Comparing GroupWise Clients on Windows and Other Platforms

This chapter has focused exclusively on the GroupWise 7 32-bit client. Novell anticipates that more and more organizations will also require other client platforms, such as Linux, Apple, and web-based access to GroupWise. This section briefly evaluates each of these platforms in terms of feature parity, strengths, and weaknesses. Let's first have a look at the 32-bit Windows client and compare the other Non-Windows clients with this base level.

GroupWise 7 32-Bit Windows Client

This is still the flagship client for GroupWise. All the functionality available to any GroupWise user is typically available within this client. It requires a 32-bit Windows platform, meaning any of the following Windows versions:

• Windows 2000 on a Pentium 200 or higher with at least 128MB of RAM

• Windows XP Professional on a Pentium 300 or higher with at least 128MB of RAM

• Windows 2003 on a Pentium 300 or higher with at least 128MB of RAM

You will need 60MB of free disk space to install the GroupWise Windows client.

Note

The GroupWise 7 client is officially not supported on Windows 9x or on Windows Me (but see the later section "GroupWise 6.5 32-Bit Windows Client for Windows 9x and Me" for more info about this subject).

Strengths

The primary strengths of this client lie in the fact that this is currently still the flagship client for Novell GroupWise. When new features and functionality are coded for GroupWise, they are coded for this platform first. The following list is hardly complete, but it does illustrate some of what is present (so that you can judge the other clients against this one):

• Notification of new messages

• Document administration features

• Remote-access capabilities (via GroupWise remote; requires a standard installation)

• Archive access

• Full-featured toolbars, menus, and quick menus

• Full collaboration features, including folder sharing, GroupWise library access, item tracking, calendar viewing, and more

Weaknesses

The primary weakness of this client lies in the fact that it must be installed to every workstation that needs to run it. The GroupWise client also takes over 60MB of disk space.

GroupWise 7 Cross-Platform Client on Linux and Apple

For Linux and Macintosh users, Novell delivers the GroupWise 7 Cross-Platform client for Linux and Apple. This client uses Java and you can run this client on any of the following desktop operating systems:

• Novell Linux Desktop, plus the KDE desktop or the GNOME desktop

• Red Hat Desktop 4 or Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 4, plus the GNOME desktop

• Macintosh OS 10.3 (Panther) or Macintosh OS 10.4 (Tiger)

You will need Java Virtual Machine (JVM) 1.4.2 or later and at least 40MB of free disk space to install the GroupWise Cross-Platform client.

Installing and Running the Cross-Platform Client on Linux

The installation of the Cross-Platform client on Linux is pretty simple: Much like the NetWare/Windows SDD, the file set for Linux contains a CLIENT folder with a LINUX subfolder. This folder contains an install script and two installable packages called RPMs, one for the GroupWise client and one for GWCheck. There is also an INSTALL script in the root of the Linux CD/DVD, which allows you to install every GroupWise component on Linux. Make sure you meet the requirements mentioned previously and follow these installation instructions:

1.	In a new terminal window, become root by entering su and the root password.
2.	Change to the root of the GroupWise 7 (Linux/Mac) CD or SDD.
3.	Enter ./install.
4.	In the graphical interface select the Install Products option and select Install GroupWise Client.

The GroupWise Client will be installed to /opt/novell/groupwise/client. You can also install the Cross-Platform client by changing to the client/linux folder on the GroupWise 7 Client (Linux/Mac) CD, then running the RPM. After the installation finishes, you can start the client by following these instructions:

1.	Use the icon on the desktop OR at the command line, change to the /opt/novell/groupwise/client/bin folder.
2.	Enter ./groupwise.sh.

You will be prompted for a username, password, IP address, and IP port number of your post office agent, as shown in Figure 12.19.

Figure 12.19. The GroupWise Cross-Platform Client login screen

After the login, you will see the familiar Group Wise main window and will be able to use the many new features.

Installing and Running the Cross-Platform Client on Apple

To instal l the GroupWise Cross-Platform client on Apple Macintosh, make sure you meet the requirements mentioned previously and follow these instructions to install the client:

• Browse to the GroupWise.app.sit file on the GroupWise 7 Client (Linux/Mac) CD.

