systems, but the members appear in the other mail system (Novell GroupWise or Exchange 2003) as contacts. You can address distribution group issues in various ways, as discussed in Understanding Interoperability and Migration in Exchange Server 2003.

Mapping Attributes

The directory synchronization component of Connector for Novell GroupWise synchronizes a subset of the many attributes supported by the Active Directory and Novell GroupWise directories. The default schema for each directory is defined in schema definition files. Files that contain mapping rules define how attributes from one schema correspond to attributes in another schema. Some attributes correspond in direct attribute-to-attribute pairs; for example, when the GroupWise directory is synchronized with Active Directory, the Exchange 2003 attribute company is assigned the value of the attribute company in the GroupWise directory.

The schema definition and mapping rule files in the \Program Files\Exchsrvr\Conndata\Dxagwise directory have the following purposes:

• **GWAMAP.TBL   **Specifies GroupWise schema attributes to be synchronized.

• MAPMEX.TBL   Determines the attribute mapping from Exchange 2003 to Novell GroupWise.

• MEXAMAP.TBL   Specifies Exchange schema attributes to be synchronized.

• MAPGWISE.TBL   Determines the attribute mapping from Novell GroupWise to Exchange 2003.

  Note

  You can customize the control files in Notepad to change the attribute mapping. Remember to stop the connector services before you edit these files to ensure that the directory synchronization is not active. In addition, there are control files for the connector to check for address updates that require synchronization (EXTERNAL.TBL, GWPCTA.TBL, MEXPCTA.TBL). Do not edit these files manually.

Calendar Synchronization

Calendar Connector provides Novell GroupWise and Exchange 2003 users with almost real-time access to free/busy status information. Queries from Exchange users reach the Novell GroupWise organization through Novell GroupWise API Gateway in the form of e-mail messages. A special class of mail object (with MSG-TYPE = SEARCH) is sent as a high-priority message through the Novell GroupWise network from the sender's post office to the post office of the target user. Requests for free/busy data are processed by the home post office of the target user. The response is an e-mail message consisting of a list of busy dates and times. The API Gateway routes the message according to the MSG-TYPE keyword.

Calendar Synchronization from Novell GroupWise to Exchange 2003

This section explains how Calendar Connector enables Exchange 2003 users to view the free/busy information for Novell GroupWise users. Calendar Connector processes the request by checking a system public folder named SCHEDULE+ FREE BUSY, which stores free/busy information for an administrative group in the Exchange 2003 organization.

The following is an explanation of what happens when an Exchange 2003 user queries the calendar information for a Novell GroupWise user:

1. When an Exchange user queries a Novell GroupWise user's free/busy information, Calendar Connector intercepts the request.

2. Calendar Connector checks for current free/busy information for the Novell GroupWise user in the SCHEDULE+ FREE BUSY public folder replica on the server on which Calendar Connector is installed. If the information has been updated within a preconfigured number of minutes, Calendar Connector returns the information to the user who is requesting it. If the information in the public folder is not found or not updated within the time allotted, Calendar Connector translates the request for free/busy information into a SEARCH-type message and transmits it to Connector for Novell GroupWise. Connector for Novell GroupWise deposits the message into the API Gateway's input queue.

   Note

   By default, Calendar Connector uses the cached free/busy information rather than querying Novell GroupWise if fewer than 15 minutes have passed since the Novell GroupWise user's calendaring information was requested. You can adjust this time period in the Calendar Connector properties if necessary. For detailed instructions about how to configure Calendar Connector, see How to Install and Configure Calendar Connector in a Novell GroupWise Environment.

3. The API Gateway forwards this request to Novell GroupWise. The SEARCH-type message is routed and processed just like a request that is generated from another Novell GroupWise user. The API Gateway's GWMTA routes the free/busy request to the appropriate target domain and post office. The GroupWise post office agent processes the free/busy request, and then sends the response back to the GWMTA. The GWMTA routes the results to the output queue of the API Gateway.

