Implementing Calendar Connectivity between Novell GroupWise and Exchange Server 2003

Calendar Connector enables Novell GroupWise and Exchange users to access each other's free/busy information when scheduling meetings. Before configuring Calendar Connector, ensure that both Exchange and Novell GroupWise users can send messages to each other and that directory synchronization works.

The following steps are required to configure calendar connectivity:

1. Ensure that prerequisites are met   Before you install and configure Calendar Connector, you must ensure that you have the necessary permissions and are running the required software.

   You install Calendar Connector on an existing Exchange 2003 server and Connector for Novell GroupWise. Before proceeding, ensure that the server on which you install Calendar Connector meets the following prerequisites:

   • The server is running Gateway and Client Services for NetWare or the Novell NetWare Client for Windows.

   • The server is running Exchange Server 2003 with Exchange Server Service Pack 1.

   • The server is running Connector for Novell GroupWise.

   Note

   Ensure that you have a Novell GroupWise client access license for the server on which you install Calendar Connector.

   In addition, the Novell GroupWise environment must meet the following requirements:

   • The server is running Novell NetWare 3.x.

   • The server is running the NLM version of the Novell GroupWise 4.1 API Gateway Patch 2.

   • Novell NetWare Administrator is installed.

   • The server is running Novell GroupWise 4.x or 5.x.

2. Install Calendar Connector   You must install Calendar Connector on an Exchange 2003 server that belongs to the same administrative group as the server running Connector for Novell GroupWise. It is recommended that you install and configure Calendar Connector on the server that is already running Connector for Novell GroupWise. Calendar Connector is included in Exchange Server 2003 and can be installed when you start the Exchange 2003 Setup program.

   You must have the following permissions to install and administer Calendar Connector:

   • Exchange Administrator   These permissions are required to install Calendar Connector on the Exchange server.

   • Local Administrator   You must be a member of the Administrators group on the computer on which you install Calendar Connector.

3. Add a local replica for the SCHEDULE+ FREE BUSY public folder   Schedule information for users in an Exchange 2003 messaging environment is stored in a special public folder called SCHEDULE+ FREE BUSY (Figure 1). This folder is configured for each administrative group in the Exchange organization. Calendar Connector uses the SCHEDULE+ FREE BUSY public folder to read and write the schedule information for Novell GroupWise users so that Exchange 2003 users can access that information.

   Figure 1   The SCHEDULE+ FREE BUSY public folder

   

   Calendar Connector always looks for this folder on the local Exchange 2003 server on which it is installed. Therefore, you must ensure that the Exchange 2003 server holds a local replica of the SCHEDULE+ FREE BUSY public folder. To add a local replica of the SCHEDULE+ FREE BUSY public folder to the local Exchange server, use Exchange System Manager.

   If there are multiple administrative groups in an Exchange 2003 organization, each administrative group has its own SCHEDULE+ FREE BUSY public folder. In this case, free/busy information for Exchange users might be stored in a different public folder than free/busy information for Novell GroupWise users whose information is replicated to Exchange 2003. You must ensure that the administrative group's SCHEDULE+ FREE BUSY public folder is configured to replicate to the server running Calendar Connector.

   In an Exchange 2003 organization with multiple administrative groups, remember the following facts:

   • When storing free/busy information for Novell GroupWise users, Calendar Connector always uses the administrative group in which Connector for Novell GroupWise is installed. The user's free/busy information is stored in the public folder associated with this administrative group because the Connector for Novell GroupWise is used to import these users into Active Directory.

   • If the SCHEDULE+ FREE BUSY public folder that is used by Calendar Connector is replicated to a public folder store in a different administrative group, then you must install another instance of Calendar Connector in that administrative group. If you do not install another instance, Calendar Connector does not intercept queries made to that replica.

   • If you already have an instance of Calendar Connector installed on one administrative group that imports users from Novell GroupWise to Active Directory, and you want to install another Calendar Connector on a different administrative group, you must refer the newly installed Calendar Connector to the original instance of Calendar Connector.

4. Prepare the Novell GroupWise environment   Before configuring Calendar Connector, ensure that Connector for Novell GroupWise is working properly, and perform full directory synchronization. You must configure directory synchronization to update the directories on a regular basis. Novell GroupWise users who try to query nonexistent Exchange mailboxes will receive erroneous calendar information.

   You should use Novell NetWare Administrator to verify the following information, which is required to configure Calendar Connector:

   • The name of the Novell GroupWise domain in which the API Gateway is installed

   • The name of the API Gateway in Novell GroupWise

5. Configure Calendar Connector   Like Connector for Novell GroupWise, Calendar Connector is configured using Exchange System Manager and the location of the connector is the same as for Connector for Novell GroupWise. You must specify the Connector for Novell GroupWise that is used to connect to Novell GroupWise, as well as the name of Novell GroupWise API Gateway. To specify the Connector for Novell GroupWise, on the General tab, click Modify next to the Connector used to import users into Active Directory text box, and then make your choice on the Select Exchange Notes or Groupwise Connector tab. To specify the API Gateway, on the Calendar Connections tab, click New, and choose Novell GroupWise. Enter the name of the API Gateway in the form Domain.Gateway, where Domain refers to the Novell GroupWise domain in which the API Gateway is installed, and Gateway refers to the name of the API Gateway in GroupWise.

   On the General tab, you can also adjust the number of days that users are able to see free/busy information for users on the other messaging system (Number of days of free/busy information to request from foreign calendars). Free/busy information beyond the number of days specified is not retrieved by Calendar Connector and appears as free, even if meetings are scheduled during this time. However, the more data that is requested, the longer it will take for the free/busy information to be retrieved.

   Important

   The maximum number of days that Novell GroupWise supports for free/busy information is 389. If more than 389 days are requested, then no data is returned.

   Another important configuration setting refers to the number of minutes that the Calendar Connector can cache free/busy information (Maximum age in minutes of foreign free/busy data in Exchange that can be used without querying the foreign calendar). If the free/busy information that is requested is older than the specified number of minutes, Calendar Connector requests updated data. If the free/busy information is within the specified number of minutes, Calendar Connector uses the current free/busy information. A value of 0 means that every free/busy query from an Exchange user will result in a query to Novell GroupWise.

   When requesting free/busy updates, the Maximum number of seconds to wait for response from foreign calendars setting determines the time span that Calendar Connector waits for a response for an individual user's free/busy information. Set this to a low number, because each recipient on a meeting request is handled in turn. A long response interval can cause the mail client to stop responding as it proceeds down the list of recipients.

6. Start the Calendar Connector service   In the Services MMC snap-in, right-click Microsoft Exchange Calendar Connector, and then click Start. The default startup type for Calendar Connector is Manual. It is recommended that you change this setting to Automatic, so that the Calendar Connector service starts automatically the next time you restart the server.