• Double-click the GroupWise.dmg file to install the Cross-Platform client software.

The installation process adds a GroupWise Cross-Platform client icon to your desktop. You can start the Cross-Platform client on Apple Macintosh by double-clicking the icon on the desktop.

Strengths

There was an earlier GroupWise 6.5 version of the Cross-Platform client, but the new GroupWise 7 version has a lot of additional features and is getting closer and closer to the Windows 32-bit client. Here are some of the new features:

• Support for All Day Events

• New default Compose and Read View Fonts and Reply Text Format

• Capability for GroupWise Check (GWCheck) to be used both on Linux and on Apple

• Support for Rules and Filters

• Support for Spell Checker and spell checking as you type

• Support for the Junk Mail Handling features

• Support for GroupWise Backup and Restore features

Weaknesses

Currently the Windows 32-bit client still has more features than the Cross-Platform client, quite often because the missing functions are heavily tied to the underlying Windows platform. For example, GroupWise Document Management System (DMS) relies heavily on the ODMA standard, but the external taskforce responsible for ODMA has not been able yet to create a (fully) developed interface for Linux or Apple.

Evolution Connection to GroupWise 7

Evolution is the most popular tool on Linux to provide integrated mail, address book, and calendaring functionality. Evolution was developed by Ximian, now part of the Novell Corporation, and is included in most of the popular Linux distributions. Evolution is quite often called the Outlook of the Linux desktop and is of course included in the Novell Linux Desktop (NLD) as well. With GroupWise 7 any Evolution 2.x client will now be able to connect to the new SOAP interface, which is part of the GroupWise 7 post office agent (POA).

Strengths

The new SOAP interface is an important part of the new direction to open up GroupWise to developers, not only for Evolution, but also, for example, for PDA synchronization solutions. As such, Novell will be very committed to further improving and enhancing this interface, enabling full support for developments on any platform, including, of course, the very important Linux platform.

Even though Evolution is a community project, many former Ximian employees are now Novell employees. The Ximian employees are involved in both enhancing Evolution and making sure that the SOAP interface in GroupWise will be able to deliver the necessary functionality.

Weaknesses

At the moment of writing this book, Evolution already connected very well to the new GroupWise 7 SOAP interface in the POA, and most Evolution features were implemented. Because of limitations on both sides, the feature mapping was not 100% complete yet, but in the near future we can probably expect some rapid improvements.

GroupWise Connector for Outlook

Outlook is still a very popular email client on the Windows platform, and the new GroupWise 7 Windows 32-bit client is certainly a very serious alternative for Outlook. However, in too many cases there are practical reasons to (temporarily) keep using Outlook. For example, imagine a larger environment with 25,000 users in many locations moving away from Exchange 5.5 and Outlook XP to GroupWise 7. Even with great tools like ZENworks, it would be a huge challenge to deploy the GroupWise 7 client to all of these desktops.

For this and other scenarios Novell has created the GroupWise Connector for Outlook, a complete redesign when compared to earlier projects. All the following desktop operating systems are compatible with the GroupWise Connector for Outlook:

• Windows 2000 on a Pentium 200 or higher with at least 128MB of RAM

• Windows XP on a Pentium 300 or higher with at least 128MB of RAM

• Windows 2003 on a Pentium 300 or higher with at least 128MB of RAM

You will need to use Microsoft Outlook XP/2003; older versions of Outlook are not supported due to several limitations in these versions.

Installing and Running the GroupWise Connector for Outlook

To install the GroupWise Connector for Outlook, make sure you meet the requirements mentioned previously and follow these instructions to install the client:

1.	On the GroupWise 7 CD/DVD or SDD, go to the CLIENT folder and then select the CONNECTOR folder.
2.	Double-click the setup.exe file and follow the onscreen instructions to install the GroupWise Connector for Outlook.

After installing the GroupWise Connector for Outlook, if you start Outlook, your GroupWise account should automatically appear in the login screen. If it does not appear, you might need to fill in some details, such as username, password, post office agent address, and the post office agent port number. In some cases you might like to create a GroupWise account in Outlook; here are the instructions for doing this:

1.	Start the Microsoft Outlook client and select Tools, E-mail Accounts.
2.	Select Add a New E-mail Account, then click Next.
3.	Select Additional Server Type, and then click Next.
4.	Select Novell GroupWise, and then select Next.
5.	Type the name or TCP/IP address and the port number of your GroupWise server.
6.	Type your GroupWise username and click Finish.