4. Connector for Novell GroupWise picks up the response from the API Gateway output queue and delivers it to Calendar Connector. Exchange Connector for Novell GroupWise then deletes the file from the API Gateway output queue.

5. Calendar Connector parses the file, translates the Novell GroupWise user's free/busy information into Exchange 2003 format, and writes the response to the Exchange 2003 SCHEDULE+ FREE BUSY system public folder.

6. Calendar Connector sends the updated information to the Exchange 2003 user who requested it.

Figure 5 shows the process by which free/busy information is synchronized between Novell GroupWise and Exchange 2003. In this figure, an Exchange 2003 user is querying for the free/busy information of a Novell GroupWise user.

Figure 5   Calendar interoperability through Calendar Connector and Connector for Novell GroupWise

You can set the following options on Calendar Connector:

• The number of days of free/busy information to request from the other system's calendars.

• The maximum number of minutes that the Novell GroupWise system's free/busy information is stored in Exchange 2003 before querying the Novell GroupWise server for updated free/busy information.

• The maximum number of seconds that Calendar Connector waits for responses from Novell GroupWise. If Calendar Connector does not receive a response in the time that you specify, it returns the information currently stored in the SCHEDULE+ FREE BUSY public folder to the Exchange client.

Calendar Synchronization from Exchange 2003 to Novell GroupWise

Here the query is reversed, and free/busy information from Exchange 2003 is synchronized to Novell GroupWise using Calendar Connector. The following is an explanation of what happens when a Novell GroupWise user queries the calendar information for an Exchange 2003 user:

1. When a Novell GroupWise user queries for free/busy information of an Exchange user, the request is sent to the GroupWise post office agent, which receives the free/busy request and sends it through the GWMTA to the Novell GroupWise API Gateway. The API Gateway converts the request and places the files in the output queue of the API Gateway.

2. Connector for Novell GroupWise obtains the request from the API Gateway and forwards it to Calendar Connector. Connector for Novell GroupWise then deletes the request from the API Gateway output queue.

3. Calendar Connector processes the request and queries the Exchange SCHEDULE+ FREE BUSY public folder for the requested information.

4. Calendar Connector translates the requested free/busy data of Exchange 2003 users into GroupWise format and delivers the information to Connector for Novell GroupWise.

5. Connector for Novell GroupWise places the free/busy data in the input queue of the API Gateway. The API Gateway then routes the free/busy report to the GroupWise system for delivery. The GWMTA relays the information to the GWMTA of the domain where the original requestor was located, and then to the requestor's GroupWise client.

   Note

   Novell GroupWise users must be added to Active Directory as mail-enabled recipients (through directory synchronization), so that Exchange 2003 has the correct address information. To achieve this, Novell GroupWise users must have a visibility setting of System or higher.

Querying Groups

You can query free/busy information for a group created in Exchange 2003 that contains GroupWise users. However, you cannot query free/busy information for groups that are hosted on GroupWise systems. In other words, an Exchange 2003 user cannot query a GroupWise group, regardless of the system in which the group's members reside.

System Attendant Dependencies

Calendar Connector uses the System Attendant service to query Novell GroupWise for free/busy information. Any request from an Exchange user for a Novell GroupWise user originates from System Attendant. Therefore, it is critical that you assign System Attendant a Novell GroupWise e-mail address of the type GWISE. You must enable the generation of GWISE proxy addresses for your Exchange users in the default recipient policy. For more information about the configuration of recipient policies, see Understanding Interoperability and Migration in Exchange Server 2003.

Supported Calendar Synchronization Implementations

Exchange supports the following implementation scenarios:

• A single Calendar Connector with a single connection to a Novell GroupWise organization

• Multiple administrative groups, each with their own Calendar Connector, connected to the same Novell GroupWise organization

• A single Calendar Connector that queries users on an upstream domain

Exchange does not support the following implementation scenarios:

• Multiple Calendar Connectors within a single administrative group connected to the same Novell GroupWise organization

• Free/busy switching or querying from one co-existence partner to another using Exchange as a backbone

• Novell GroupWise as a backbone between two Exchange systems