The GroupWise Post Office Database

Every GroupWise post office must have a WPHOST.DB file. The WPHOST.DB file for a post office provides the following:

• The GroupWise client address book

• Lots of information for the GroupWise client and Post Office Agent (POA) that isn't readily apparent to a user

A GroupWise WPHOST.DB file is created when a post office is created. The WPHOST.DB file is created using the following:

• Information from the WPDOMAIN.DB file of the GroupWise domain that owns the post office

• The dictionary file called GWPO.DC located in all GroupWise domain and post office directories

These topics are explored further in the following sections.

How a WPHOST.DB File Is Modified

When a change needs to be replicated down to a post office, the domain MTA for the domain that owns the post office needing the replication sends the object update information to the POA servicing the post office. The POA has an admin thread that updates the WPHOST.DB file with the change.

The only entity that updates a WPHOST.DB file is the GroupWise POA. This is different from how a WPDOMAIN.DB file is modified. The WPDOMAIN.DB file is modified by the GroupWise MTA and by GroupWise administration. So when an administrator makes changes that affect GroupWise, those changes are written to the WPDOMAIN.DB that the GroupWise administration is connected to. The administrator's workstation actually commits those changes to the GroupWise WPDOMAIN.DB. In the case of post offices, an administrator's workstation does not touch the WPHOST.DB file. The only time an administrator's workstation would touch a WPHOST.DB file is when the administrator uses Tools, GroupWise Utilities, System Maintenance to run routines on a post office.

The Content of a WPHOST.DB File

A WPHOST.DB file is not a mirror of the entire GroupWise system. There are records related to domains that do not need to be replicated to a WPHOST.DB file. Because the WPHOST.DB file is not a general depository file like the WPDOMAIN.DB file, the content of a WPHOST.DB file is smaller than that of a WPDOMAIN.DB file.

WPHOST.DB as an Address Book

When users go into the GroupWise address book and access the Novell GroupWise address book (otherwise known as the system address book), they are accessing information contained in the WPHOST.DB file. The information accessible in any of the other tabs of the GroupWise address book is not contained in the WPHOST.DB file.

WPHOST.DB for Identity Purposes

The WPHOST.DB file is read by the GroupWise client in order to help the GroupWise client create an appropriate environment for the users. The WPHOST.DB file helps the client and the POA identify which USERXXX.DB file in the message store is the user's database. The WPHOST.DB file helps to hold administrator-defined settings that control how GroupWise preferences are configured. A WPHOST.DB file has a hidden password within it; that password is given to all databases below a post office. The password read from the WPHOST.DB file helps a GroupWise POA gain access to all the other message store databases in a post office. This adds a level of security to the GroupWise system. It prevents someone from creating their own GroupWise system and simply copying the message store databases into a different GroupWise post office.

What the WPHOST.DB File Provides to the POA

The POA reads its configuration information from the WPHOST.DB file. So when a POA is configured in ConsoleOne, those changes are replicated down to the WPHOST.DB file for the POA to read.

The POA discovers other information from the WPHOST.DB, including the following:

• The administrator for the domain that owns this post office, which is important so that problems can be reported by the POA to the administrator.

• The IP addresses and ports of the POAs that service the other post offices in the GroupWise system. This helps when a POA needs to hand a user off to another post office so that it can proxy into a user's email on a different post office.

• The names of all mail recipients (users and resources), gateways, domains, and post offices. This way, if a user types an incorrect name, the POA can immediately tell the user of the error.

• The TCP/IP port and address of the domain MTA that owns this post office.