You should now be able to use Outlook connected to the GroupWise back end using the GroupWise Connector for Outlook.

Strengths

With this new connector most "normal" Outlook users will be able to work as they used to work connected to the Exchange server, but will immediately benefit from the higher availability and the more robust GroupWise back end. Almost any feature will work as expected, and if needed, users can be gradually upgraded from the Outlook client to the GroupWise 7 client to allow them to use even more GroupWise specific features, if needed.

Weaknesses

With Outlook, one of the concerns will be that the Outlook client itself is more vulnerable to hacks and viruses. If a virus accidentally slips through your protection system, it might not hurt your GroupWise back end or GroupWise clients, but it might still have an impact on these Outlook users. This is, of course, due to the nature and the architecture of both solutions. For the same reason, not all features could be mapped. Here is a list of things that are currently not supported:

• Journals do not exist in GroupWise. You can still create Journals in Outlook, but they will be visible only to this user.

• Because public folders are not supported in the GroupWise Connector for Outlook, the Find Public Folders item on the Tools menu has been removed. Shared folders provide similar functionality to public folders for sharing items with other users.

• GroupWise handles junk mail differently from Outlook. If you have set up Junk Mail Handling in GroupWise, a Junk Mail folder appears in the folder list, but it doesn't have access to GroupWise junk mail functionality. To handle junk mail in the GroupWise Connector for Outlook, the user should use the default Outlook junk mail system.

• Outlook and GroupWise use different default categories. Because of this, if you move from the GroupWise Connector for Outlook to a GroupWise client, your categories in the GroupWise Connector for Outlook are not preserved in the GroupWise client.

• When you're creating a delegate, there are a few differences in the settings. In Outlook, you can specify whether you want a delegate to receive copies of meeting-related messages sent to you. You can also specify whether you want Outlook to automatically send a message to a delegate summarizing these permissions. In Outlook, you can specify whether you want the delegate to see your private items. In the GroupWise Connector, you do not have these options.

• In Outlook, you can specify to send meeting requests and responses only to your delegates, and not to you. In the GroupWise Connector for Outlook, you do not have this option. Meetings are automatically sent to you and not your delegates. Your delegate can view your calendar or mailbox if you have assigned these rights to your delegate.

• Proxy is specific to GroupWise and does not exist in Outlook. In GroupWise, you use Proxy to manage another user's mailbox and calendar. Proxy lets you perform various actions, such as reading, accepting, and declining items on behalf of another user within the restrictions the other user sets.

Even though these more "advanced" options are not available (yet), the GroupWise Connector for GroupWise 7 has already attracted a lot of attention and approval.

GroupWise 6.5 32-Bit Windows Client for Windows 9x and Me

Because of the many changes in the way GroupWise installs with MSI, as described earlier in this chapter, as well as because of weaknesses in the Windows 9x graphical libraries (for example, high-resolution icons did not work properly), like many other vendors Novell has decided not to include support for the GroupWise 7 client on Windows 9x and Windows Me. The good news is, however, that the GroupWise 6.5 32-bit Windows client will still work against a GroupWise 7 post office in client/server mode.

Strengths

Here are the strengths for using the GroupWise 6.5 32-bit Windows client on Windows 9x and Me:

• The GroupWise 6.5 client was already a very rich Windows client, and many users on these older workstations might not need all the newer GroupWise 7 features.

• Some of the new GroupWise 7 features are in the back end and will be therefore apply to these users as well.

Weaknesses

Some features will be visible in the GroupWise 6.5 client as well, but in a different fashion. For example, the GroupWise 7 multiple layered calendar support allows you to created shared calendars, which in the GroupWise 7 client will just be one layer in the normal calendar view. In GroupWise 6.5 the user can accept such a shared calendar and will be able to view it as a separate "normal" shared calendar folder, but of course not as part of the layered calendar view. If this user later switches to the new GroupWise 7 client, these folders will stay "normal" shared folders and cannot be (easily) integrated into the new layered calendar view.

