Chapter 6. Calendar Configuration

Table of Contents

Outlook Free/Busy Calendaring
About the Free/Busy Calendar ftp Server
Enabling Client Free/Busy Publication
Steltor CorporateTime Server
About CorporateTime Server Components
Creating CorporateTime Server Calendar Nodes
Updating Existing Accounts for Calendar Access
Configuring Client Calendar Access

This chapter describes Messaging Server integrated calendar support for:

Outlook Free/Busy Calendaring

To provide Free/Busy calendar support to Outlook clients:

Note

This feature is provided for Microsoft Outlook clients but not Outlook Express.

About the Free/Busy Calendar ftp Server

Microsoft Outlook has the ability to distribute calendar data by storing an individual's Free/Busy information in a publicly shared directory. The shared directory is specified in Outlook as an http:// or ftp:// reference. When an individual publishes their Free/Busy information, it is written into a file (identified by the user's account name) in the referenced directory. When the same individual re-publishes updated Free/Busy information, their file in the shared directory is overwritten.

Note

The Messaging Server enables ftp service to support Free/Busy calendaring for other iCalendar compatible mail clients such as Microsoft Outlook. However, be aware that ftp presents potential security problems in an Internet environment. For LAN usage, the best way around this is to simply secure your network ftp port from external connections. If you are providing this service over the Internet, you might want to investigate a Virtual Private Network (VPN) solution.

Before Outlook Free/Busy information can be published, the Microsoft Internet Explorer Web Publishing Wizard add-on component must be installed on the client system. For more information, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

The Messaging Server provides a pre-configured protected shared directory for use with the Outlook Free/Busy feature. It is configured by default when the Outlook Configuration Tool is run (see “Enabling Outlook Client Users”).

For Outlook 2000 and XP clients, the Outlook Configuration Tool configures WebDAV, which provides secure, efficient transfers over HTTP and automatic client authentication. It configures these Free/Busy parameters:

Publish at this URL

http://hostname/pub/calendar/userid.vfb

Search at this URL

http://hostname/calendar/%NAME%.vfb

When calendar information is first published, Outlook prompts for the Messaging Server UserID password.

For Outlook 98 clients, the Outlook Configuration Tool configures these Free/Busy parameters:

Publish at this URL

ftp://userid:password@hostname/pub/calendar/userid.vfb

Search at this URL

http://hostname/calendar/%NAME%.vfb

  • hostname is the Messaging Server IP hostname and %NAME% is a macro used by Outlook to substitute for the name portion of the user's email address (everything up to but not including the @ character) when publishing or searching for Free/Busy files. It is used in the search URL to locate Free/Busy information for a user that has been invited to a meeting. For example, Tom invites Betty to a meeting. Outlook substitutes Betty for %NAME%, then search for the file Betty.vfb, which contains the Free/Busy information for Betty.

  • For Outlook 98 clients, userid is the user's Messaging Server login name and password is their Messaging Server password. They are used to publish to the shared directory on the Messaging Server using ftp. The ftp service is configured to validate user access using the Messaging Server's LDAP directory, which ensures that only valid mail users have access to this directory.

Enabling Client Free/Busy Publication

Although the Free/Busy publication and search URL's are set by default, the actual publication of an individual's Free/Busy information is not enabled. This decision has been left to the individual user. If the user wishes to enable publication of their Free/Busy information, they can do so within the Outlook Free/Busy configuration dialog depending on their version of the Outlook client:

Outlook XP and Outlook 2000
  1. In the Outlook Tools, click on Options, then Calendar Options.

  2. In the Free/Busy Options dialog box, check Publish my Free/Busy information.

  3. Click on Apply to complete the procedure.

The first time you publish your calendar information, you will be prompted for your password.

Outlook 98
  1. In the Outlook Tools, click on Options, then Calendar Options.

  2. In the Free/Busy Options dialog box, check Publish my Free/Busy information.

  3. Enter your Messaging Server password in the ftp://URL in place of the string password_for_yourname_here.

  4. Click on Apply to complete the procedure.

Steltor CorporateTime Server

To provide CorporateTime Server calendar support for Messaging Server:

For detailed information about CorporateTime Server installation, configuration and administration, consult the Steltor documentation.

Note

CorporateTime Server must be installed and licensed separately.

About CorporateTime Server Components

CorporateTime Server for the Messaging Server consists of the following components:

CorporateTime Server (CTS)

The calendar server database, query engine and processing utilities. For more information, see the CorporateTime Server Administrator's Guide and the CorporateTime Server Reference Manual .

CorporateTime for the Web (CTW)

The service that provides web access to the CorporateTime Server from any web browser. For more information, see CorporateTime for the Web Administrator's Guide.

CorporateTime Outlook Connector (CTOC)

The service that provides Microsoft Outlook client access to the CorporateTime Server. For more information, see CorporateTime Outlook Connector Online Help.

CorporateTime Server Administrator (CTA)

The graphical administrative interface used to manage the calendar server. Many administrative tasks and procedures can be performed using this tool, although some functionality is available only through command-line utilities. For more information, see Chapter 3 "Server Administration" in the CorporateTime Server Administrator's Guide.

LDAP Connector

The service that adds calendar attributes (LDAP schema) to OpenLDAP during installation, providing directory server integration between the Messaging Server and the CorporateTime Server.

Note

The CorporateTime Server documentation discusses two calendar server architectures, one using the calendar server's internal directory and the other using an external LDAP directory server. When installed with the Messaging Server on the same system, CorporateTime Server uses the external directory server model; that is, the Messaging Server and the CorporateTime Server share the OpenLDAP directory server included with the Messaging Server distribution.

Creating CorporateTime Server Calendar Nodes

A Calendar Node is a local database on the CorporateTime Server that represents a grouping of calendar users with their associated schedules, meetings and events. By default, a calendar node with ID 1000 and alias VMS is created when CorporateTime Server is installed on a Messaging Server system. A single node is sufficient for most installations. However, if your installation requires additional nodes, we recommend that you create them before adding new users to the Messaging Server. This ensures that new users are created as members of the appropriate calendar node. If calendar nodes created or modified after users are created, you must modify individual user accounts with the CorporateTime Server Administrator interface (using the User+Modify function).

Note

The Messaging Server administrative account is admin and the CorporateTime Server administrative account for a calendar node is called SYSOP. These accounts are equivalent and are initially set to the same password. The passwords must remain in synch if there are any further password changes or node additions.

For more information, see:

"Deployment," in Chapter 2 of the CorporateTime Server Administrator's Guide

for guidelines about planning and organizing nodes.

Chapter 4 "Setting Up Nodes " in the CorporateTime Server Administrator's Guide

for instructions about creating nodes.

Updating Existing Accounts for Calendar Access

If you are adding CorporateTime Server calendar service to an existing Messaging Server installation, you must add Calendar Node information to Messaging Server user accounts. To do so:

  1. In the CorporateTime Server Administrator interface, select User+Add+User

  2. Leave the Directory Search field blank and click on Validate.

  3. Click on the check boxes of all users to be added. When all are selected, click on Add.

This procedure can also be performed from the command line. For more information, see "Creating calendar users" in Chapter 6 of the CorporateTime Server Administrator's Guide.

Note

If CorporateTime Server and the Messaging Server are installed on the same system, it is not necessary for the CorporateTime Server SYSOP user to add calendar attributes (using the Add command) for the Messaging Server accounts admin and msguser.

Configuring Client Calendar Access

If you are providing client access using the Steltor Web Interface, you need only instruct your client users to point their web browser at the calendar server URL that you provide.

If you are providing Outlook client access using the Outlook connector, ensure that Outlook client users have taken these steps:

  1. Confirm that Outlook 2000 and Outlook 98 clients are configured in Corporate/Workgroup mode. Internet Email Only mode is not supported for CorporateTime Server connections.

    Note

    Outlook XP clients automatically configure themselves for Corporate/Workgroup mode.

  2. Run the Outlook Configuration Tool on the Outlook client after CorporateTime Server has been installed on the Messaging Server. If the Messaging Server is being upgraded, the Outlook Configuration Tool must be run after the upgrade.