GroupWise 7 WebAccess Full-Featured Browser Support

Novell has long been touting the standards-based web platform as the future alternative platform for GroupWise. If the 32-bit Windows client won't work for you, any machine that can run a supported web browser can access a GroupWise mailbox through the WebAccess gateway. And with GroupWise 7 we've seen many enhancements to this important WebAccess interface, so it has become even more usable with more features and a new look and feel. New features include the following:

• New look and feel reminiscent of the Windows client

• Drag-and-drop functionality to easily move items between folders

• Right-click context-sensitive drop-down menus on Mailbox and Calendar items for easy access to commonly used features (for example, Open, Reply, Forward, Accept, Decline, Delete, and so on)

• Enhanced item properties (including delivery status, send options, and Junk Mail Handling results) and Mark Read item action

• Automatic name completion from your Frequent Contacts Address Book

• Folder management, so that you can rearrange the folders in your folder list, add and delete folders, and share folders more easily

• Work in Progress folder, so that items you save in your Work in Progress folder in the Windows client or Cross-Platform client are available to you in the WebAccess client

• Quick Find feature for fast full-text searches through your mailbox without setting Advanced Find options

• In-line Calendar appointments, tasks, and notes, and posted Calendar appointments, tasks, and notes

You can find more information about WebAccess in Chapter 11, "Installing and Configuring GroupWise WebAccess."

Strengths

WebAccess with full-featured browser support has several strong features:

• No installation required. Any Java-compliant web browser can serve as the GroupWise client.

• Low bandwidth. This client will perform acceptably over a dial-up connection.

• Wide cross-platform support. This client performs the same on Windows, Macintosh, UNIX, and Linux workstations.

• Support for SSL connections that ensures security for mailbox access across the Internet.

Weaknesses

This platform also has its weaknesses:

• No notification of new messages, although third parties like Omni offer solutions for this (www.omni-ts.com)

• No offline support

• No archive access

GroupWise 7 WebAccess/Wireless Simple HTML Browser Support Usable for PDA and Phones

The advent of handheld computers has brought back the need for simple HTML support, the stuff GroupWise WebAccess was made of, long ago. So, for example, a Pocket PC platform device can access GroupWise 7 WebAccess. The interface is simpler and leaner, specifically for the popular handheld computer platforms. Figure 12.20 shows the GroupWise 7 WebAccess simple HTML browser support interface.

Figure 12.20. GroupWise 7 WebAccess with simple HTML support

Strengths

This platform's primary strength is its very broad device support. WebAccess with simple HTML browser support has several strong features:

• No installation required. Any Mozilla 4.xcompatible browser or better can support this version of WebAccess.

• Low bandwidth. This client will perform acceptably over a dial-up connection.

• Wide cross-platform support.

• Support for SSL connections that ensures security for mailbox access across the Internet.

Weaknesses

Most wireless clients can read messages, but not attachments, and you can compose simple messages. The weaknesses are not really in GroupWise wireless, but in the devices themselves. This platform also some other weaknesses:

• No notification of new messages

• No offline support

• No archive access

Tip

Third parties like Omni offer PDA synchronization solutions that use the WebAccess framework and enhance it to enable it to function as a synchronization server. You can find more information at www.omni-ts.com.

GroupWise Internet Agent POP3/IMAP4

Some of your users might want to access their GroupWise email from home, using their Eudora, Netscape Mail, or Outlook Express mailers. Any mail application that supports POP3 or IMAP4 mail access can collect GroupWise email through a correctly configured GroupWise Internet agent. There are POP3 clients for almost any platform, including the very popular Palm OS devices.

Note

Chapter 10, "Installing and Configuring the GroupWise Internet Agent," talks more about where to configure POP3 and IMAP4 functionality on the GroupWise Internet agent. You can also enable IMAP on your POA, as described in Chapter 8.

Strengths

Following are the strengths for this support:

• Low user-education costs (users use the tool they are familiar with)

• Low bandwidth

• Mailbox that can be used offline (POP3 only)

• Wide cross-platform support

Weaknesses

This configuration has some weaknesses:

• Limited collaboration support; all items show up only as email items on the POP3 or IMAP4 mail application

• No archive access

• No GroupWise library access